Could we be about to witness the next Columbus Blue Jackets circa 2008-09? Although the 2008-09 campaign didn't go as successful as planned for the Kings as they finished with the second fewest points in the Western Conference, there were many positives to take with the defeats. For one, the club finished just 12 points out away from the eighth seeded Anaheim Ducks and Kings fans were able to witness their goaltender of the future, Jonathan Quick.The 23-year old UMass alum got his first real taste of the NHL in 2008-09, starting in 41 games for the Kings after beginning the year in Manchester. Before getting the call to the City of Angels, Quick was in the midst of posting seemingly average numbers for the Monarchs with his 6-5-2 record and goals against average just under 2.70 before an injury to seemingly solidified starter Erik Ersberg struck and Quick got the call. Quick went on to steal the job away from Ersberg and finished with a 21-18-2 record with a 2.48 goals against average and 4 shutouts.
Going into 2009, he is undoubtedly the starter for the Los Angeles Kings and should continue to develop into a number one goalie for the Southern California based hockey club.
Other than Quick, it seemed that the team was lacking an added edge. Perhaps it was Sean O'Donnell's team leading +2 (yes, the highest +/- on the team was a +2.) or maybe it was the lack of depth on the entire roster. Whatever it was, it can be argued that the Kings are now looking to continue building off what they've already gained this summer.
Firstly, the team continued their additions to what appears to be a strong future when they drafted Brayden Schenn with the fifth overall pick in this year's draft. Schenn, brother of Maple Leaf defensemen Luke Schenn has been billed by scouts as a forward who possesses strong two-way capabilities along with a great work ethic. Schenn is coming off his best season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League where he scored 88 points in 70 games and finished his season with 18 points in 12 playoff games.
Schenn will be added to an already strong group of future Kings players of tomorrow and will be classified in the same breath as Thomas Hickey, Colten Teubert and Oscar Moller.
Following another successful draft, the Kings were entering the NHL off-season with more money than any team in the Western Conference to spend on additional scoring, blue-line help and possibly another goaltender to complement Jonathan Quick in the event of a Raycroft-like collapse.
The Kings wasted no time adding help on the woeful blue-line when they signed Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Rob Scuderi to a four year deal worth over 13 million dollars. The 30 year old Scuderi set career highs in assists (15), points (16) and +/- (+23) in 2008-09 and led the Pens in blocked shots with 164. Scuderi is expected to bolster the Kings already strong penalty kill, which finished with the seventh best penalty kill in the NHL.
After adding Scuderi, the Kings still needed another offensive threat to be able to score goal for goal with divisional foes such as the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, who possess two of most feared offensive units in the National Hockey League today. As time went on, the Kings couldn't keep sitting on their hands and striking out on free agent after free agent as they went out and grabbed Ryan Smyth away from the Colorado Avalanche in a trade.
The arrival of Smyth meant the departure of defensemen Kyle Quincey, a solid offensive defensemen but with the addition of Smyth the Kings are hoping to have created a very solid top six. Despite the large contract Smyth brings to Los Angeles, the 33 year old is coming off a rebound season where he scored 26 goals for the Av's.
Even with these additions, the Kings rumor mill kept on buzzing about one superstar on the block, Dany Heatley. The disgruntled Ottawa forward has publicly stated his desire to be traded repeatedly and seemingly the Kings are on a short list of clubs with the cap space available to add Heatley without sacrificing a pivotal player of today such as Anze Kopitar or Dustin Brown. However, it appears unlikely that Heatley will be bound for L.A and it's questionable as to whether he'd even accept a trade to Los Angeles after blocking a move that would've sent him to Edmonton, a better club.
For Los Angeles, the future of the crease seems to solely be on Jonathan Quick, but with Erik Ersberg being the current back-up option, the idea of adding a veteran netminder as an insurance policy should be on the agenda for Kings GM Dean Lombardi.
Two names that stick out are Blues goaltender Manny Legace and Bruins butterfly goalie Manny Fernandez. Despite both player's recent injury history, they remained unsigned and can likely be had for cheap money at this point. Fernandez is coming off a revival in Boston where he posted a 16-8-3 record with a .910 save percentage which included a torrid stretch of success in November and into December. For Fernandez, the downside comes with his injury history as an aggravated back held him to minimal playing time from January and onward.
Legace, the former All-Star netminder experienced a fall from grace in 2009 when he was placed on waivers and subsequently demoted to the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL. Before the demotion, Legace went 13-9-2 with a goals against average over three and a save percentage under .900. Although contracts for either seem very unlikely and foolish as of right now, an invitation to Kings training camp could prove to be helpful for the Kings.
When the Kings return to the ice for their 42nd season in the NHL in their quest for their first Stanley Cup in club history, their line-up should go as follows.
Ryan Smyth - Anze Kopitar - Dustin Brown
Alexander Frolov - Michal Handzus - Justin Williams
Brad Richardson - Jarret Stoll - Wayne Simmonds
Raitis Ivanans - Oscar Moller - Teddy Purcell
Extra Skaters: John Zeiler, Trevor Lewis
Jack Johnson - Rob Scuderi
Sean O'Donnell - Drew Doughty
Matt Greene - Thomas Hickey
Extra Skater: Peter Harrold
Jonathan Quick
Erik Ersberg
The additions of Scuderi and Smyth will certainly help the Kings as they begin to incorporate their youth and add veterans at the same time. Although they've upgraded since last season, the Kings still aren't deep enough to compete with the elite of the Pacific.
Players To Watch: The most blatantly obvious name is Jonathan Quick, who's looking to avoid an Andrew Raycroft like sophmore slump this season for the Kings. Another player to watch will be Ryan Smyth, who stumbled in Colorado for two seasons before being moved to Los Angeles. Smyth is expected to log top-six minutes with the Kings and will undoubtedly get his chances.
Prediction: 4th in the Pacific Division. 12th in the Western Conference.
No comments:
Post a Comment