Here’s the second of the division-by-division summer preview looks, this time swinging north to the Atlantic Division. This season’s standings are followed by the team-by-team looks…
1. Philadelphia Flyers, 106 points (2nd in Eastern Conference)
2. Pittsburgh Penguins, 106 points (4th in Eastern Conference)
3. New York Rangers, 93 points (8th in Eastern Conference)
4. New Jersey Devils, 81 points (11th in Eastern Conference)
5. New York Islanders, 73 points (14th in Eastern Conference)
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Hanging around?: If they so choose, the Devils could remain almost entirely intact next season. Is that good or bad? That depends on which Devils team you believe was the “real” team this season: the one that slalomed to the bottom of the conference standings at the beginning of the season or the one that nearly charged to the playoffs. Of course, Ilya Kovalchuk remains under contract until sometime in the early 22nd century, and the Devils have the ability to bring back all of their top-nine forwards and top-four defensemen. Martinn Brodeur has one year left on his contract. Should the Devils ride him out, or start grooming a replacement?
Saying goodbye?: Steady but unspectacular defenseman Andy Greene and backup goalie Johan Hedberg are the Devils’ only unrestricted free agents of note. The Devils’ main focus of the summer will be to keep Zach Parise in the fold. Parise is a restricted free agent and the Devils aren’t actually overflowing with salary-cap space. Can they keep the roster mostly intact while ensuring that Parise will remain a Devil through his prime years?
Draft card: With Kovalchuk, Parise and Travis Zajac in the fold, things look good for the Devils up front. That’s good, because their reserve list is defense-heavy. Alexander Urbom just completed his first season in the AHL, while Jonathon Merrill and Brandon Burlon were successful teammates at the University of Michigan.
(Restricted free agents: Matt Corrente, D; Mark Fraser, D; Jeff Frazee, G; Zach Parise, C; Nathan Perkovich, RW; Anssi Salmela, D; Matthew Taormina, D; Alexander Vasyunov, LW; Steven Zalewski, C; Vladimir Zharkov, RW.)
(Unrestricted free agents: Rob Davison, D; Tyler Eckford, D; Andy Greene, D; Johan Hedberg, G; Jay Leach, D; Olivier Magnan, D; Adam Mair, C; Mike McKenna, G; Brad Mills, F; Tim Sestito, F; Chad Wiseman, LW.)
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Hanging around?: What is it about the island? Michael Grabner, P.A. Parenteau and Matt Moulson were all cast off by their previous teams and became 20-goal scorers with the Islanders, with Grabner and Moulson topping 30 goals. If they can keep it up, and if John Tavares continues to progress, the core is there. On defense, the Islanders are stable but gave up a lot of goals this season. Problem is, the core of defensemen is older and doesn’t have much upside. Sooner, rather than later, there will need to be an infusion of young talent. in goal, Rick DiPietro is under contract until 2021. Will he ever stay healthy?
Saying goodbye?: The Islanders need to get new contracts for restricted free agent centers Blake Comeau and Josh Bailey, but other than that, their only decisions are about three energy-line forwards plus defenseman Radek Martinek, who are all unrestricted free agents. Plus, there’s the matter of what to do with goalie Evgeni Nabokov, who apparently wants nothing to do with the Islanders? Can they swing a trade to improve themselves in another area?
Draft card: There is some hope here for the Islanders. As mentioned earlier, they’re soon going to need an infusion of young defensemen, and they have a chance at that with prospects such as Calvin de Haan and Travis Hamonic. Up front, Nino Niederreiter was a 40-goal scorer in the WHL this season.
(Restricted free agents: Josh Bailey, C; Blake Comeau, C/RW; Robin Figren, LW; Bruno Gervais, D; Jack Hillen, D; Rob Hisey, C; Jesse Joensuu, F; Dustin Kohn, D; Tomas Marcinko, RW; Ty Wishart, D.)
(Unrestricted free agents: Jeremy Colliton, C; Trevor Gillies, LW; Michael Haley, C; Andy Hilbert, C; Zenon Konopka, C; Nathan Lawson, G; Joel Martin, G; Radek Martinek, D; Dylan Reese, D; Jeremy Yablonski, RW.)
NEW YORK RANGERS
Hanging around?: The Rangers often get headlines for handing out outrageous contracts to forwards, but this team’s strength is on the back end, and with goalie Henrik Lundqvist under contract for three more seasons, that doesn’t seem likely to change. Young defensemen Marc Staal and Michael Del Zotto also form a nice big-minute pair. Up front, the Rangers will hope for a bounce-back season from Chris Drury and hope (against hope) that Marian Gaborik can stay healthy.
Saying goodbye?: Are there any unrestricted free agents worth keeping? Alexander Frolov is already on his way to Russia. The Rangers had high hopes for Bryan McCabe, but he didn’t produce much, while Ruslan Fedotenko and Vinny Prospal were low-risk pickups that didn’t result in much reward. The Rangers need to lock up the middle of the ice, as Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and Brian Boyle are all restricted free agents, as is winger Ryan Callahan.
Draft card: Could it be? Are the Rangers, long known for throwing money around, be building the right way? Along with the previously mentioned back end, the Rangers have a handful of potentially strong forwards coming through the system, led by wingers Chris Kreider and Christian Thomas.
(Restricted free agents: Artem Anisimov, C; Stu Bickel, D; Brian Boyle, C; Ryan Callahan, RW; Devin DiDiomete, LW; Tysen Dowzak, D; Brandon Dubinsky, C; Brodie Dupont, LW; Matt Gilroy, D; Chad Johnson, G; Matt McCue, F; John Mitchell, C; Mike Sauer, D; Justin Soryal, LW; Pavel Valentenko, D; Dale Weise, RW.)
(Unrestricted free agents: Steve Eminger, D; Ruslan Fedotenko, LW; Alexander Frolov, LW; Chad Kolarik, D; Bryan McCabe, D; Vaclav Prospal, LW; Todd White, C; Jeremy Williams, RW.)
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Hanging around?: That sound you hear is the Flyers bumping their heads against the salary-cap ceiling, which is nothing particularly new. The Flyers have five defensemen under contract next season who will each make at least $3 million — Chris Pronger leads, at $4.92 million — plus Jeff Carter ($5.2 million), Mike Richards ($5.75 million), Daniel Briere ($6.5 million) and Scott Hartnell ($4.2 million) up front. It’s going to be a very, very tight fit in 2011-12.
Saying goodbye?: The Flyers would get modest cap relief by cutting loose enigmatic winger Nikolai Zherdev, who made $2 million last season. Even so, it’s hard to see how they will be able to keep unrestricted free agent winger Ville Leino, who scored 19 goals this season at only $800,000. Leino isn’t a top-tier free agent but will get plenty of looks. Brian Boucher is the only free agent among Philadelphia’s three-headed monster in goal, another situation they need to resolve quickly.
Draft card: In the long term, the goalie issue could be solved by 21-year-old Joacim Eriksson, who played in Sweden this season. The Flyers’ list of prospects doesn’t seem particularly deep, but they do have defensemen such as Oskars Bartulis and Kevin Marshall to step in, eventually, for a couple of their veteran guys.
(Restricted free agents: Rob Bordson, LW; Dan Carcillo, LW; Jon Kalinski, LW; Garrett Klotz, LW; Stefan Legein, RW; Andreas Nodl, RW; Darroll Powe, C; Tom Sestito, C; Brian Stewart, G; Danny Syvret, D.)
(Unrestricted free agents: Brian Boucher, G; Nick Boynton, D; Matt Clackson, LW; Ville Leino, RW; Sean O’Donnell, D; Michael Ryan, LW; Nikolai Zherdev, RW.)
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Hanging around?: This is another team that could run into some salary-cap issues, and has some questions up front, but the back end is set. Marc-Andre Fleury and Brent Johnson are set to return in goal, as are defensemen Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik, Zbynek Michalek, Paul Martin and Matt Niskanen. That’s not a bad core. And, oh yeah, the Penguins also have a couple guys named Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but they will hold their breath all summer in terms of Crosby’s health.
Saying goodbye?: With forwards such as Crosby, Malkin, Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz and James Neal, the Penguins have a clear core, but otherwise there’s some work to do. Potentially, the Penguins might have to replace five of their top 12 forwards, although none of them are particularly critical. The list is arguably topped by 17-goal-scorer Pascal Dupuis, and also includes the hard-to-figure Alexei Kovalev, who made $5 million this season and scored 16 goals.
Draft card: It could be said that the Penguins’ top prospect is defenseman Simon Despres, but given that the team is fairly set on the back end, it’s probably more important that a couple of their forward prospects step forward. That list includes Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi, who have already had a taste of the NHL, plus Beau Bennett.
(Restricted free agents: Joey Haddad, LW; Dustin Jeffrey, C; Tyler Kennedy, C; Brad Thiessen, G.)
(Unrestricted free agents: Craig Adams, RW; Arron Asham, RW; Mike Comrie, C; Chris Conner, RW; Ryan Craig, C; John Curry, G; Pascal Dupuis, LW; Eric Godard, F; Andrew Hutchinson, D; Nick Johnson, RW; Alexei Kovalev, RW; Corey Potter, D; Michael Rupp, LW; Brett Sterling, LW; Max Talbot, C; Steve Wagner, D; Tim Wallace, F.)
These comments ought to be good: Philly connection to the Kings – NYI w Quick’s bro in law – NYR w the enigmatic Gaborik who people (a few) seem to think the Kings should get, and of course our ex forward turned dman turned back to bruising forward – Devs w Kovi (man who would be King – but then thought better of it) and Pens, and the connection to the Kings there is………………. wait, I’m thinking……….. Got One! Bylsma.
Hey, that’s a good start isn’t it?
[Reply]
MacSwede Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 12:50 am
@number 6, The pittsburgh connection must be Scuderi
[Reply]
number 6 Reply:
June 2nd, 2011 at 7:45 am
@MacSwede,
Well done MacSwede. Remember how last year you so much wanted Kovi? Well, seems like we still have that gaping hole on the left wing.
I suppose you saw the playoffs on TV. Penner wasn’t a resounding success I must say. But Kovi has completely screwed up the financial situation of the Devils. So what’s worse?
[Reply]
Belexes Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 3:34 am
Hot Damn, just heard that the Kings will be playing The Pens at the Sprint Center in KC in September! WooHoo! Will get to see my boys without traveling!
[Reply]
Carter or JVR would look awfully good in a Kings uni
[Reply]
number 6 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 6:01 pm
@Ravens,
JVR for sure fer shure, BUT guess what Raves…. I do Not think they are going to let him go. The price would be astronomically high. Don’t know what his contract is like, but after being their best player pretty much in the playoffs, I find it highly unlikely. That being said, we can dream can’t we? For whatever reason my instincts aren’t so strong about Carter. I don’t know why, but they aren’t.
[Reply]
ArmChairKingsFan Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 9:47 am
@Ravens,
I havent heard anyone say anything about leino. Guy is relatively young and a solid 2-way guy with potential for more. Plus he is an FA, no need to make that move yet.
[Reply]
jayrew Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 11:58 am
@Ravens, I’ve always had a hardy for Giroux. watched him in the QMJHL, just so much skill. we won’t get any of these guys mentioned however.
[Reply]
I posted my comments before reading the thread. Hey Rich, you have this sort of subtle dark humor that I find really cool. That was great….. ‘Ilya Kovalchuk remains under contract until sometime in the early 22nd century’
Also, did you say something about Matt Moulson being cast off by his previous team? You must have been on the phone with Quisp today… or last night.
[Reply]
Sounds like the Isles need to get younger and deeper on D. We have a plethora of young D. I wonder what it would take to get Grabner. JJ + a prospect or two?
[Reply]
CB14 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 6:49 pm
@Jimbo1007, No Thanks. He wouldn’t score as much in our system. If you don’t believe me, go ask Oscar Moller. I know the skill level is different, but the size and type of player are similar. Plus I don’t see DL trading JJ immediatly after signing him to a long term deal. Players don’t like to go to places where GM’s immediatly trade guys after just signing them to long term contracts.
[Reply]
Jimbo1007 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 9:07 pm
@CB14, I know, I was just speculating, and thinking how Grabner would improve our team speed, I wasn’t necessarily trying to get rid of JJ or anyone else, just wondering what it would take to get a speedy, high-skilled winger from a team that needs d-help.
[Reply]
CB14 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 9:39 pm
@Jimbo1007, Mabye one of our defenseman prospects. NYI isn’t going to compete for the cup the next couple of years so they would have time to develope a guy like Hickey or Martinez (My choice to move). The reason why I would like to move Martinez is because he’s an average d-man, and we have guys like Hickey and Voynov who could (I stress the word could) very well be top 4, possibly even top 2 guys.
CB14 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 10:27 pm
@Jimbo1007, I should’ve said a couple of our defenseman prospects, not one.
Southern California native Brett Sterling got some action with PIT this year after all their injury troubles up front.
[Reply]
What does everyone think about Aaron Ashem wearing a Kings jersey?
[Reply]
CB14 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 8:17 pm
@hockeygeoff247, No thank you. We have enough 3rd and 4th liners.
[Reply]
Shakes Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 6:27 am
@hockeygeoff247,
i like it when he wears clothes. although maybe he should wear a tshirt or something else instead.
[Reply]
Daniel Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 3:29 pm
@hockeygeoff247, NO.
[Reply]
I don’t like the Frolov slights. He was done one wrong in L.A. That guy could score. They took an NHL 20+ goal scorer and turned him into a $1,000,000 guy in the KHL. Don’t say it was because he got hurt or it was good that the Kings dumped him. He would not have been hurt if he were on the Kings. Lombardi and Murray did him wrong. Longest tenured King until his departure.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 9:21 pm
@jonsey,
Fro was very unpopular here, but I’m with you. Inconsistant? Off year of 17 goals and 51 points. Everybody got what they wanted, by getting rid of him, and got 15 points of production to take his place. Thing is, he didn’t really want to leave, and had to be humiliated before he saw he wasn’t wanted. Last King to score 35 goals too.
[Reply]
CB14 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 9:51 pm
@Dominick, I agree with you Dominick. Even if people want to say that he was inconsistant, I think they need to realize he got all his points playing on the 3rd line. It’s tough to put up points night in and night out when you’re playing with 3rd liners and asked to play against the other teams best forwards every night. Why was our best L.W. playing on the third line all season? Your guess is as good as mine. That’s all i’ve got to say about that.
[Reply]
Osaka Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 2:10 am
@CB14, I have to believe there is something behind the scenes that we don’t know about. Something in the locker room? Something on the ice? Did Fro not get along with Kopi?
scepin Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 10:26 pm
@Dominick, Fro was not unpopular with Kings fans. Just the opposite is true. He could score, pass, hold on to the puck for what seemed minutes on end, etc. Tm made him unpopular and made him a non scoring threat. Oops. TM makes everybody a non scoring threat.
[Reply]
CB14 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 10:28 pm
@scepin, I like your way of thinking!
Osaka Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 11:15 pm
@scepin, TM made Fro a “non scoring threat”? Fro had 2 30+ goal season in 8 years in the NHL and one came playing under Murray.
FKA PakiFro Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 9:37 pm
@jonsey,
Touche. The guy had 2 30 goal and 1 20 goal seasons during Lombardi’s time while playing excellent defense prior to the final year in his contract. Just as every blames Murray for Purcell, Moulson, Boyle, etc, its safe to blame him for Frolov as well.
[Reply]
Osaka Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 9:55 pm
@FKA PakiFro, I can’t blame Murray for Purcell, Moulson, or Boyle. What is to blame? BUT I agree Murray didn’t handle Fro very well. Fro was in Murray’s doghouse constantly.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 12:10 am
@Osaka,
I hate being a conspiracy theorist, but i always felt there was an underlying theme with Frolov in that final year. The season before, Fro was a natural fixture on the top line. The next season 3rd and 4rth line, with sprinkled top line duties.
Maybe TM was just following a mapped out plan to change Fro’s effectiveness so we could get him for less in upcoming contract negotiations. DL trying to get a bargain. It could of been TM just got sick of Fro, but who knows?
In the end they made a 1/2 hearted stab at an insulting offer then just said “goodby Fro”.
Osaka Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 1:46 am
@Dominick, I don’t think they tried to hold production down to bring value down (that my friend is the mother of conspiracy theories), but I believe TM and DL had it in there mind he wasn’t in their plans for the future. Maybe they were planning on Kovi the whole season, I don’t know.
I could tell Fro wanted to stay here, but I would have to think Fro’s agent knew the Kings didn’t have interest. He put Fro in an awkward situation IMO.
Osaka Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 9:45 pm
@jonsey, I never understood the Frolov bashing. I think it was because he always left you wanting more. Everyone wanted a 40 goal scorer out of him and when he didn’t deliver those numbers there was disappointment. He had tons of talent and was inconsistent so that lead people to thinking he took shifts off or were questioning his heart. He was good for 20 something goals a year and was strong on the puck, great on the boards. His last year he dipped to 17 goals BUT Zues had 20 goals playing with him. Interestingly Fro had 2 30 goal + seasons in his 8 year NHL career and one of them came playing under Murray.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 9:54 pm
@Osaka,
Absolutely agree, 100%! Never been able to replace him on the left side during the power play either. Willy is good, but not as dominating on the left. Smyth is in front of the net, and Penner is…well…..just Penner right now (were still waiting).
[Reply]
CB14 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 10:00 pm
@Osaka, He also had 2 seasons under 20 goals in his 7 full seasons and one of them came playing under Murray.
You know I can’t let you say anything good about Terry Murray without making a contradicting response. That’s just my style. HaHa. It’s all in good fun!
P.S. I didn’t count this past year because he was injured halfway through the season and only played in 43 games.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 12:16 am
@CB14,
As far as NY, maybe he was like Luc. Luc couldn’t score once he left. Years later he came back and his scoring picked right back up. Luc could of had bigger career totals if he had stayed with the Kings his whole career.
Maybe that’s the case with Fro. Chances are we’ll never know.
Osaka Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 10:19 pm
@jonsey, But I also must say he was not done wrong by the Kings because they didn’t sign him. His contract expired and they went in another direction. That may not have been a wise move but he wasn’t done wrong. He wasn’t owed anything. To say he wouldn’t have been or would have been injured playing on the Kings is neither here nor there. Unless he didn’t get a paycheck that was due he is not owed. I did like his game though, I think it is a shame anytime talent goes to the KHL.
[Reply]
Ravens Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 10:24 pm
@Osaka, Well we have Frolov x 2 squared his name is Kitsyn,,,now if we can get him to so to Manchester
CB14 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 10:34 pm
@Ravens, I think he’ll go to Manchester for at least 1 year. I don’t think he expects to go from Juniors directly to the NHL. I believe he came over to juniors after the World Juniors, just like he told DL he was going to. So I would think that DL would tell him his plan for him in the future before he agreed to come over to Juniors. But you never know with some of those Russians, they can change their minds in a minute if the KHL offers them a big contract.
Stuart Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 8:46 am
@Osaka, I don’t know if you’re familiar with Angels baseball but there was a guy named Garett Anderson who was the equivalent of Fro. People were always quick to bash him for not trying HARD ENOUGH but year-in-year-out he was consistantly the best batter and fielder for the team, slow and steady wins the race. Same with Fro, he just never SEEMED to give his all and so fans thought he was lazy or half-hearted in his play. In fact, those very same things were being said about AK for the last couple of years until his D-game became obviously outstanding and people started to think “maybe he isn’t lazy he’s just so good that he makes it look easier than we think it to be?” Althogh Fro’s numbers did drop off, I’ve always thought him a consistant 25+ goal scorer which isn’t too shabby. Just my thoughts…
[Reply]
Osaka Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 3:55 pm
@Stuart, Great Garrett Anderson analogy. Fro’s last year his goals dipped but every player goes through that. Zues had 20 goals playing with Fro that years so it wasn’t like he wasn’t productive.
KC23 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 10:23 pm
@jonsey, IMHO, Froloaf lost any reasonable doubt in my mind with his failure in NY this last season. Froloaf failed the Kings, not the other way around. We failed with Boyle, Purcell and Moulson though.
[Reply]
Token Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 7:40 am
@jonsey, At least DL & TM are consistent. They are doing the same thing to Penner and hoping for a better result. Time will tell if the definition of isanity holds true.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 10:43 am
@Token,
Agree there. Penner has come from teams that played more wide open. The Ducks (when he was with them), and Edmonton. Lazy or not, he’s playing a totally different game now. Even with his baggage, he’s never been asked to play a grind game, be defensively accountable, and score anyway.
Fro did it, but his offensive numbers dropped, and Poni did it, but his offense dissapeared all together. Both players gave us solid defensive play, but were critisized for not getting it done offensively. Quisp calls it the “score anyway” something or other, but I agree with him.
Penner will play with Kopi for a little while, but ultimately be dropped to the 3rd, or 4rth lines by December, unless (god forbid) Smyth has an injury.
[Reply]
fsd1 Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 11:42 am
@Dominick, being a glass half full kind of guy, im thinking penner comes to camp in the best shape he has ever been in, plays on the first line with kopi AND because he is playing with the best defensive center we have can get away with focusing on offense more while learning to play defense….man, that koolaide looks good in my glass…
Dominick Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 2:09 pm
@fsd1,
That is my hope too. I think once they slump though (and they will), they’ll be broken up. That’s why I gave it till December. That’s usually when Kopi starts going through his first set of left wingers. Brown lasted till Febuary, so if Penner makes it that far I’ll be impressed.
HeyChief Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 4:59 pm
@jonsey, I think Fro sealed his own fate when he missed on the breakaway against Vancouver in Game 4 which would have put us up by 2 goals. I felt at that moment that Fro would not be resigned. Vancouver came back to win the game.
[Reply]
Rich – great review
[Reply]
Why is it that when I look at every team, I see a long list of unristricted free agents, till I get to the Kings?
I think New Jersey comes out next season with guns a blazin. They took a beating for dropping so hard last season (I know because I helped), and they won’t soon forget it. God I want Parise in a Kings uniform.
I brought up Ville Leino a few weeks ago. I think he could be had, and would be perfect for our left side.
[Reply]
Ravens Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 10:28 pm
@Dominick, hard to get a read on his career, but he was very good last year.
[Reply]
KC23 Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 5:21 am
@Dominick, I also am hopelessly hoping somehw Parise ends up a King. He seems like he would be the perfect fit for us. Dunno much about Ville Leino.
[Reply]
Token Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 7:51 am
@KC23, Parise is a franchise player. You got to trade a franchise player to get him or trade half the farm.
So either trade Doughty or Schenn and a bunch of prospects.
I don’t like that deal either way.
[Reply]
DesertKing Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 9:46 am
@Token,
I agree that NJ would NORMALLY want a significant player in return, but NJ has significant cap problems. DD will end up with a contract with a sizable cap hit that NJ can’t afford. This makes them ripe for a trade to dump Parise’s contract hit for 3 or 4 good players who don’t have large cap hits. Bernier, Richardson, Clifford, Parse, etc. are all young players with large potential upsides but really great low cap hit contracts. I am not saying that we should trade those players, but I am saying that with NJ up against the cap ceiling, the potential for a sign-and-trade deal involving Parise is a possibility that we should explore. The best part is that if we got Parise and won the Cup, then we would be able to thank Kovalsuk for making that happen and DL’s decision to not sign him last year for those ridiculous numbers would be considered the non-deal of the century.
Token Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 7:44 am
@Dominick, Kings have a very long list of RFAs, a sign of the rebuild process. Same end result; we only have 15 roster players on contract.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 9:40 am
@Token,
If you look at our RFA list, it’s no different then any other team. Little higher, little lower, But the list of UFA’s is extremely small.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?page=NHLFreeAgents-11-12
Just seems a little odd how it works out. I understand how we got here, just find it strange when I compare it to all the other teams. Not one single team in the league is in the same boat.
[Reply]
ArmChairKingsFan Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 9:58 am
@Dominick,
I had just mentioned leino earlier in this thread before getting to your comment. I fully think he could fill a role, and at reasonable price. He’s a FA and marry 800,000 last year
[Reply]
There is not a single King that I would not trade for Parise. Parise is far superior to anything we have.
[Reply]
Paul G Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 4:44 am
@scepin, would you actually trade Kopitar? no way man
[Reply]
Puckn-A Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 10:37 am
@scepin, He’s not as good as Kopitar, nor as strong.
[Reply]
Off topic but I wonder what the team would look like next season with this guy at the helm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auSihOd4SSs&feature=relmfu
[Reply]
CB14 Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 11:02 pm
@Hat trick, Better.
[Reply]
Sebastian Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 8:15 am
@CB14, did they fire him?
[Reply]
CB14 Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 3:22 pm
@Sebastian, No.
FKA PakiFro Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 8:05 am
@Hat trick,
That guy is so intense. Like crazy intense.
http://gif.mocksession.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/BOUCHERAGE.gif.pagespeed.ce.tUtOqaxs2r.gif
[Reply]
Hat trick Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 4:30 pm
@FKA PakiFro, Great video! I want This guy on the bench but Yzerman beat everyone to the punch. The Kings, imo, would blow doors in the NHL next season with a guy like this.
[Reply]
Scot Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 12:39 pm
@Hat trick,
Ha, that would be nice. Smart man, smart coach.
But he’s not available.
[Reply]
Hat trick Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 4:55 pm
@Hat trick, Interesting Video these guys are saying that Yzerman learned of Guy Boucher through none other than Luc Robataille a few years ago. Wow doest Luc work for the Kings? Did he mention Guy to DL at some point?
These guys make an interesting point about Yzerman being very confident in what he’s doing going out on a limb with Boucher. But geez is it wise to argue with Yzerman?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-jfgjIK3Tc&feature=relmfu
[Reply]
Mickey Keenan Reply:
June 2nd, 2011 at 6:13 pm
@Hat trick, There were actually a few mentions of Guy Boucher when the Kings hired TM. He was deemed not ready for prime time at the time, and that may have been true. But people were looking at least. One more year of Crawford, and we might have ended up with GB instead of TM
[Reply]
i want Leino in a Kings uni as long as he could be signed for a decent number. he has the kind of skill the Kings need and is only going to get better.
[Reply]
Stuart Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 8:48 am
@Dave, I agree totally Dave. 2nd/3rd liner with good hands and decent speed. And knows how to light the lamp in the playoffs!
[Reply]
Scot Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 12:38 pm
@Dave,
The Kings don’t need any more 2nd/3rd line players. The Kings have one bona fide 1st line player, and one or two fringe 1st line players, who are probably better-suited in 2nd line roles. The Kings need another bona fide 1st line player, or two. Ville Leino also is not known for speed, and the Kings lack speed in a big way. They need more speed if they want to compete in the NHL.
You look at all the teams that went deep in the playoffs this season, and speed is a big part of their game. Also, check out the top 10 or 15 point producers in the NHL this season, and every single one of them is a fast skater. Even our best offensive player, Kopitar, is not the speediest, though his speed is above average. Leino would not produce in LA like he did in Philly. Also, Brad Richardson NEEDS to be re-signed.
[Reply]
FKA PakiFro Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 3:34 pm
@Scot,
Agreed. Speed is a huge weakness for the Kings. San Jose showed a lot of it, then Vancouver showed them even more of it. I could not believe how deep and speedy Vancouver is. I knew they were strong in every category, but when they man handled the Sharks the way they did, it was just completely mind blowing. it started half way through game 1 and pretty much continued the rest of the way, save for game 3.
Here’s to the Kings getting players as fast as Richardson, and as skilled as Williams.
[Reply]
Dave Reply:
June 1st, 2011 at 4:43 pm
@Scot, i don’t agree that the first need for the Kings is speed – i believe it’s skill. Speed can be nullified with a good defensive system. Skill is the ultimate weapon that the Kings lack and Leino has some serious skill. i believe Leino is a top-6 talent that will produce 20-25 goals regularly if given top-6 minutes. Smyth is entering his last year and I’d love to see Leino signed to a deal to take Smyth’s top-6 spot. i know the timing would be better next year but if DL can find a way to acquire him now he should.
[Reply]