-There are those within the Kings family that need your help. Devin Freeman, a sheriff’s deputy and 2003 recipient of the Meritorious Conduct Silver Medal, is one of them. Deputy Freeman is battling terminal liver cancer and undergoing experimental treatments across the country and could certainly benefit from the continued generosity of Kings fans. Follow this link to bid on a Kings jersey signed by Pia Toscano, with proceeds going to the Freeman Family Trust. Bailey offered his support at a fundraiser earlier this month, and now we’re kindly asking you to help the cause as well. No one fights alone.
To donate directly, click here.
-Adam Kimelman of NHL.com looked back at the top games of the 2012-13 season, and the Kings were involved in two of them. In case you’ve erased the early season Detroit game or the double overtime conference-clinching Chicago game from your memory, you can learn about them once again!
NHL.com: Looking back on best games of 2012-13 season
-Need graphs, pie charts and statistics to back up the assertion that ESPN makes virtually no effort to cover the NHL? Click on the link below, and take a wild stab at which NBA team receives more than one quarter of SportsCenter’s NBA coverage.
Deadspin: What I Learned From A Year Of Watching SportsCenter
-The read of the week (err, last week…sorry, I was away) comes from Adam Gretz at CBSSports.com. The Kings are identified as a team that grades strongly in possession statistics and advanced analytics, and Surly and Scribe are referenced.
Matt Frattin, the player who seems to have been overlooked in this past offseason trade that sent Jonathan Bernier to Toronto, is another player who fits the mold of a typical Kings acquisition. He’s young, cheap and though hasn’t put up huge goal or assist totals, he’s coming off a season that saw him post great possession numbers while playing relatively tough minutes. He seems like the type of player who could be a contributor in Los Angeles even if he goes relatively unnoticed in the box score.
CBSSports.com: How the Los Angeles Kings Corsi’d their way to the NHL’s elite
-Speaking of Surly & Scribe, check out LA Kings News for comments on the Dustin Brown extension, the signings of Jordan Nolan and Trevor Lewis, and the ongoing discussion over Rob Blake’s return to the organization.
-Lance Pugmire reports on the Dustin Brown extension, which features an embedded KingsVision video.
LA Times: Kings’ Dustin Brown agrees to eight-year, $47-million extension
-John Hoven at Mayor’s Manor has been continually updating his salary cap chart, which contains potential line pairings for the upcoming season. It’s an excellent guide that you should keep on an open tab throughout the off-season hot stove discussion.
Mayor’s Manor: Salary Cap Crunch – Kyle Clifford or Trevor Lewis?
-Quisp also identifies the team’s salary cap crunch and reasonable ways to reduce the roster to 23 players.
McSorley’s Stick: Two players too many, $751,000 over the cap, and a big red dog dangling in the breeze
-The Royal Half and historian Spike Coffman team up for an excellent Throwback Thursday post as they analyze a 10-5 win over the Penguins from January 21, 1987. I attended my first Kings game two months prior. Also: check out the excellent Luc Robitaille assist to Sean McKenna to wrap up the scoring.
The Royal Half: TRH Throwback Thursday: Fifteen and Life to Go
-Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty identifies the top Dustin Penner quotes from his Kings tenure.
“It’s very stressful, driving the carpool lane without someone in the passenger seat,” Penner joked about the long commute from Newport Beach.
Playing along with the joke, Los Angeles Times sports columnist Helene Elliott asked if he had been caught by the California Highway Patrol for driving in a carpool lane illegally.
“We had a nice conversation,” Penner deadpanned. “You just pay the fine. There’s no demerits, your insurance doesn’t go up. It’s a slap on the wrist. But it’s good for the state, right, because there’s a budget crisis?”
Elliott continued to play the straight man role, saying, “So you’ve helped our state?”
“Willingly,” Penner responded.
Frozen Royalty: A Dustin Penner Retrospective: Penner-isms
-Langluy from Jewels from the Crown analyzes the seven players selected to Olympic camps. Under no circumstances should you watch the video at the bottom of the page that depicts an event that may or may not have happened some unknown number of years ago. Instead, watch this. Also, JFTC covers the Lewis, Nolan, Brown, Carcillo and Blake news.
Jewels from the Crown: Seven Kings named to Olympic camp rosters
-The KingsCast off-season video series continues with a discussion of the team’s systems under Dean Lombardi and a look at the new Pacific Division. There’s also coverage of the recent signings on the KC blog.
KingsCast: Los Angeles Kings Media Roundtable 2013 – Dean Lombardi Hockey (Episode 209)
-There’s good debate on this week’s All The Kings Men Podcast. And by “good debate,” I mean “I agree with John Hoven and get annoyed when people whine about Rob Blake.” All around good guy (though unfortunate Notre Dame fan) Jack Wilson also guests.
All The Kings Men Podcast: Getting Over It
-Player X analyzes the Kings roster and has updated his positional chart.
Hold the Point: Ladies And Gentlemen, Your Los Angeles Kings 2013-14
-I’ll have the Alec Martinez evaluation up later this afternoon.
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