An earlier post discussed the nagging injuries that the Kings will (potentially) be able to heal during the eight-day break. What about the injuries that are keeping players out of the lineup? The news isn’t as good there, as there’s really no change in the status of Simon Gagne or Scott Parse.
Gagne suffered a concussion in the Dec. 26 game against Phoenix and, as of a couple days ago, had not participated in any hockey-related activities, and of late had been attempting to ride a stationary bike.
Parse had hip surgery on Dec. 2 and had been doing the early stages of his recovery at home in Michigan, but on Monday he was at the Kings’ training facility and at Staples Center, walking around on crutches. At the time of Parse’s surgery, his estimated recovery time was 4-5 months, so it’s not completely out of the question that Parse could be back on the ice at some point this season, but the odds aren’t in his favor.
How does this impact the Kings’ ability to make moves in advance of the Feb. 27 trade deadline? It does, slightly. According to the website capgeek.com, the Kings could take on approximately $3.6 million in salary at the deadline while staying under the salary cap. Then there’s Gagne. The Kings could get some cap relief by putting Gagne on long-term injured reserve, but that relief only comes if the Kings are over the cap. For instance, if the Kings took on $3.8 million in salary, having Gagne on long-term injured reserve would allow them to deduct his cap hit. The same would hold true for next season, if Gagne is unable to return, as he has a salary-cap hit of $3.5 million for next season.
Sorry about the “comments off” on this one. I have no idea how that happened. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to restore them, because I don’t know how I turned them off in the first place…
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jess Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 9:13 pm
@Rich Hammond, soooooooo, -yer sayin were all off moderation?
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wes Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
@jess, nice comedic salvo! so we’re _all_ awaiting moderation? that makes me feel a little better.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 7:19 am
@Rich Hammond,
And here I thought I was in the cornfield yesterday!
Whew! I’d never seen “comments off” before! I was sweatin’ it!!
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Kevco Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 8:34 am
@Rich Hammond, i think we all deserve a partial refund for this month
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Not sure if it’s just my browser, but it looks like the article cuts off before it’s done.
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kingsknight Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 7:37 pm
@kingsknight, Nevermind, I see everyone is already talking about it the comments section of the next article.
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Does Parse get another chance to play? He’s awesome when healthy. If Moreau could get 600k why not Parse at least for a year to see if his health holds up?
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mask0425x Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 9:13 pm
@5buckcolonnadeticket,
I am not a doctor, but i’m pretty sure that the kid has only two hips. Both have been surgically repaired…
I doubt that there would be a lot of takers for him in the off season unless he comes back for the playoffs and shoots the lights out (rather unlikely on both team and personal level). Would make sense to bring him back next year given he agrees for something close to minimum deal.
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wes Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 10:11 pm
@5buckcolonnadeticket, agreeing. If Scooter can be resigned, the price should be right given the injury history. but i won’t assume other teams will be inherently gun-shy. the guy is a chance worth taking, assuming he has a reasonably strong recovery. one of the best career shooting percentages among active NHL players, Parse knows how to close the deal at the net. like some others that have watched Parse, i’ve waited three disappointing years to see him take his place as a _healthy_ “top six” forward. i’d still like to see it.
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#unclewillyson Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
@wes, bahahaha, you’re joking right? How do you guys see parse as this clutch goal scoring sniper??? He hasn’t done anything for this team but suck and be injured
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Kevco Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 8:35 am
@5buckcolonnadeticket, UFA July 1, maybe some team invites to a try out. But he really has not produced much to date in the NHL other a burst here or there. Too bad.
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Saw NHL Live today and was watching the Habs beat up on the Wings and the Kings was mentioned on both shows.
The Kings might really consider in obtaining Jeff Carter to break out of that “bubble” and come closer to that ever elusive 2nd round of the play-offs. I agree with Deb Placey, at 5mil over 10 years is really “bargain” for jCarter? Yet there’s another addition to “Flyers West. LOL
What I’m concerned of, and is a legitimate concern, is if Jeff Carter is another “finisher” that will get into a scoring funk. I still believe that the reason many of our stars are in a slump is because we do NOT have a PLAYMAKER. We have plenty of guys that can score when in front of the net(finsishers) but yet we don’t have guys that skate the puck into 0zone(playmakers), and make those awesome cross-ice passes at least I’m not seeing it enough. Besides, these finishers aren’t going in front of the net ENOUGH!!!
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rogiesbackup Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
I mean Jeff Carter IS A BARGAIN at 5mil for 10 years.
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Mike Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
@rogiesbackup, you really think this team has a bunch of “finishers”?? If anything, they need a player that can “finish”. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen these guys either miss the net or shoot directly at the goalies chest!! They could be in better shape if they actually “finished” their chances. BUT, a dynamic play maker would be a nice addition too!
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MindGeyser Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
@Mike, Yeah, the team has quite a few finishers, but only four forwards that consistently move the puck around to get someone else in a position where they can put a shot up without looking directly at an unscreened square goaltender. They are Kopitar, Richards, Williams, and Loktionov.
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mask0425x Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 10:09 pm
@MindGeyser,
Please name a single top six forward not named Brown who is a finisher. No cheating please, Parse and Gagne don’t count for obvious reasons.
Here’s a crazy thought… What if DL swallowed his pride and admitted Penner fiasco and tried to trade him … Ok, buckle up kids, back to Edmonton for… gasp, Ryan Smyth. Would have to throw in a high pick or a prospect as well. Smyth makes just $250k more than Penner, so we’re taking maybe $60k difference around trade deadline. Everyone knows that Smyth I’d just a rental who will go back to Edmonton next year.Penner may actually want to go there to regain his scoring touch.
Sounds like a win win going forward, just try to forget the other two trade s ever happened. Hey, told yes it was a crazy idea
mask0425x Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Sorry about all the typos – stupid smartphone and it’s autocorrect!
The Puck Stops Here Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 8:27 am
@Mask, What makes you think Edmonton has ANY interest in Penner, or that they would trade Smyth, OR that Smyth would WANT to come back to LA. He left because he didn’t want to be here. I love when people talk hypothetical trades that make zero sense for the other team who would be involved. Patience, people. Penner is here until his contract is up at the end of this yea, and Smyth is never coming back to LA! Live with it.
rogiesbackup Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
@Mike, My point is the offense can’t even get STARTED because we don’t have a player other then Kopi/Doughty/jjohnson who can HANDLE a puck entering the 0zone without losing it, and even these guys pass the puck WAY too soon. They need to hold onto it longer and wait for people to get into position coming into the Ozone.
Example of guys that are/were great playmakers: Benn, Ovechkin, Malkin, Nash, Selanne, Kovalchuck,Gretzky, Dionne.
Finishers: Corey Perry, Iginla, Joe Thornton, Phil Espo, Charlie Simmer
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rogiesbackup Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 12:12 am
Play makers: Great skater, Excellent stick handling abilities, uncanny ability to know fellow team members location.
Finisher: Average skater, superb hands, shot accuracy, great positional skills; a puck magnet and tremendous amount of luck.
Raunq12 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 10:52 am
@rogiesbackup,
You forgot Luuuc
Duckbasher Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
@Mike,
I think what you’re saying is… we need a guy like Ziggy Palffy was? A guy who could skate through/around the defense?
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rogiesbackup Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 9:35 pm
@Duckbasher, Exactly!!!
Hat trick Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 9:46 pm
@rogiesbackup, Really no playmakers? Are we talking about the same team here? The LA Kings?
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DY Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
@rogiesbackup, Don’t see it happening, but it would be great to re-energize Richards and add some scoring depth.
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rogiesbackup Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
@DY, I hope it doesn’t happen because I would rather the Kings go after a play maker.
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It’s time to let both those guys go. Gagne isn’t riding a bike by now he’s pretty much done for the season if not his career. No use keeping Parse around to wait up to heal. It’s not like he’s the next Stamkos or Patrick Kane. DL needs to find a way to get Parise over here without letting too much go. Shoot get rid of Pancakes if you have to. Going from 20+ goals last season to under 10 this year no sense in keeping him around.
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Sucks bought Gagne, but Parse should have been another teams problem 2 years ago.
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mask0425x Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
@kovalking96,
You mean like Moulson, Purcell and Boyle?
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yetiman_oc Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 10:32 pm
@kovalking96, Gange already was someone else’s problem until the kings gm signed yet another injured or injury prone -once upon a time good player.
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Unfortunately, both careers are likely over…
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rogiesbackup Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 11:31 pm
@DY, Disagree. I think you’ll see more players playing into their forties in the near future.
Major injuries, especially concussions, are being treated more carefully and thus making the recovery time longer in turn making the situation “appear” grim.
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Rich – saw a tweet from TSN’s Bob McKenzie that LA has put Cam Paddock on waivers. Do you have any more info about that?
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A friend and I have had this dicusssion and have no answer. At the Trade deadline, lets say the Kings trade for a $4 million cap hit player. That is the cap hit for the full year, but the Kings only have him for 1/4 of the season. Does their cap for the season go up by 4, or is the hit prorated to 1 million for the remainder of the season? I
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Parse is a total Bust. Unfortunately Simon looks to be the same, all that talk about the Kings depth has been a complete joke. I suppose if you had a coach that understood how to attack for the last three years then Moulson and Boyle and even Purcell might have given more evidence of it but…
Whats the use. Woulda shoulda! Why did we give up Cami again? Because he wanted 3.5 Mil???
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Ducksuck Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 10:43 am
@johnjuan, Purcell is terrible! I live in Florida now so I get all the lighting games and they did a huge story on him like kings vision (where did hiedi go?), and he just fits in their system. Gagne didn’t fit in their system and he did and does with other teams. Only thing I will say is Dustin Penner had I forget how many points, but was 1st or 2nd if I remember correctly in scoring. Now you see a 4 million paid player on a good team. The oilers suck so he was the man. Isles suck moulson is the man. Brain Boyle another bad player only got drafted high because of his size and now that the rangers are doing good we wish we could have him? I like Kopitar, Richards, the all center line. He isn’t needed in the line up and players that have played great now can’t score. Stoll, Penner, Kopitar, Richards, Loki, Doughty, and the players that have just of late turned it around Williams, Brown, and Clifford. Name someone on the team the you would trade for one of those 3 players you said. I rather keep Frasier, Lewis, Loki over any of those guys anyday. Only players that you would want to see traded no one wants. Sorry we have them for the rest of the season. Penner and Hunter.
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Duckbasher Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
@Ducksuck,
Hunter’s salary is one that could be absorbed should they waive him (and no one else takes him). Penner… he’s like that brand new Daihatsu someone bought and then tried to sell after a year. Only worth about 1/3 of what you owe. With that he’s ours for the remainder of his contract. Hopefully he can contribute (some). One never knows, he might score the biggest goal in LA kings history. We all know he’s capable… he’s on my team (the Kings) and I still hope for him to “bring it”. Go Kings!
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Everyone’s an expert in hind sight.
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Duckbasher Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
@KC23,
So true.
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KingMe20 Reply:
January 29th, 2012 at 1:59 pm
@KC23,
After I read that, I knew you were right.
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counting on a player made of glass like Parse for the playoffs is a joke… If he can’t survive the regular season without shattering, how can you count on him to make it thru the playoffs…
Let’s not ignore the face that Parse will likely be very timid due to fearing another set back…. send him to Manchester and get his mojo back there and if he gets thru that then start with him next season…
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Penner needs to go for sure, absolutely terrible. His large size is nice if he is actually using it but for a top six LW we need scoring and the ability to make a pass, plus a little speed would be nice. Besides Penner, the Kings could have Jonathan Bernier as a trade chip. He hasn’t put up the great numbers like Schneider but he hasn’t had the minutes to play either. a team like New Jersey is looking for a goalie after Broduer since they don’t have anything that hot in the farm. Penner and Bernier, with a top prospect or draft choice could land Parise….. which would be amazing. Then lock him up on a long term contract. You bring up Zatkoff as backup, put Parise on the 1st line, and you have a contending team for sure.
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