June 17: Monday morning links

-Andrew Gastelum catches up with Danny Zollars to reveal how the Los Angeles Kings game presentation is executed. “During games, a DJ sits next to Zollars in tight quarters with an organ keyboard and turntables in front of him, prodding Kings fans. And below the keyboard lies the switch to the goal horn, protected by a see-through case as if it were connected to an ICBM missile.”
LA Times: The man behind the curtain at the Kings’ Staples Center games

-John Hoven has all you need to get caught up on Bud Holloway. There’s a good timeline and some quality interviews here.
Mayor’s Manor: Kings preparing for return of Bud Holloway?

-Gann Matsuda wraps up the team’s sentiment in the wake of the conference finals defeat to Chicago. The bar has been raised quickly in Los Angeles. “Once you set the bar up there, then that’s your bar,” Darryl Sutter said.
Frozen Royalty: There’s A Silver Lining In LA Kings’ Failed Defense Of 2012 Stanley Cup Championship

-Jonathan Davis takes a look at the challenging summer that lies ahead for Dean Lombardi.
FOX Sports West: Kings front office has tough choices to make

-The Fourth Period confirms that the Kings and Slava Voynov are close to a contract extension.
The Fourth Period: Kings, Voynov close to new contract

-Niesy takes a balanced look at an important “to do” on the Kings’ off-season check list. Read about Jonathan Bernier’s likely last few weeks as a part of the organization, and the need to trade him before another team attempts to sign him to an offer sheet.
Jewels from the Crown: The Kings’ Offseason To-Do List, #1: Trade Jonathan Bernier

-The Royal Half offers thanks and appreciation to his fellow bloggers and sees the broad picture in a 14-month span in which the Los Angeles Kings won 25 playoff games.
The Royal Half: Now 1 Season Without a Stanley Cup

-Keith Korneluk and Chris Kaliszewski are eloquent in capturing that middle ground of sentiment following a character-driven run towards a conference finals loss by a beat-up-yet-willed team that had its sights set on a second consecutive Stanley Cup. This is an entirely unfamiliar feeling for Kings fans.
KingsCast: Episode 204 – The Los Angeles Kings Road to Repeat is Over

-KingsCast is also recapping the #TopTen moments of the LA Kings season.

-More KingsCast. Keith joins The Royal Half and Jesse Cohen in a discussion of “the face” of the franchise.
All the Kings Men Podcast: Who’s the “Face of the Franchise”?

-Bobby Scribe has a news roundup and little patience with Tim Leiweke. Also, yes, Jonathan Toews does look “VERY” Amish in his playoff beard. There are a few bad words here, so if you’re frightened or appalled by that sort of thing, I don’t know, stay off the internet or something.
Surly & Scribe: John, Jarret, Justin, Jacob and That Dick, Tim Leiweke

-Speaking of profanity, Get’rDunn uses very little of it in his recap of who-wore-what to the NHL Awards presentation. Three snaps!
Battle of California: The 2013 NHL Fashion Awards!

-Hildymac wrote a separate LA Kings eulogy from the one that received tepid reviews on Puck Daddy. This one is better. Though The Royal Half comes close, nothing will ever, ever touch Second City Hockey’s (see: The Committed Indian / @RealFansProgram) eulogy of the Vancouver Canucks after their Game 7 defeat ended the 2010-11 season. That is your required reading for the day, Kings fans. Hildymac’s second Kings eulogy is a good read as well.
St. Louis Game Time: The Other Los Angeles Kings Eulogy

-Derek Stykalo examines whether the Edmonton Oilers would be interested in Jonathan Bernier.
Oil on Whyte: LA Kings to Trade Jonathan Bernier

-Iain MacIntyre updates the coaching search for the Vancouver Canucks, once again a Kings divisional rival. “Los Angeles Kings’ assistant coach John Stevens, long considered the front-runner for the Canucks’ job, also met last week with Gillis. But the volatile Tortorella may be a better fit with the Canucks short-term, as a new coach will be under immense pressure to win immediately with an aging, flawed lineup that both Gillis and Vancouver owner Francesco Aquilini believe should challenge for a Stanley Cup next season.”
Vancouver Sun: Alain Vigneault agrees in principle on contract with the New York Rangers

-Elliotte Friedman also has an update on Vancouver’s coaching search. Tortorella is expected back in for a second interview, while Stevens is also believed to have a second sit down lined up.
CBC: Price is steep for top picks in NHL draft

-It’s not hockey related, but here’s an article from The Onion coming to life in China, courtesy of this New York Times report. And they didn’t even need to use the NBA Finals as a distraction.