After the Kings’ overtime loss to Pittsburgh, Terry Murray made a point of praising the effort of Wayne Simmonds, with Murray noting that Simmonds’ game “was one of the first times, in a little while, that he’s had his feet going, holding onto the puck, creating some offensive opportunities and bringing the work into the game.” The strong play seems to have carried over. After the Pittsburgh game, Simmonds was moved up into a first-line role with Michal Handzus and Anze Kopitar, and Simmonds looked particularly strong on Sunday against Philadelphia. His gritty play behind the Flyers’ net helped set up the game’s only goal.
MURRAY: “Simmonds, his play has been really big. But it’s really big because it was really off at one time. He’s back to showing the kind of play that we saw through most of last year and his first year. He was a hard, gritty player. He was a very physical player that played a north game and did the right things with his skill. He has a high-end skill in the offensive zone and he’s allowed to use that skill in the right areas of the ice. When he gets in, and does the things that he did again yesterday, with his forecheck and his physical play, and creates plays through hard effort, picking up a loose puck and getting to the net with proper positioning, he’s a very effective hockey player when he plays with that attitude.”
Simmonds played great with Kopi and Richie towards the end of last year too. Something about playing with Kopi makes him step up his game.
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puck73 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
@CB14, Agreed. I think Simmonds was bored ..itless playing with Poni and Zeuss.
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MadMatt Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
@puck73, I agree. he made a similar move that Ovechkin made, only it resulted in a goal. I think having in a spot to step up and wreak havoc is awesome for his development. Plus, sine the opponent doesn’t really know what Simmons is going to do….it really opens up Kopi. What if we add one more top 6 forward in a trade and put him up front with Simmons and Kopi?
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CB14 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
@MadMatt, Parise woud look great alongside Kopi and Simmonds. Then we could move Handzus back to the 4th line centering Poni and Sturm. I’m hoping that we can get Parise, because he is very underrated IMO. He’s only 26 years old and he’s a 40 goal scorer. In 08-09 his stats were 45-49-94.
MadMatt Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
@puck73, I also would not mind it if we took something away from the Devils. Poetic justice.
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puck73 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
@MadMatt, The rumor supposedly was that Uncle Lou offered Parise to Dean, but in return he wanted…Bernier, Voynov, Moller, and 2 draft picks…Dean told Lou to sober up and call him back.
PRMan Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 6:01 am
@MadMatt, Seriously.
BigMikeonD Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 8:55 am
@MadMatt, It will take Bernier to even get us in the conversation about Parise. I don’t know how many people are willing to give up Bernier. Big names come with big price tags. The Kings are close. Vancouver is going to be in trouble with all of their defensive injuries. Wait and see.
MadMatt Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
@MadMatt, Yep. I agree about Bernier. This seems to be the best goaltending tandem we have ever had. How about Moller and Lotki?
KC23 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
@puck73, That’s my read as well. Simmonds looks way way better playing with Kopitar.
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Scaught Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 7:36 am
@puck73, I also agree. Simmonds game is aggressive and fast-paced. Everything Zeuss and Poni aren’t. Simmonds and Kopi: I like it.
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Choralone Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
puck73, I’d do that trade.
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broncokings Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
@Choralone, I wwouldnt put Bernier in there, maybe a draft pick or another prospect
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CB14 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
@broncokings, Yeah, anyone but Bernier.
CB14 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
@broncokings, and Schenn
i like the first line now hope it keep going not like good for few games then turn to a ghost the next games
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I concur!
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Versteeg picked up by Philly for a 1st & a 3rd.
Overpaid….
Holmgren is going for it. Props to him.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=353885
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Dominick Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
@Cynic,
Burke is either an idiot or a master chess player. He just aquired Lupul then turns around and deals Versteeg. He had stated earlier in the season that he felt he could rebuild without tanking the team for draft picks. I guess that philosophy has gone out the window.
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puck73 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
@Dominick, I am really surprised that Burke traded him. I know Chicago misses him and Big Buff real bad..Character guya !
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Hopefully Wayne has figured it out….take it to the net and good things happen!!
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Dominick Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
@Cup B4 I Die, I believe he scored his last point the same way with a power move strait to the net from the lower left corner boards, right to the front where Stoll scored crashing the net. Maybe it was a few points back (can’t remember specifics
.
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Wayne keep it up. Love the Kings.
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I love Simmer, i got a question for you guys. I haven’t really heard any specifics as to what DL has been up to. He says he’s in the market but we haven’t really got an idea of what talks he’s been involved in. I think it was mentioned somewhere that we were the front runners on Fischer deal from Ottawa but Nashville was a better fit for him. So where does that leave us? I’m not saying i’m unhappy with our recent play, as a matter of fact i’m ecstatic. But, I think we can all still agree that we have a gaping void for that LW sniper. So while I hope DL is trying to get Penner or another high profile player (maybe even Gaborik) does anyone have the slightest clue to what’s going on in the trade market?
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Dominick Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:15 pm
@TheRussianKing,
Fisher (a center)wouldn’t of fit our needs. Your right on the 1rst line left wing. With Sturm on the mend and Lokti playing center now I think it’s left wing or bust for the Kings. Penner is probably the best option out there, that is available. Because of his size, strength, and managable cap hit, he is exactly what the Kings are looking for. A change in scenery would definately be a major motivation for him to be suddenly put on a good team, and being since we’re in Cali he would welcome the change.
I don’t agree that he’s a lazy player. The Ducks really wanted to keep him after they won the cup with him, but had their legs cut out from under them by Edmonton who offered an offer sheet that was too expensive for the Ducks who were having major cap issues, and on the verge of losing some key veterans. Edmonton really had no buiseness making that offer since they didn’t have the talent to compete even if they aquired him. So Penner has been sort of a pearls for swine type of guy who could really put us over the top.
Booth, and Parise are other legitemate options, but Booth is currently signed for longer than any other Panther in their line up, so I look at him as a cornerstone player who won’t come cheap. Parise cannot be traded since he’s on IR. Even if he becomes available the Kings would still have to deal with getting him back into game shape, and they need someone who is going to pay dividens immediately. Plus Parise would be an expensive rental, who we could sign during the summer without giving up anything ahead of time.
Other than that, all other options are about equal.
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TheRussianKing Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
@Dominick, I appreciate the reply, but is there any word on the street about DL actually making the call to get us Penner or anyone else? I refresh between this site, bleacherreport, TSN, and NHL constantly waiting for a headline along the lines of “DL pulls the trigger” or “Kings reportedly on the hunt for “Fill in the name”. I just want some action.
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Dominick Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
@TheRussianKing,
Nothing officially from DL anywhere. He probably won’t tip his hand till he has the advantage in doing so. Just have to take it on faith that he’s at work instead of golfing his way through this part if the season.
puck73 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
@TheRussianKing, Dude, Dommer is a lot of things, but Nostradomus he isnt.
Token Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
@TheRussianKing, Four Kings scouts spotted at the Sharks @ Panthers game. I doubt they were scouting the Sharks.
Nothing other than that.
KC23 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 7:20 pm
@TheRussianKing, No GM is ever gonna say anything other than a done deal approaching the trading dead line. The free agent market is different as GMs and agents use the media for leverage, but during the season approaching the trading deadline, there is no benefit from talking to the media about possible trades.
broncokings Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 6:49 pm
@Dominick, I heard the Kings had scouts in Florida, and was wondering who they might be looking at, thx for answering that question, didn’t even think about Booth
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Kostamojen Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
@TheRussianKing, rumors abound, and many of them cannot be trusted. But, here’s what I’ve read:
>Lombardi is very willing to deal the first round pick. Defensive prospects Teubert and Hickey are mentioned in trade rumors alot. As are forwards Moller, Schenn, Loktionov, and Simmonds. But, no one really knows who Lombardi would be willing to give up.
>As far as acquisitions, most of the recent rumors have been about C Ales Hemsky (oilers). However, other rumors mention W Dustin Penner (oilers), W Marian Gaborik (rangers), W David Booth (panthers), and a couple others.
Some rumors also indicated that Lombardi had a strong offer in for C Mike Fisher, who ended up going to Nashville recently. I really don’t get why Lombardi would be going after centers like Fisher and Hemsky, I thought a winger was our biggest concern.
It’s all just rumors anyway. Can’t always trust what you read. In fact, I probably just made up everything in this post…
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puck73 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
@Kostamojen, Agreed. I dont know why Dean would be interested in a center either, we have PLENTY of those.
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LW Anybody? Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
@TheRussianKing, Rumor is that the Oilers would prefer to keep Penner over Hemsky, so Hemsky might be an easier acquisition for us. Penner they supposedly want more for. Who knows. If Hemsky could be picked up for a pick or two, and maybe a D prospect, I’d pull that trigger. Hemsky isn’t world class, but he’s still an upgrade over most of our forwards.
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The great thing about Simmons is he is fearless, goes to the net, draws in the defense and gives Kopi more room to make things happen. I have to hand it to TM, he made some significnat changes that seem to be working.
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puck73 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
@DesertKing, Agree. The reason Simmonds has been skating like he has a piano on his back for most of the season is because he was playing with Poni and Zeus, 2 players that cannot keep up with him, or be creative enough to inspire him…Kopi does that, and more !
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Deke'r Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
@puck73, But Simmers is still with Zues….I think Zues and Simmers play well together. They were cookin’ last game! Even if Zues is playing out of position he knows the game so damn well it don’t matter.
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KC23 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 7:22 pm
@Deke’r, Well said. Zues, will probably make a good coach one day. He just knows where he should be at all times. Slow as heck, but he is so instictive it doesn’t matter.
To all you Parise lovers out there…. I love the guy too. But get one thing straight really quick!! There is no way, no shape and no form that the Devils part with him. Impossible. Actually nothing is impossible. I do think they’d consider it in exchange for Quick, Kopi and maybe two firsts. You guys still game?
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DLB Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
@number 6, oh wretched truth.
I don’t know about two firsts in addition but yeah, price would be insanely high.
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DesertKing Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
@number 6,
Could you please explain why? Yes, he is a great player. Yes, he was there before Kovalsuk, yes, he likes it in NJ. Reality is that they have way overpaid Kovalsuk and their cap room is nil, indicating their is a good chance they need to dump some serious salary cap, aka Parise. Word is they were shopping Elias, but he refuses to waive his NTC, so who do they have left to dump? Parise is a free agent at the end of this season and I don’t see him agreeing to sign for less so they can cover Kovalsuk’s salary. If they keep Parise, then almost one third of their payroll is for 2 players. For 6-8 mil a year, the Devils could sign 3-5 young and decent complimentary players. The NJ fans love Parise, but Edmonton loved Wayne and we loved Luc. If you packaged a Simmonds/Drewiske/Richardson deal and throw in one of veterans who become a FA at the end of the season, and you might see a deal (even though I would hate to see those guys go).Its a business, and the dollars indicate that Parise in a King uniform is a possibility.
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TheRussianKing Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 6:49 pm
@DesertKing, Too much for a rental who’s been injured this season. Way too much specially with no gaurantess locking him up on the FA market. Remember we still need to lock up DD this summer with probably another blockbuster paycheck deal.
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DesertKing Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
@TheRussianKing,
Good point on DD, but if the oppotunity knocks, we should be ready to at least look.
xeropoint Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
@TheRussianKing, It doesn’t have to be a lifetime, cap limit deal for Doughty just yet. He still has a lot of years until he becomes unrestricted eligible, so perhaps a shorter term, lower hit deal (like Johnson’s second contract) is what they might go for.
number 6 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
@DesertKing,
Read response below (or above) from Russian King. Also, if you watched what happened with Chicago, where everyone was saying Kane or Toews would be available….. clearly not! They will do exactly what Chicago did…. get rid of superfluous players to clear salary (Jason Arnott, Brian Rolston, etc.) and they will make it work. It’s a lovely dream you have… it really is. It’s just not realistic. Like I said, last year everyone said exactly the same thing about the Blackhawks. You don’t give up one of your two most important players. You find a way to make it work and that’s what Lou Lamoriello will do. They probably have at least another two players who would fit into the Arnott Rolston category as well.
Don’t believe me? Just watch this off season.
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broncokings Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
@DesertKing, wouldnt get rid of simmer, i think maybe a goalie prospect like jones or zatkoff especially with Martin getting old and falling apart
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You guys are dreaming. Kopi and picks for Parise?
Even Lombardi wouldn’t make that trade unless the Devils agree to hire him after his firing. Get serious.
The reason Simmonds looks good is because that line is attacking the front of the net with two or three guys so we get rebound opportunities. Otherwise, it would just be a save with the puck going the other way as usual.
You have to be creative with f3 high (as in he can’t always be high) and sometimes a D-man has to join the attack otherwise you just have 3 D-men waiting for the puck to come at em while f1 and 2 get hammered all night. This is the biggest problem we have scoring goals and realistically being able to judge our young talent. (existing and traded) Think Moulson, Boyle ect…
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number 6 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 7:49 pm
@johnjuan,
No man. I Was Not saying that. There are posters here who insist that Parise would be available. What I was saying if you read it more carefully is that it’s a pipe dream. I never said that DL would do that. Of course he wouldn’t. I Was saying that That would be the asking price from the Devils who probably would never consider giving up Parise unless they got a Zetterberg from Detroit, a Mike Richards from Philly, a top player in return, which obviously would not happen to begin with.
Hope I’ve cleared that up.
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CB14 Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
@number 6, You are guessing about what it would take to get Parise. We are all guessing about it. No one on here realistically knows it the Devils would consider trading him. Or trading him for prospects and picks, or legitimate NHL star players. Why do you have to say it’s a pipe dream? Heck Joe Thornton got traded. Just let us all speculate about it, that’s why most of us are on here anyways. It’s not like the blog posters have to be 100 % truthfull. Just let us have our fun unless you legitimately know whats going on in Lou Lamorollos mind.
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number 6 Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 7:09 am
@CB14,
Hey, if you are having fun then it’s not my business. I don’t mean this in a ‘one upsmanship’ sort of way so I hope it won’t be taken like that, but I live on the east coast and see the Devils broadcasts a lot and I Know how important Parise is to not only the team but the ownership and the fan base.
I’ll put it differently. How would you personally respond if you saw the Rangers fans saying ‘hey, we can get Doughty from the Kings’? I mean; he’s up after all for a new contract. No different from Parise other than the fact that the Devils have the financial issue, but as I stated before, thats really a minor problem and nothing that can’t be sorted out with some creativity on the financial end.
I’m not trying to ruin your fun. Say what you will but it really is no different than Doughty. He wants too much money, the Kings won’t give it to him so DL will just trade him off for some picks and a prospect or two.
number 6 Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 7:12 am
@CB14,
And by the way, yes Joe Thornton did get traded because at the time both teams involved were going thru massive slumps. That being said, I suppose one can say that even Wayne Gretzky was traded.
Ten for instigating Reply:
February 14th, 2011 at 9:59 pm
@johnjuan, how long were the kings supposed to wait for moulson and Boyle? What about Purcell? POS? Do u think Cammi is playing up to his contract?
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johnjuan Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
@Ten for instigating,
We have a system that masks talent. See comment below.
Or, I guess it was just the next year for Moulson and Boyle. Cammi too as he scored 30 plus right away.
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Definitely have. My paranoia got the better of me.
I just wanted to reinforce the sentiment so we don’t get the- lets trade our best players -meme going. felt like I better jump on that one, sorry. No offense intended just got a little spooked about where that might take us. I can’t seriously imagine the scenario anymore than you but, some might.
Thats why are system scares me, I think it masks offensive talent. One would think it might showcase our D-mens offensive talents but it hasn’t worked out that way very often. It sure worked with DD against Flyers though, we caught em with their pants down. I think we could do this several times a game (the attempt) and bring f3 down into a coordinated attack once in awhile. Seems like we just have 3 guys playing defense in the O-zone to often. Kinda like our PP it just seems to static.
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I’ve had similar thoughts to what Murray expressed. I’m glad Simmonds is “back.”
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