As first reported by Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Kings have put forward Trent Hunter on waivers. I’ve also confirmed that with a Kings source. Teams have until 9 a.m. Pacific time tomorrow to put in claims on Hunter. If nobody claims him, he will be eligible to be taken off the roster and assigned to the AHL.
The move is designed to make room for Jarret Stoll, who is eligible to return tomorrow for the injured-reserve list, and it would seemingly be good news for rookies Dwight King and Jordan Nolan, one of whom would have been subject to return to Manchester upon Stoll’s return.
Always seemed like a nice guy. Good luck in the future.
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King Cobra Reply:
February 18th, 2012 at 6:29 am
@Tyler, We don’t need any more nice guys, we needs guys that can finish and put holes in the net!
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Guess this means Stoll is coming back and they don’t want to send down either young forward–or any defensemen, for that matter.
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VanKingsFan Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:44 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, I thought Loktionov played really well last night… until it comes time to finish (which all the forwards seem to have a problem with). But he was skating his ass off, and made some nice plays. I would love to see him centre a couple of scoring wingers.
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nykingfan Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:45 am
@VanKingsFan,
I agree.. I thought he looked really good with the puck on his stick.
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LA_1968 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:48 am
@VanKingsFan, The only forwards who had jump in the last 25 min were the non PK guys.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:59 am
@LA_1968, I think there might have been a reason for that.
rontheking Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:26 am
@VanKingsFan,
Lokti has really elevated his game–it seems like it’s almost impossible to knock him off the puck, and he is developing a really good pesky streak stealing the puck that has got to be really, really annoying to opponents….
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Eggplant Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:44 am
@VanKingsFan, Definitely. He’s a really persistent guy when it comes to taking the puck away from someone. And he’s a playmaker first, sniper second. If only he had wingers who knew how to score… Well, I guess that applies to every King center.
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HockeyOnlyAwaitingModeration Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
@Eggplant, Could you explain to me how you came up with the definition of “Sniper” for Loktionov??
Munchrat Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:49 am
@VanKingsFan, Loktionov is part of the problem. He sucks.
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pesus Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
@VanKingsFan,
I would love to see any of our centers play with scoring wingers.
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Beast88 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
@VanKingsFan, I’ve liked Loktionov in the past few games. He seems to be seeing the ice well and making good passes lately.
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LA_1968 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:46 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Whow is the other forward, besides Hunter, that will be either sent down or waived to make room for 71 & 74? Maybe they will send down just one of them.
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LA_1968 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:49 am
@LA_1968, Check that.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:01 am
@LA_1968, I was wondering about that too. Is this assuming Gagne comes back? I don’t know enough about the process. Don’t they get another player after the trade deadline, or something like that?
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quisp Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:24 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?,
no roster limit after the trade deadline
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:04 am
Thanks…so we get to keep Gagne and everyone else if/when he comes back. It’s a matter of getting past the deadline.
waterndirt Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:46 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, I concur. He’s coming around. In this day and age everyone want’s everything NOW. In my opinion he’s improved continuously, with a few minor set backs here and there but those are to be expected. His confidence with the puck has increased dramatically.
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Good luck Trent. Seams like things are being set in motion for some sort of trade?
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good luck Trent.
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so front page of the NHL section on espn has an article about what it will take for the kings to trade JJ… great, so we are officially looked at as “sellers”…
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KingsFan78 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:53 am
@ddc, Trading Johnson isn’t selling. If the Kings were to trade Johnson, it’s only for help on offense to win now.
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VanKingsFan Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:56 am
@KingsFan78, I am starting to think that with our defensive system, we don’t need high calibre, big name D men, and we could seamlessly transition Voynov to replace Johnson and not miss a beat defensively.
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FKA PakiFro Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:01 am
@VanKingsFan,
And Johnson seems to be aiming for a soccer net. I love the guy, and would truly hate to see him go, but he really has accuracy issues.
ddc Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:04 am
@VanKingsFan,
true, good points… i agree with both of you… and aside from quick or kopi, i’m fine with trading anyone if it’s gonna make us better…
Eggplant Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:46 am
@VanKingsFan, I completely agree.
Kenny44 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:34 am
@VanKingsFan, Bingo!!! The system is designed to make life easy for the D, not put them in vulnerable positions and have lots of support from the forwards. What sense does it make, then, to spend all your resources on D men? It’s like buying a super high-tech air force and then keeping it tucked away in hangars. (OK, mixing my metaphors a little here, but you get the point).
If you’re going to invest heavily in the D, you have to expect and demand GREATER returns from that heavy investment. We need to be activating the D, attacking puck carriers, using our best players to challenge the opponent.
Bama Kings Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:53 am
@VanKingsFan, The proper move is to move DD, not JJ. The return is higher and as pointed out, DD only has one more point than JJ over the past few years, at half the price.
As pointed out in this post, we don’t need expensive d-men due to our structure. So moving DD gets us more than JJ.
Law of Diminished return. I’m going to keep stating it till Kings fans learn it.
How much you wanna bet fellow insiders that this guy will get picked up by another team and start popping in goals…thats what always happens, isnt that right DL?
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nykingfan Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:48 am
@puck73,
well then shame on him for not burying the chances he had with the Kings. It’s not DL’s fault that he can’t score when he has the puck in the slot with nobody around him.
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Deke'r Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
@nykingfan, ….true that….and why would you care….
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Lake Forest Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:48 am
@puck73, (gets the razors out and cleans wrists)
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wavesinair Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:53 am
@puck73,
That was my first thought. But then again, I remember Sully.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:03 am
@wavesinair, Sully’s kinda looking like the lone exception….
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kenny Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:57 am
@puck73, LMAO 20 goal scorer here we come!!! I might just throw up
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mrbrett7 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:16 am
@puck73, And that’s DL’s fault how? Last I checked…coaches can’t score from the bench and GM’s can’t score from the press box.
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yetiman_oc Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:33 am
@mrbrett7, they can’t score but they affect how the players play with the style the instruct the players to play. the players are accountable for missing the scoring chances though and there has been plenty of missed opportunities from every king player this year.
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Eggplant Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:47 am
@puck73, Well, he got kicked off the Islanders, right? I assume it was because he couldn’t even score where most “King failures” such as Moulson score a thousand goals a season.
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Belexes Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:01 am
@puck73,
Brandon Segal? Marco Sturm? Seriously, Hunter did nothing to retain a spot.
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Trade for Nash !!!!!!
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Jorgen Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:11 am
@Alex, Nash is not the answer. He would join the rest of the team in the low scoring department. This friggin defense first mentality is the problem. There is a middleground to defense and offense…you give a little and take more instead of give nothing/take nothing.
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poe Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:35 am
@Jorgen, Too true,but the current coaches cannot see it!!!
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HockeyOnlyAwaitingModeration Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
@poe, I’m sure that Sutter sees it very well, why do you think he said what he said to Penner the other day. Sutter just doesn’t get to make the big calls, that’s why they hired DL.
He had a half an open net against Chicago (I think) at home earlier in the season and hit the side of the net. That one hurt him, and all of us!
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Eggplant Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:49 am
@vtecjunkie, Seems like such a random pick from his career with the Kings. Funny how that’s also the only thing I remember of him.
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Stoll is worthless, I hope they trade him when he returns. Hunter was worthless as well. Love Nolan and man Loktionov is going to be sick!!! Can someone please tell me why Kompon is still behind the Kings bench please?
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Perro Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 9:59 am
@kenny, The flames desperately need a centre and have LW depth. Maybe that could be the ground for somehting. He has nto found his scoring touch from last year but I would give Comeau a shot. Cannot be any worse than Penner.
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AZ King Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:01 am
@kenny,
Stoll is far from worthless. You have to pay attention to more than the score sheet on order to appreciate how he helps the team.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:04 am
@AZ King, I keep saying this. Still, I question myself when I ponder how much they’ve missed him while he’s been out. Seems they’ve played “similarly.”
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purple and gold Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:21 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, With stoll, penner, and richards shifting against the other teams top line, kopi, williams, and Brown, were getting a lot more scoring opportunities, not to mention pk help so they are not worn out at the end of games. Nolan, Richards, King has looked good but riding our scoring hopes on two out of 3 players who have less then 15 games between the two of them is not the best idea.
HockeyOnlyAwaitingModeration Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, Did you happen to notice how many faceoffs the Kings didn’t win the other night in crunch time?? They sure could have used Stoll or even Belanger.
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
@HOAM, Heah, I pointed that out somewhere else.
Jim Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:25 am
@AZ King,
So is it his propensity to take back breaking penalties that makes him not worthless (I believe he leads the team in minor penalties taken)? Or, how about his extreme tunnel vision that kills most offensive chances? Maybe his extremely low and value filled cap hit? How about his low, hard and consistently accurate shot that screams for deflections and rebounds?
Oh wait, he wins face offs at a decent rate so that totally makes up for his craptastic overall game, gotcha
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kenny Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:27 am
@AZ King, I really think he is worthless, he’s really only good at faceoffs and shootouts. He skates hard but he cant hold the puck, he doesnt score, he doesnt create any space or plays so to be honest I dont appreciate his game. It was so frustrating watching him on the wing with Penner and ricahrds (that line was worthless). He was only getting goals last year when we had him on the Powerplay.
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Deke'r Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
@AZ King, ….no kidding…..like last season when the Zues haters came out “he skates like he has a piano on his back”….now they’re all crying that we don’t have anyone who goes to the net…..you can please some of the people all the time or all the people some of the time…..but you can’t please all the people all of the time…
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….and it only took how many games?
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Kingsfanone Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:04 am
@Lake Forest,
Just what I was thinking.
But then, how long did it take for anyone to get rid of Moreau also? And what did it take?
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I feel for the guy, was a good solid goal scorer, until his knees went to crap!!! Good luck Trent!!
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Lake Forest Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:02 am
@Mike, until his knees went to crap OR got hired by the Kings
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The lack of scoring no one can explain correctly. We hear the same excuses over and over from Dl to DS to Captain Brown and down to all the players. But the ultimate responsibility lies with DL. Either fix the problem with new players, get rid of the players who cant find the net and are paid millions of dollors or you need to exit left stage right and the ownership needs to find a General Manager who can fix the problem. This is beyond pathetic, its a joke now.
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O.k., I’m probably going to be the only person that tells DL to not make the trade for Nash. Without going into a long explanation, the numbers don’t add up well for the Kings. Look up his numbers compared to all the other “elite” players in the league who make his salary. One other small note to look at is he is ten years into the league, most likely either peaking or getting ready to pass his prime. Do you really want to give up quality players to get Nash at his salary and maybe past his prime? Not me!!!!!
I know I may get blasted for my opinion, but I firmly believe this one player will not make a difference for our team.
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Perro Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:05 am
@spidey35, Only ovechkin has scored mroe goals then Nash in the last 6 years.I’d take him, but will not be too pissed if we cannot get him.
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spidey35 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:14 am
@Perro, Like I said, look at his stats, not just goals.
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Weasel Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:05 am
@spidey35,
I agree – at least not as trade deadline guy. I’d rather acquire him in the off season personally.
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Perro Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:07 am
@Weasel, There will be more teams competing for him in the offseason so the price will be higher. Also with a likely new GM in Columbus he may not even be available.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:09 am
@spidey35,
I like Nash, but I have to agree. He’s not going to flourish here either. It’s the system that constrains, but ultimately the players that can’t finish. Is there a player that fits that? IDK, but Nash wouldn’t help.IMO.
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Perro Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:13 am
@Kingsfanone, Hitchcock was a defense first coach in columbus and he still scored for him.
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CabbagesAndKings Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:35 am
@spidey35, I think Nash actually has “Difference Maker” tattood across his chest. He’s a goal scorer on Columbus and he’ll be a goal scorer on the Kings. Should we trade for him is another question all together — but if we did trade for him, have no doubt that he would single handedly reshape the direction this team is going in.
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KingMe20 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:04 am
@spidey35,
I disagree. As a wing, he’s created offense on a team where he’s had very litle help at all. He’s never had an elite center on his line to get him the puck. aside from an aging Sergei Fedorov whose best days were far in the rearview mirror), yet he’s still been one of the top goal scorers in the league since he started. Unlike Penner, who the Kings thought would be the answer last year, there are few questions about Rick Nash’s work ethic. Maybe his defensive game isn’t great, but that’s a tradeoff I’d be willing to make for a guy who knows how to get to the net and score. Plus, during the Olympics, he was a huge piece of their success, and he played with Doughty and Richards on that team. I think he’d be a great pickup.
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This is a good move. Hunter makes sense if the team is winning and he can be a clubhouse presence. But, on a struggling team talent is more important. Too bad for Hunter he didn’t do anything wrong, the rest of the team just didn’t play well enough to allow him a niche.
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Perro Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:06 am
@Weasel, Too bad we couldn’t get a 4th rounder or something for him. Can always use pick either to draft or to in trades.
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Jon G Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:15 am
@Weasel, Very well said.
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Steve C Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:16 am
@Weasel, Agreed. I just don’t understand what happened with the Kings all year in offense. But I think this may have been foreshadowed when Loktionov and Lewis were put in the 3rd line ahead of Hunter when Darryl took over despite their scoring troubles. In some ways it’s a good thing Trent is no longer with the Kings because he can get claimed by a team that can give him 3rd line minutes.
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Deke'r Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 4:50 pm
@Steve C, ….just hope it’s a team we play!!…
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Hunter and Moreau two players Dean put on the roster and he also did the penner and smyth trades and the simmer scheen richards trade. Not a good off season for Dean. Can you say so long Dean if the Kings don’t make the playoffs?
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CabbagesAndKings Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:29 am
@Alan, I disagree. Both the Penner and Richards trades were top notch in my opinion. Obviously the Penner trade turned out a bust — but they were both smart trades. Hunter and Moreau weren’t meant to propel us to the cup, but rather to fill holes in the lineup until we coudl figure something out — which is what they did.
I don’t think Dean deserves a medal or anything, but it’s hard to blame him at this point.
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mash-ola Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 1:34 pm
@CabbagesAndKings, I wholeheartedly agree. At the time, the experts and, what did Rich say 90% approval rating by THIS BLOG, it did seem like a good trade at the time. I even like the Mike Richards trade. Do the Kings miss Simmonds’ grit and scoring? Yes, they do. But you can sound like an absolute genius sitting back and looking at what’s past. But I bet many of you would be hard pressed to tell the blog what the Kings should do in the future, and what players/prospects, etc. will turn into NHL Stars. How many of you can say you can out-guess scouts and NHL experts as to which draft picks will pan out and which ones won’t. That’s the reality, people! And is this team REALLY doing that much better or worse since Terry Murray was fired??? I don’t think so.
No one can predict the future, so it’s easier to dwell on what’s past and done.
That said, yeah, I’m dissappointed in the Kings this season, All of us put such high expectations on this season that I had a feeling going into the season that we were bound to be dissappointed someshere… The season isn’t over yet, so I’ll reserve judgement until the season is over.
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Hunter’s gone? Wait a minute. From what I read on here the other day I thought Penner was to blame for everything wrong with the Kings and since he got benched we were now going to cruise to the cup and Nolan, King, and Richards were going to end up in a three way tie for the Hart Trophy?
Doesn’t matter at all because Hunter wasn’t a factor in even a single game, but what it’s hard to admit is that at this point in the season, the Kings are in absolute shambles. Can’t score goals, desperately calling up rookies in pairs, waiving and benching veterans, shopping what you called your future stars like Johnson in the hopes someone might give you even a retread goal scorer. It’s just about unbearable to watch.
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CabbagesAndKings Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:26 am
@40YearKingsFan, I think “shambles” is a pretty acurate description at this point.
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gene Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:29 am
@40YearKingsFan, There may be a couple of reasons DL did not put Pancakes on waivers also. 1. Would make him look like a fool. DL gave up a first and a player for Penner. 2. In DL’s mind maybe he can still trade Pancakes and get a draft choice for him. Pancakes will go down as one of the worst trades the Kings ever made. DL you are on the clock.
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rontheking Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:35 am
@40YearKingsFan,
Hunter’s a little easier to ditch than Penner who has a lot more pancakes on the grill that need offloading….
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rick Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:35 am
@40YearKingsFan, Totally agree with you. The ballyhooed 5 year plan has imploded. The really painful thing for me is that we STILL seem so far away from fielding a truly elite team. A new direction is needed. Mr. Lombardi and Mr. Sutter will be gone over the summer.
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Do you guys think we are sitting Penner so he doesn’t get injured while we explore trade options, like Yzerman is doing to Kubina? If so, great. But if not, I think we need him back in the lineup. He’s definitely not a scoring machine, but I’d take him over Lewis or Richardson any day.
If we do bring back Penner and Stoll – how are we going to sort out the lines? I sort of feel that King and Nolan really play well together and would hate to break up their chemistry. I am also starting to think our top line isn’t going to get it done and should probably be split up for a move balanced attack. I’d probably put Williams and Richards together, after that amazing shift they had together playing keep a way in the offensive zone.
I’m not sure where that leaves the lines though… something like?
Brown – Kopitar – Penner
Richardson – Richards – Williams
Nolan – Loktionov – King
Clifford – Stoll – Lewis
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40YearKingsFan Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:35 am
@CabbagesAndKings,
At this point I suppose you try anything and hope something clicks. Only change i would make is Westgarth for Lewis unless we really think we need someone to just skate around in circles.
Is it just me, or does it seem like the Richardson/Lewis experiment should be over?
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rontheking Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:37 am
@CabbagesAndKings,
I’m kind of wondering the same thing…why not play him?…do they think his lack of production is contagious? If so, it would seem like the whole team already has that disease….
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deadcatbounce Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:02 am
@CabbagesAndKings, Never heard such a ridiculous thing in my life. If the Kings wanted to insure that Penner wouldn’t hurt himself they’d make him stay in a hotel by himself with 24-hour supervision so he wouldn’t eat pancakes.
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Sorry it didn’t work out for you, Trent. A lot of people applauded when the Kings signed you, myself included, but it seems as if many of them turned on you when things started unraveling. Good luck and hope you can catch on elsewhere.
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Capt Jam Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
@deadcatbounce,
Preferably not a division rival. Would hate to see him become a Duck like Parros did.
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Although it would seem to be close to “writing off the season” so to speak, I think it makes more sense to wait until the off season to acquire the missing pieces we need. (I didn’t say scorer on purpose as I think we need more than just one guy)
I just can’t see anyone taking Stoll or Penner. Both are UFA’s which means “rental”. But who wants a rental that isn’t scoring? If we wait until summer, we lose almost 8 mil in cap space. That gives us a lot more options in trade / UFA.
If we were to get a high priced winger now, we would have to move someone other than those two to clear the cap space no? Why would we do that? I think we’re better off waiting until the off season to get the high priced talent we all want.
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CabbagesAndKings Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 10:58 am
@Mudfish4, Moore (and his 4 goals) was just traded to the Sharks for a 2nd round draft pick. Rental players have a lot of value for teams looking for a little bit extra to push for the cup — and they always overpay for them.
If Moore equals a 2nd rounder — how can you say Penner and/or Stoll doesn’t have a comparative value?
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Mudfish4 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
@CabbagesAndKings, Moore is a good example of what a Cup contending team could need in a rental. He’s a great defensive player that can help on the penalty kill and key defensive zone situations. Stoll could fit into this category because of his faceoff ability. Penner not so much.
Honestly, my comments were more directed towards using the posts that talk about using those two as trade assets to land a scoring player, not so much picks. Hope that makes sense now.
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KingMe20 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:09 am
@Mudfish4,
Taking Penner and/or Stoll makes sense for a team that’s looking to rebuild from the ground up. You take on a couple of high priced expiring contracts to move a high priced player so that you have cap room to go out and get a few pieces. I think it would make sense in that respect for Columbus.
I’ve also read in various places that Toronto and Buffalo have some interest in Penner to add some size, but that could just be more rampant baseless Internet speculation.
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deadcatbounce Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:12 am
@KingMe20, Until a trade happens, everything is just speculation.
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CabbagesAndKings Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:21 am
@KingMe20, I completely agree that Penner and Stoll should be enough to land a 2nd and a 3rd draft pick without to much trouble. That would give us a 1st, 2nd and 3rd going into the draft — instead of just the 1st that we have now.
Only having one pick in the first three rounds is really going to hurt our depth going forward.
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Mudfish4 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
@KingMe20, If they are UFA’s at the end of this season, it doesn’t make sense for a team wanting to “rebuild” to pick them up in trade as there is no guarantee they even stay with that team for next season.
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KingMe20 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
@Mudfish4,
That’s not what I mean, and maybe I didn’t explain it well enough. The team that picks Penner or Stoll up wouldn’t be looking to keep them long term. They’d want their contracts to expire *and* be out from under a long-term deal from their own player.
Hypothetically, let’s say it’s Columbus, and it’s Nash for Bernier, Penner, Loktionov, and a draft pick (not saying that would be the deal, but just as an example). They pick up small contracts in Bernier and Loktionov, but on July 1st, not only do they lose Penner’s cap hit, they also no longer have Nash’s either. That gives them a lot of cap room (roughly $10 million) to go out and pick up free agents who could help them while they try to stock up on players through the draft through other deals. It’s a deal that gives them flexibility going forward.
Maybe they don’t even use that money this year, and give their prospects a shot at the NHL lineup. After a season or two, once they’ve gotten a good foundation, they go out and start to add pieces. It’s kind of how the Kings were built to what they are today. You had a core group of young guys that they drafted. Then you add a couple of guys through trades. Then you start signing the Scuderis and the Mitchells to shore up things. Then you go out and you make the big splash in free agency with the cap room that you have.
Does that make it a little more clear what I was getting at?
Mudfish4 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
@Mudfish4, I get what you’re saying, but it still doesn’t make business sense to me. If they don’t want them for the long term and aren’t using them this season for a run at the playoffs / Cup, then why add them to the trade at all? There is no value in it for them.
Sorry if I’m being dense. Just doesn’t make sense to me why they would do that.
RobSD Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
@Mudfish4,
Writing off the season? You’re joking right? In 8th place with 24 games left? You’re joking right?
If that’s how you feel, you should cash in your chips and become a baseball fan.
Everybody is complaining so much… they put a couple of wins together and everyone will shut up.
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Mudfish4 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
@RobSD, Easy there tiger!! I’m not talking about throwing in the towel and going for the #1 pick in next year’s draft here. I’m talking purely from a “go out and get a high priced, big name scoring winger at the deadline” view. I just think it makes more business sense to go after the high level talent we’re looking for in the off season based on our cap requirement now and what we’d have to give up. I think we’d have to give up far less to get a quality scorer or two if we waited until summer. That’s all I meant.
However, based on the level of urgency I see in a lot of posts here, I felt many would feel not doing a big deal at the deadline would be “throwing in the towel”.
Oh…and I’m not complaining about the team. Find a post on here where I’ve ever complained about the team, firing people, etc. I don’t post like that. I’m a fan for life. Always have been and always will be.
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Mars Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 11:03 pm
@RobSD, I agree, a few wins would turn this site (and others) around, but we wear our emotions on our jersey sleeves. This is normal here especially this season.
I think that most here are die hards and want the best, we come here to … um. voice our displeasure. That is why I try to be respectful to other fans, view everyone’s opinion and hope we can all cheer and go nuts when we win a cup one day.
I am just happy to chat Hockey with other Kings die hards. It can be a pain in the ass to be a Hockey fan in LA. I know personally maybe 6 guys I can talk to about every game. Its a bummer, that is why I love it here, good or bad.
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“Wouldn’t mind if Hunter cleared waivers and ended up in Manchester…….as long as he’s not another Moreau (woops, I think I got a concussion a few weeks ago).
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Good riddance.
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Actually a smart move. The new rookies look more impressive, might as well keep them up. The other players I would be looking to do something with is Frazier, Lewis, Williams, Stoll, Penner, Drewiske and Bernier (although I like Bernier, I’m sure teams will be looking for good goaltending).
I still maintain that this season is not our season. We’re better off doing all of the big trades post season.
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pnm Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
@pnm, I meant Fraser (be nice if I knew how to spell).
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Mudfish4 Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
@pnm, Agreed!!!
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This should have been done months ago, he doesn’t look like a guy that can play at this level.
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Should have waivered Penner, Stoll, and Richardson.
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This issue of coaches/GM/players level of blame. My take is that the scorers are suffering from the defense first issue. So how will it help us if you get even Ovechkin, if our play book pins us against the boards 90% of the time. There isnt a lot of room for individuality because its like they are afraid of the phalanx collapsing.
And that is a system disease. The team truly needs the scorer, and probably wouldnt need the scorer if they were coached differently…so why upset chemistry between the players, when you could get a coaching staff that is better at seeing the realities of the moment, instead of using a rigid system.
If the offense has always been challenged, it has to be the system. These players have a modicum of talent and grit, but the plays they run make absolutely NO sense. If someone goes solo, and becomes creative, its seems so out of place and so never gets any support. Thats why 90% of our offensive zone time is so harmless.
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I wish him good luck, but getting put on waivers by the Kings (in our current state) is a huge slap in the face, wonder what happened with Moreau too. Doubt anyone would touch him either.
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