Slava Voynov was assigned to Manchester of the AHL today, largely because the Kings have been carrying eight defensemen, they need help at forward and Voynov is the only defensemen who is not subject to waivers. Otherwise, Voynov did little to justify being sent down, and there’s a very strong chance that he will return when teams are allowed to expand their rosters after the Feb. 27 trade deadline. After a five-game stint early in the season, Voynov was assigned to Manchester in late October and returned to the Kings in mid-November. He had two goals and six assists in 28 games in his most recent stint, and regularly played 15-plus minutes. Voynov had been a healthy scratch from the previous three games, with his lineup spot taken by Alec Martinez. After practice today, I asked Darryl Sutter, who had praised Voynov in recent days, what his message was to Voynov after the AHL assignment.
SUTTER: “He’s just got to play. He’s a good player. That’s what is disappointing. I know how he feels. He’s got to play. It’s a numbers thing. We needed the forwards, right? That’s what you do. Then, in the next three or four weeks, that changes because of the way the roster changes after the deadline, and the movement you can make. This is an opportunity for those kids to prove themselves. Slava is good. I’m not saying that because he’s 22. He’s a good player. He’s every bit as good as defensemen that are playing, and aren’t playing, in this league.’’
Voynov did real well at his stint. Very impressive. He made a few bucks extra up with the big club and now gets to go have fun in Manchester before he gets the call-up for March.
Keep it up kid!
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alex101 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:23 pm
@Token, Thats interesting. Does he actually make more money for being called up?
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tornado12 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
@alex101, on a two way contract he does
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CB14 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
@alex101, Yup. He makes $787,500 per year in the NHL, but only $65,000 in the AHl. If you pro-rate that over the 33 games here he probably made $275,000 already this year.
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alex101 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 10:56 pm
@CB14, Man, should have stuck to hockey
Don’t count on VV being back once rosters expand. It was assumed the same would happen with Lokti last year and then he got injured in Manchester. I don’t understand why he got sent down. You needed the forwards, right? Um, no. You could very easily get rid of Trent I’ve done nothing all season Hunter and kept Voynov. Or Davis I never play Drewiskie. The fact that DL chose to keep DD2 on the roster instead of VV tells you all you need to know about how he wants his team to play, Defense first. Why else would we keep a guy who’s nowhere near as talented offensively as VV is when we DESPERATELY need more goals?
I also love how we need scoring so we don’t bring up our #1 scorer in Manchester. Reminds me of last year with King over Holloway. DL better hope these guys catch fire, otherwise he won’t be long with this organization.
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CB14 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
Looking at the numbers for VV, AM, and DD2 makes it even worse. VV has 11 points. AM and DD2 each have 2 points. Yet DD2 sticks around and VV gets sent down. Unreal.
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CL Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
@CB14, Except that it’s hard to compare output when VV played 26 more games… DD2′s goals-per-game is actually much, much better. 2 goals in 7 games trumps 4 goals in 33… On top of which, even though DD2 hasn’t played since December, he’s actually scored a goal more recently than VV (12/17 vs. 12/6)!
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CB14 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:37 pm
@CL, So using that logic DD2 is our second best goal scorer on the team since if he played everyday he would have scored 15 goals already. Sure.
CL Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:51 pm
@CB14, What logic? You manipulated statistics to make your point. I manipulated them differently to show that your point was silly. Statistics are fun.
Duncanz Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
@CB14, You didn’t take into account the first sentence of Rich’s article.
Satisfactorily explains for me why VV goes to Manchester.
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CB14 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
@Duncanz, No I didn’t, I just disagree with that way of thinking. That mindset was fine early in the season when it was assumed AM and VV were equal players. It has been proven that’s clearly not the case. Plus this stretch of the season is very important to this team and it would be best to field the best team possible. Not worry about who our 8th d-man is. What good is DD2 to this team when he has played 7 games this year and this team is stocked in defensive prospects? I like DD2, but he’s not needed on this team. Especially over VV.
KingsFletch Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 2:02 am
@Duncanz, guys… chill out! lol the reason we sent VV down is because he doesn’t need to clear waivers in order to be sent down. If we send DD2 or AM down, they would get claimed by another team and we’d lose them for nothing (not saying DD2 is worth much more than that). VV will be back soon, but we need to be celebrating that Stoll will be out of the lineup (sorry that it’s due to injury) but the guy has been awful offensively this year. I like DL’s move because it’s finally showing a bit of urgency and creativity. Hopefully one of these kids can come in and prove to be a goal scorer or at least show some value to a team wanting Bernier in a trade, etc. Let’s watch the game today and see what they do, then we’ll judge. VV will be back soon, don’t worry.
DEH Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:39 pm
@CB14, we need wingers not centers. The only way Cliche comes up is if lokti goes down.
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CB14 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
@DEH, That hasn’t stopped DL previously. LOL
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
@CB14, CB14 I usually agree with stuff you say but this time I don’t. One reason that VV went down is that AM will have to clear waivers to be sent down and VV doesn’t. The fact that DD2 doesn’t get sent down, even though he has to go through Waivers too, is that he is insurance if one of Greene, Mitchell or Scuderi get hurt. Tell me exactly how VV’s game is the same as one of those 3 versus DD2. If VV were to stay here he would be a healthy scratch based on numbers, be better for him to play in Manchester and then come back after the deadline when rosters expand. The fact that Lokti got hurt last year due to the same scenario has nothing to do with now. Yes there is a risk, but there is a risk in any situation. As for Cliche he is a center who most likely will play on the fourth line in the NHL. Tell me who are you going to put out of the lineup to input Cliche? We have Lewis, Richie, Fraser, Lokti. No room for Cliche.
CB14 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
@Jeff_R, I know VV’s game isn’t like MG, RS, or WM, but IMO it shouldn’t matter. This team needs to score more goals, and replacing VV with AM hurts their chances of doing so. Like I said a little higher in response to Duncanz, this is the time to put your best team out on the ice, not worry about losing your 8th best d-man. AM and VV are both capable defenders who could fill in for any of those 3 defensive minded d-men.
I’m not saying the Lokti situation last year has anything to do with this year, just that we shouldn’t assume anything. Saying he’ll be back once the rosters expand is an assumption, and something that if you’re giving as an excuse for sending him down, shouldn’t be given because it doesn’t always happen that way.
About Cliche, OK, how then do we explain not calling up Kozun? He’s not a center, he’s a right winger and is second on the team in points. The reason King and Nolan were called up has nothing to do with them not being a Center, and everything to do with them being thick and heavy, just like DL likes em. Same reason why King was brought up last year over Holloway. Having more centers than needed hasn’t stopped DL from stockpiling them on the Kings roster anyway.
DEH Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
@CB14, Read the next post by rich, the two that were called up are linemates. Why not keep the chemistry, right?
Stuart Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 8:29 pm
@DEH, very interesting take considering the chemistry issues on the current roster. I wonder if DL/DS feel that MR might be able to take a couple of kids, that have some jam together, under his wing and create their OWN #2 line??? Imagine if it worked? The upside is worth the shot since nothing is going to change around here on it’s own, bring up two blue chips to work under MR’s tutleage and pray to the HG’s. Maybe it won’t show anything for 2-4 games, but I’ll drink the koolaide this time, too. I’m too big a fan to not a silver lining
Duncanz Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
@Stuart, not to mention the genius timing of the move.
Look at the travel money saved by having the three players switch (via expressway) while the team is in N.Y.!!
: )
Stuart Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 8:46 pm
@Duncz, totally… somebody was thinking that one through! Must’ve been an AEG accountant. LOL
Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 9:05 pm
@CB14, nNother reason to pick Kings and nolan is that they are a +6 and Kozun is a -8, plus they are bigger bodied then Kozun. Sutter went and watched the Monarchs during the All Star break, he was probably impressed by King and Nolan more then Kozun at this time. Like others have said Amart and DD2 are most likely going to be shopped by the deadline and they will need them here to do that, as they most likely would be lost through Waivers for nothing. It is possible that Dean is working on a 3 way trade that could involve Amart or DD2 in a way (like how he got Justin Williams.) You never know. Voynov, unless traded, will be back. I also feel that Amart and VV are basically interchangeable and they aren’t going to be the difference between us scoring or not. I really don’t understand that part of your argument, I mean they only have 5-6 goals between them. I rather see what king and Nolan can do, couldn’t hurt and won’t truly change the fact that we can’t score or not. Who knows maybe they will chip in a few goals or best yet get Mike Richards going again. That is really the most important part of this call up, getting Richards going.
DEH Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
@Jeff_R, and Nolan can play body guard.
Christian T Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:36 pm
@CB14, Umm, it’s pretty obvious why he was sent down over DD2 and AM. As stated above it’s waivers. With the deadline coming you want to be able to package one of the 2. Both are good players who would be picked up quickly if placed on waivers. I expect one to be gone by the end of the month. Voynov will be back and hopefully King and Nolan can bring some new life to the team.
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Duncanz Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
@Christian T, Correctly observed and @CB14, we all love winning, but throwing away a good player/asset on an unnecessary waiver in the vague hope that the scoring could be boosted is beyond imagination. Reckless, in fact!
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Stuart Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
@Duncanz, yes, brutally correct.
Duncanz Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
@Stuart who dat?
: ))
CB14 Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Good thing AM was playing instead of VV, he played great. Sarcasm off. Told ya.
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Voynov will get his spot back……..U guys that think this is a dumb move..Its not…..Y give some other forwards a try to see what they can do…
Yea its not going to help the Kings out either way but its better to try then not to try at all..
Voynov has a better up side than Martinez but Martinez wont get pass Waivers .
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I would have like to see Bud Holloway get a chance with the Kings…I’ve never seen him play, but he seemed to have a knack for scoring goals (especially game winners).
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tornado12 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
@M.T. Netter, he is in sweden. we still own his rights though, so maybe next year his agent brings him back.
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Ezra Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
@tornado12, We definitely need to get Holloway and Moller back from Sweeden, IMHO.
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:02 pm
@Ezra, I think it is the same as Juniors. They can only be brought back here once there season ends. Juniors and Swedens league ends in mid March and then starts playoffs. Both the the team in Sweden that Holloway and Moller are on are doing well, as is Toffoli’s team in Juniors.
Another move by DS I don’t understand… VV is much better than AM!
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:13 pm
@outsider, not DS fault that he got sent down…
DS is a head coach…GMs say who comes up and who goes down.who gets traded and who comes to LA Kings…..
DS cant over rule Dean…
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Helvetica Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:16 pm
@outsider, It was clearly stated that he got sent down because he wasn’t subject to waivers and they wanted to bring up 2 forwards. It’s logistics and asset management. It’s very easy to understand.
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DEH Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
@outsider, don’t worry, once we deal a few D-men for wingers VV will be right were he was a few weeks ago.
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
@DEH, Also after the trade deadline rosters expand, so he can come up then even if no other defenseman have left by trade.
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Scott Egebjerg Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 7:56 pm
@outsider, Another move by DS you don’t understand? Do you actually read what Rich writes? If they sent any one else down they would have to clear waivers. Voynov can go down and the Kings won’t have to risk losing him. The last thing you want to do right before the deadline is lose any player for virtually nothing. BTW last time I checked DS is the coach and not the General Manager.
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voynov will be back soon i am sure…but you do have to wonder if there isn’t some showcasing going on for potential trades. i’m thinking of the youngsters but also possibly martinez. the kings do have some young talent that at some point will start to wither on the vine (not soon; but soon enough to think about starting to cash in some chips).
but i’m not anxious for another richards trade myself…simmonds alone has 39 points and schenn has a huge upside. we fans may be hating that trade soon enough, and for a long time thereafter….
yet it is clear–or clear enough–that the kings need some kind of spark to their chemistry…so what then?
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Helvetica Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:18 pm
@rontheking, That whole Philly team is scoring goals. It’s a different system with a bunch of talented players. If Richards was still there i’m sure he’d have a ton of points too.
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Duncanz Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
@Helvetica, Plus, in turn, they concede a boatload at their own end and Simmer (and Schenn ftm) are at the bottom of the Philly +/- chart.
Though you’d expect WS to continue to improve his numbers, and BS appears to be maturing ahead of schedule as it were, I’m very happy with the trade.
Injuries notwithstanding, it was an excellent trade for both clubs.
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:06 pm
@rontheking, DO you think that if Simmonds and Schenn were with the Kings they would have as many points that they have in Philly? What sucks is we could of drafted both Richards and Giroux. Imangine if we had both of them plus we could of gotten Parise. That 2003 draft set this franchise back 10 years. Imagine if we got Brown, Parise or Richards instead of Brown, Tambellini and Boyle.
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rontheking Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 7:13 pm
@Jeff_R,
I don’t know about simmonds–you’re probably right that he wouldn’t have as many points…although his output there is not inconsistent with his two years here–and he finished with a plus-22 one year here.
As for schenn, he’s only played in 26 games for philly because he was hurt early in the year, and so i’d have to say yes, he probably would have played all season here and would have about 20 points by now (i’m assuming he wouldn’t have gotten hurt here, because i’m sure god would have loved him more as a king and looked out for his ankle).
But who knows? It’s all speculation…we’ll never know–that’s the bee-itch of it. You really raised the regret bar too with your talk of Tambellini and Boyle…I do remember thinking Tambellini was a weird choice…that was Dave Taylor, right? Thank god he’s gone….
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Duncanz Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
@Jeff_R, What would be disappointing is if Kings drafted against scouting reports and ended up with losing out on great talent in that respect. I don’t know what the scouting reports were in those years …
Incidentally, in the 2003 draft Shea Weber (Nsh) went at 49, Colin Fraser (Phi) went at 69, Dustin Byfuglien (Chi) at 245, and Matt Moulsen (Pit) at 263. With their top pick, NYR took Hugh Jessiman at 12.
In 2006, Giroux went at 22. With their top pick, NYR took
Bob Sanguinetti at 21.
Point being that when looking ‘rosily’ back at drafts from years past, 29 other National Hockey League clubs are kicking themselves right now!!
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 8:52 pm
@Duncanz, Those 2 years our head scout was Al Murray who truly sucked at making pics. 2006 was also done by Al Murray, as Dean was just hired and didn’t have time enough to scout for the draft so he followed Al Murray’s advice and made the choices they did. Funny that Al was fired shortly after. I know that if Dean were running the draft both those years, we would of had much better picks. 2003 we picked Brown (who was a good pick) and then the other 2. This is a list of who was picked after brown we could of had….
Parise – 17th
Getzlaf – 19th
Kessler – 23rd
Richards – 24th
Perry – 28th
Now I know that the draft isn’t an exact science but Al Murray was horrible at scouting the draft and Dave Taylor wasn’t good at Managing a draft. Dave could of traded our two picks and moved up picking one of the list I mentioned above. Just like New Jersey did to get Parise. This draft set the Kings franchise back 10 years, as it was one of the deepest drafts in the last 10 years. Here is the 2nd round. The Kings picked Konstatin Pushkarev at #44. Picked 45th was Patrice Bergeron by the Bruins.
I don’t even need to mention 2006. But Al Murray picks Trevor Lewis when he could of chosen Claude Giroux. If Dean had had more time to prepare for the draft he would not of picked Trevor Lewis.
Duncanz Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 9:42 pm
@Duncanz, Jeff_R, yes, all these facts are in order, and I’ll admit to you, I wasn’t following the off the ice ‘machinations’ so much back then, and I’d never heard of Parise, Perry, Kessler, Richards, etc. Were they really ranked that much higher than TLoo? If so, what would Mr Murray’s logic have been in targeting TL?
Bernier, nobody can deny was a great selection, and he’s a GT so you set him apart. Maybe Mr Murray was better at choosing GTs …
Never-the-less, (and the point has been made before today on the blog), you can beat yourself and you club up if you go back and try to make science out of these lotteries.
Per my examples of Byflugien and Moulsen and your’s of Patrice Bergeron, every club in the NHL could be accused of being remiss. Most every club in the NHL could be much, much better, and most every club could be much, much worse.
Sooo, gotta look forward more, backwards less – same as with our position in the Western Conference.
= Incidentally, I wanted to pull you up on that one idea, but every other post of your’s here tonight was really good. I was getting over-exposed so I didn’t +1 you like I would’ve – plus, I know you don’t give much credence to your +/-, after all!
; )
Voynov is a sure bet to be back soon… He is a right handed shot, a valuable commodity amongst a ton of leftys in our system…
Right handers:
Doughty
Greene
Voynov
Kolomatis
Left handers:
JMFJ
Mitchell
Scuderi
A Mart
Hickey
Muzzin
Forbort
DesLauriers
Campbell
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
@Kings Win, Ducks Lose, Oops, forgot Davis Drewiske LEFTY
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I’m starting to think the professor is squirming and is ready to pull the trigger on some colossal trade. Hope Voynov or Loktionov are not involved. Lombardi should know by now he has hooked his wagon to the wrong train. Time to fire some guys out of Dodge.
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
@andy, We don’t need a big Colossal trade. Only one I would trade for is parise, but I don’t think NJ is going to let him go while they are still in the hunt. All we need to do is make 1-3 small trades. Kind of like NY did when they won the cup back in 93-94.
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Why in the heck the Kings would play Martinez over Voynov is beyond me. Martinez is a slug and no better than a 5-6 D-man. He gets easily exposed in coverage and has basically shown all that he will ever be. Voynov has a tonne more potential and like I’ve said a million times before I’d trade Doughty before I trade Voynov…
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:33 pm
@andy, VV is the only d-man that doesn’t have to clear waivers to be sent down… So, there you go…
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:10 pm
@andy, I lost you after you said VV is better then DD.
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JD Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 2:28 am
@andy, I guess we’re lucky your not the gm
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KingsFanintheD Reply:
February 12th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
@andy, Matinez is a solid D man. This teams problem is upfront and not Martinez vs VV
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It’s all about the 3 C’s..
Chemistry…Consistency…Cecondary scoring..
OK..2 C’s and an S..
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I don’t know how colossal the trade will be, but I think now that we can all expect a defenseman to be shipped out by deadline time. Why would they recall Voynov afterward just to be a number seven or eight defenseman again and possibly a healthy scratch?
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CB14 Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
@deadcatbounce, Same reason he was already up here for 33 games, Martinez has done nothing this year and would be the one sitting. AM has 2 points in 26 games compared to VV’s 11 points in 33 games.
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
@CB14, Showcasing A-Mart?
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deadcatbounce Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:41 pm
@Kings Win, Ducks Lose, This whole idea of showcasing somebody in order to trade them really amuses me. Please tell me, why would a team fighting for its playoff life not ice its best twenty guys and instead insert someone in the lineup in hopes of getting rid of him? Scouts know who’s doing what around the league, so it’s not like they’d need to get a better look at Martinez or anybody else before they made a trade. I mean, I can see it now where the Kings are working on something with the NYI, so the NYI says they’re really interested in Martinez so could the Kings please put him in the lineup so they could get a better idea of his game when all the NYI wants is to not have Voynov in the lineup. Yeah!
Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 5:49 pm
@Kings Win, Ducks Lose, Because defense is the least of our worries… A-Mart is a 100% legit 5/6 dman in this league, and doesn’t hurt us in the least (aside from the less than ideal 4L – 2R, where VV evens us out at 3 & 3)
@rontheking, Everyone talks about the goals and points Simmonds and Schenn have (and it’s not that I wouldnt like to have either on the Kings) but despite being on a team that scores a lot and has scored 17 more goals than they have allowed, Simmonds is a -4 and Schenn a -3.
The Kings wouldnt be any better if Stoll had 20 goals by now but his +- was -4. The team would have scored 15 more goals but given up 20 more while he was on the ice. Tho the plus/minus isnt perfect, you CANT just look at how many goals players score, but need to consider the line’s +- and also the offensive philosophy of the team as a whole.
It isnt that the Kings 2nd and 3rd line guys are bad cause the +-’s are generally okay, it’s that for some reason they cannot finish. I dont want guys who get 5 great chances a game but allow the opposition 7 more. Just some D-first guys who CAN score when a chance arises. We dont need a superstar, just a guy or two that can capitalize.
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:13 pm
@bbb7, If Stoll had 20 goals right now we would not be in the position we are in now. I understand what you are saying but, my opinion, +/- is a worthless stat and should really only be brought up when negotiating contract or arbitration. Otherwise it is useless stat.
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Jeff_R Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
@bbb7, I do agree with the fact that we should get a couple of mid level guys who can score and play well defensively. We don’t need to bring in a Parise type via trade at the deadline, more like a Ruutu, Stafford or Whitney type.
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I really wish people would read Rich’s stories before they comment on what happened. At this point of the year, a little over 2 weeks from the deadline, why would you risk losing a player to waivers, by trying to send someone down to Manchester that has to clear waivers. It seems pretty simple to me, but then again I read Rich’s blog and his stories before I comment.
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@Jef
I hope if there is a trade, DL goes for Jerome Iginla. Nobody else. Not even Parise, the spring rental. He will not remain in LA after 7/1 and I do not want to sacrifice assets for a rental.
Iggy has already cemented his legacy in Calgary. His # will be retired there. He needs to go to a team where he can help win the cup. No better fit for him than LA.
Come on, DL..use the Sutter’s connection to get him.
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“He’s every bit as good as defensemen that are playing, and aren’t playing, in this league.” really??? what exactly does that mean???
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