Richards to NY; Kings Land Gagne

Hours after center Brad Richards signed a 9-year deal with the Rangers, spurning the Kings and two other teams, the Kings turned around and inked LW Simon Gagne to a two-year deal worth $7MM, reuniting him with recently acquired Mike Richards.

Gagne, a 40-point scorer last season in Tampa and in 2009-10 with Philly, will get $4.5MM from the Kings next season, and $2.5MM in 2012-13. He tallied 74-points for the Flyers in 2008-09. Gagne will like play on the second line with Richards in the middle and Justin Williams on the right. First line should be Anze Kopitar in the middle with Dustin Brown and Dustin Penner on the wings.

This is a solid deal for the Kings as they get a veteran scorer and add some depth. If Gagne stays healthy, he should do well lining up with Richards.

Kings Pull Off Blockbuster Deal

Kings have acquired center Mike Richards from Philly.

Philly gets prospect Brayden Schenn, RW Wayne Simmonds and a draft pick.

2011 Entry Draft is tomorrow.

Could this be a precursor to something else?

Rumors have it Ryan Smyth wants back in Edmonton for personal reasons.

We shall wait and see.

As for Richards, he is signed through 2019-2020 season.

He's played six seasons in NHL, averaging 70 points over last four.

I'm still on fence over this deal because of length of his contract and his reputation.

But here's hoping Richards can shed that reputation and fit in and help this team.

Kyle Clifford should slide into Simmonds' slot in lineup.

But it leaves a big hole at RW on 3rd line.

Let's hope Kings GM Dean Lombardi has other plans.

**********

Congrats to Kings Captain Dustin Brown on winning NHL's Foundation Award at last night's NHL Awards Show. The Foundation Award is given to the player who applies the core values of hockey to enrich lives of others in their community.

In Case You Missed It...

Check out this incredible pass from Anze Kopitar to Dustin Brown in last night's Kings 4-0 shellacking of the Sharks...

Mile High Rout

Well, that was a fun night. Kings 5, Avs 0. Dustin Brown with two goals. Marco Sturm made his Kings debut. Life is good again in Hockeywood!

Great Start

You kind of had a feeling it could be like this. This Kings team is too talented to not be this good. The Kings picked up their sixth win of the season in eight games with a 3-2 shootout win tonight in Minnesota.

The strange thing is they're doing it with injuries slowly beginning to pile up and with two forwards earning game misconducts in each of the last two games. But it hasn't slowed down the Kings.

Drew Doughty was placed on injured reserve today with what's being called an upper body injury, though we already know he suffered a concussion several games ago. And team captain Dustin Brown, the team's leading scorer early in the season, received a game misconduct in the second period after he lowered his shoulder to hit Wild forward Antti Miettinen while he was Miettinen was taking a shot. Brown's shoulder connected with Miettinen's head and shoulder. Wayne Simmonds received a five minute major in Saturday's game at Colorado.

But none of that mattered as the Kings continue to find ways to win games. They've won five of their last six games. Their 12 points in the standings are second most in the NHL.

And the power play finally found it's groove in tonight's win.

Brad Richardson recorded the first hat trick of his career when he netted three goals in the 6-4 win against Colorado on Saturday night.

While Doughty was placed on IR today, defenseman Matt Greene was activated before Saturday's game and played in tonight's game as well.

Next up for the Kings, they travel to Chicago to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions on Wednesday.

New Season

It's that time of year again. The weather is changing outside as summer turns into autumn, and 30 NHL arenas around the North America are preparing their buildings for a new hockey season.

It's been six long months since the Kings were eliminated from the playoffs last season. In the time since, the Kings prepared for what would be very high expectations in the upcoming season, and rightfully so. The Kings finished as the sixth seed out West with 101 points last season before being ousted by Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs, and with the bulk and core of the team returning, the expectations are sky-high.

The Kings were never able to land their much-coveted top-line scorer such as Ilya Kovalchuk, but they were able to add other pieces which many feel could make this team better than last season. For starters, left winger Alexei Ponikarovsky was brought in to add depth to the middle lines, and perhaps the most important signing of the off-season, defenseman Willie Mitchell was added to a very solid and arguably one of the top defensive cores that already includes Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson and Rob Scuderi.

On offense, Ponikarovsky joins Captain Dustin Brown, who returns along with Ryan Smyth, Anze Kopitar, Brad Richardson, Wayne Simmonds, Jarrett Stoll, Justin Williams and Michael Handzus. Hopefully, scoring goals won't be an issue this season, and a healthy Smyth and a more consistent Kopitar should help.

Jonathan Bernier, who signed a two-year extension today, will back-up Jonathan Quick in net for the Kings this season after Erik Ersberg was placed on waivers. He eventually cleared and was sent to Manchester.

With the high expectations comes added pressure for the Kings to improve on last season's 101 points and go deeper in the post-season. Both ESPN and TSN have the Kings ranked fifth in their pre-season Power Rankings, so the recognition is definitely there.

The keys for the Kings will obviously be the same for any other team: staying healthy. But with a year under their belt together, the defense should be better with the addition of Mitchell, and that should make life a little easier for Quick down the stretch. Offensively, the Kings hope Brown steps up from his down year and contributes more in the way of putting pucks into the net. And hopefully the addition of Ponikarovsky will help ease the loss of an inconsistent Alex Frolov, who took his skills to the Big Apple as a free agent.

All in all, the Kings continue to grow as a team. General Manager Dean Lombardi has a done a nice job of drafting and tweaking the roster to build a solid future for the Kings, and hopefully they get over the hump this year and are playing beyond April, and even May under the guidance of Head Coach Terry Murray.

Back on Track?

Well, we can only hope after the last two wins.

The Kings had struggled all season against Nashville and Vancouver. For some reason, they just couldn't find a way to beat either team. But in the last two games, with Jonathan Bernier in net giving Jon Quick a little rest, they found a way. On Tuesday, Bernier pitched a shutout as the Kings beat the Preds 2-0 in Nashville.

Last night's game was even more impressive. In fact, it might have been their best game of the season, at the most important time of the season.

The Kings erupted for five goals to start the game before the Canucks ever got on the scoreboard, and with the help of Dustin Brown's second career hat trick, the Kings walloped Roberto Luongo and the Canucks 8-3 at Staples.

The Kings dominated this game from start to finish on both sides of the ice despite Bernier giving up two quick goals to Vancouver in a 39 second span in the middle of the second period.

They did lose Jeff Halpern in the process, unfortunately. He took a hard check into the boards in the first period on a charge from Tanner Glass that resulted in the infamous upper body injury. There appeared to be contact from Glass to the head, which resulted in a power play for the Kings. Glass could receive additional supplemental discipline from the league for the hit.

Meanwhile, Bernier, who was called up last week to backup Quick after Erik Ersberg suffered an injury, was sent back to Manchester this morning. Ersberg will return Saturday as Quick's primary backup.

Last night's offensive outburst, coupled with some stingy defense was exactly what the Kings needed, even as they followed up a pretty impressive win in Nashville two nights earlier. The important thing for the Kings is to not let up. Keep going forward. Keep up the intensity from last night, as well as the sense of urgency.

Next up for the Kings, two against the Ducks: Saturday at Staples, next Tuesday in Anaheim.

Quick Makes History

Record-settings seem to be going around L.A. quite often these days. With his 35th win of the season tonight, Jon Quick became the single-season winningest goaltender in Kings history. Quick now also leads the league in goaltender wins heading into the Olympic break.

Quick is one of three goalies for Team USA, which kicks off Olympic competition on Tuesday afternoon in Vancouver vs. Switzerland. He will be joined by teammates Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson (more on Johnson's journey coming soon) on Team USA. Drew Doughty will represent the Kings for Canada, and Michal Handzus will get the honor for Slovakia.

As for tonight's game, Quick and the Kings shutout Colorado 3-0 with goals from Brad Richardson, Anze Kopitar and Oscar Moller. After the Ducks snapped the Kings franchise-record nine-game winning streak on Monday, the Kings lost to lowly Edmonton on Thursday night in a shootout. But they got back in the win column tonight and head into the break in fourth place in the Western Conference with 78 points. The 78 points is also fifth-most in the NHL. Three of the top five teams in points come out of the hotly-contested Pacific Division.

Streak Reaches 8

The Kings continue to roll. Tonight, in another Freeway Face-off against the Ducks, the Kings staved off a third period Ducks rally, and won 6-4 with two late goals of their own out at Staples Center.

Jon Quick became the league's winningest goalie with his 33rd win of the season, and Anze Kopitar added two more goals and two assists, including a pretty move on the power play in a little one-on-one with Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller for the Kings sixth goal of the night. With the win, the red-hot Kings moved into a tie for 4th place in the West with Phoenix with 73 points.

The Kings looked like they were gonna roll to an easy win when the 3rd period got under way. They had a comfortable 4-1 lead early in the period, but the Ducks answered with three goals of their own to tie before the midway point of the period. Talk about giving me, and every other Kings fan a heart attack! But the Kings shut them down defensively and went back to work offensively with about 5:30 left when Dustin Brown notched the tie-breaker.

The Kings are really playing well and with confidence while playing through adversity, and when they fall behind, they don't crumble under pressure to get back into the game as they have in recent years. They've really learned to trust themselves and each other as a unit under tough circumstances.

Chalk up another win for the Kings when they lead after two periods. They improved to 23-0-0 in those games.

The two teams meet again next Monday down in Anaheim to continue the Freeway Face-off. First, the Kings host Detroit on Saturday.

*****

It had been widely reported and speculated that the Kings were one of the leading candidates to land Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk in a trade in recent days. Yesterday, Atlanta's GM Don Waddell told Kovalchuk to start packing his bags, that he would be traded "in a few hours or a few days." Well, today, after Waddell announced that Kovalchuk had turned down a 12-year, $101MM contract extension from the Thrashers, he was eventually traded to New Jersey for three players and a first-round pick.

Maybe a lot to give up for a two-month rental (or more depending how far the Devils parade through the playoffs), but they were willing to meet Waddell's demands. I'm just glad the Kings didn't cave in to his demands. It could have cost them any number of players, and it didn't make sense to me for them to break up a winning chemistry. They're playing very well right now as it is without Kovalchuk.

Now the question is can the Devils sign him now before he becomes a free agent after the season, or can they re-sign him once he does become a free agent? Time will tell. It's always possible the Kings could make a run at him if he does hit the market.

Kings Rebound Nicely

After the Kings got slammed on Tuesday 5-1 against the Sharks, their second loss to San Jose on the home stand, the Kings rebounded nicely to end the home stand on a high note with a 4-3 shootout win against a very good Buffalo Sabres team.

The Kings got a lone goal from Wayne Simmonds against San Jose, while Brad Richardson, Sean O'Donnell and Ryan Smyth netted the goals against Buffalo. Smyth's goal tied the game mid-way through the third period that would eventually send the game into overtime. Neither team score in the overtime, but Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar netter the shootout goals against Sabres netminder Ryan Miller.

Jon Quick took the loss against the Sharks, but got the win with 26 saves against Buffalo. And Drew Doughty continues to play very well on both ends of the ice.

The Kings currently stand in third place in the Pacific and seventh overall in the Western Conference with 59 points, just four points back of Phoenix who are second in the division and fourth overall in the conference, and just one point ahead of both Detroit, tonight's opponent as they begin a five-game road trip, and Calgary.

Now the real test starts.

Long Layoff

When we last spoke about a month ago (and my apologies for the long layoff on my part) the Kings were in the midst of an eight-day break between games. When the mini-vacation started, the Kings were riding high, leading the division and the conference despite a 3-1 loss in Calgary heading into the week off. But during the layoff, the other teams behind them in the standings continued to play, and they continued to win. Before we knew it, when the Kings resumed play on December 26, they picked up where they left off and started the stretch losing the first three games in Phoenix, against Minnesota, and in Calgary.

When they did resume play, the Kings got Ryan Smyth back from injury. In those three games, the Minnesota loss was probably the toughest. Down 3-2 late in the game, the Kings tied the game at 3-3. But just a few seconds later, former King Eric Belanger netted the game winner for the Wild and the Kings woes would continue. In all, the Kings lost four in a row before getting back on track and getting revenge on the Wild with arguably their best game of the season in a 5-2 win in Minnesota on New Year's Eve.

The Kings followed the Wild game with two very impressive wins to start the new year, edging Washington at home 2-1, and slamming the Sharks 6-2 in the Shark Tank up in San Jose. After that win in San Jose, the Kings hosted Detroit to start a seven game homestand and played what some say was their best game in years. After trailing much of the game 1-0, the Kings got the equalizer late in the game, only to give up the game-winner shortly after, for a very tough loss. The Kings that night took 52 shots on Wings rookie goalie Jimmy Howard. He stopped 51 of them.

The next two games were probably just as tough, as they lost both by just one goal while playing well enough to win, 4-3 to St. Louis and 2-1 to San Jose. But just as quickly as they won three in a row after that four-game skid, they were back on another three-game skid heading into a tough match-up against a red-hot Ducks team. But the Kings literally fought their way to a nearly perfect game as they upended the Ducks 4-0. The two teams combined for a total of 69 minutes in penalties in third period alone. Dustin Brown also recorded his 100th career goal in the win.

The Kings then battled Boston on Saturday afternoon, earning a hard-fought win in a shootout, 4-3. The Kings trailed 3-1 in this game before battling back to get the win. Tonight, the Kings are battling the Sharks mid-way through the first period, and trail 2-0 already. The Kings are 3-2 against the Sharks so far this season.

It's been a tough stretch for the Kings since their eight-game mini vacation. They started the stretch atop the division and conference, but with a four-game skid and a three-game skid sandwiched around a three-game winning streak, the Kings actually briefly slipped out of a playoff spot in a very tight Western Conference. They currently stand at 57 points, third in the division, 15 points back of the Sharks and four behind Phoenix, but just four ahead of Dallas, and they have a tight hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference.

With a win tonight, the Kings would have yet another three-game winning streak with one more to go on the seven game homestand before heading out on the road for a five-game roadie. The Kings need to start picking up points again.

Also, before I forget since I already did once in the month since I last blogged here, I wanted to congratulate the five Kings players who were selected to play for their home countries in the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver set to start on February 12. Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Quick were selected to play for Team U.S.A., with Brown being named one of the Alternate Captains. Twenty year-old Drew Doughty was selected to play for Team Canada while Michal Handzus will play for the Slovakian team. Congratulations to all five Kings players, and good luck in the Olympics.

(Sharks just scored again, so it's now 3-0 with about a minute and a half left in the first period. This is not how the Kings wanted to start this game.)

Kings Beat Stars Again

This is almost becoming routine again.

Anze Kopitar netted a hat trick and Michal Handzus netted the game-winner less than a minute into overtime in a 5-4 win at Staples. The Kings played two solid periods and skated out to what appeared to be a rout in the making, leading 4-1 after two periods. But they become lackadaisical defensively in the third period and allowed the Stars to hit the back of the net three times to tie the game at four apiece before Handzus's winner.

Meanwhile, to go along with Kopitar's three goals to give him a team-high eight, Ryan Smyth assisted on one of them to give the Kings top line four more points. Between Kopitar, Smyth and Justin Willaims, the top line now has 39 points in 10 games. Dustin Brown and Alexander Frolov, who returned to action tonight after being benched on Monday night in Dallas, each grab a pair of assists, as well.

Next up, the Kings take to the desert to take on a revitalized Phoenix Coyotes club on Saturday.

Kings Drop Third Straight

Well, this wasn't how they planned this road trip. After winning the first two on the current six-game road trip in St. Louis and on Long Island, New York, the Kings have dropped three straight, to the Rangers on Wednesday night, Detroit on Thursday and Columbus tonight. With the 4-1 loss tonight, the Kings are now a break-even 4-4-0 on the season. Dustin Brown had the lone goal for the Kings tonight, his second of the season. A win in the road trip finale in Dallas on Monday night would certainly be nice.

Kings Drop Opener

And it wasn't pretty. The Kings lost 6-3 to Phoenix in their season and home opener last night, and were booed off the Staples Center ice after the game. They made several turnovers defensively in their own zone that led to at least two Coyotes goals. The Kings didn't handle or pass the puck well all night.

Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov and Drew Doughty had the three Kings goals.

One other note, Dustin Brown has a muscle strain in his glute and was held out of today's skate-around. He is expected to be back on the ice tomorrow.

O'Sullivan Traded

In what appears to be a salary dump (at least to me, after a first glance), the Kings shipped forward Patrick O'Sullivan to the Carolina Panthers today just before the trade deadline, for forward Justin Williams.

I've been reading some of the feedback from fans at both LGK.com and some of the other hockey sites, and obviously most people don't like this deal straight up. But after looking a tad further into this, looking at some of the other factors possibly involved behind the deal, I came to the conclusion (along with a friend of mine who will remain unnamed) that this was probably a salary dump, and the Kings were probably gearing up for a busy off-season this summer. (Remember O'Sullivan signing that big four year, $21MM deal in the off-season?)

Personally, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if the Kings went hard after Marian Gaborik this summer. It's the only explanation I can think of after giving up on such a promising young kid in O'Sullivan. The offense this year has been inconsistently sporadic at best, and my feeling is because they don't really have a proven veteran scorer on their top two lines to take the scoring burden off Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar or Alex Frolov.

I was also reading from the fans that their impression is the Kings have all but given up on this season. They haven't played well in the last week or two, and have fallen further behind the pack for that elusive eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with some tough losses, too many, in fact. But because there is so much parity in the conference right now, there is still hope, albeit a longshot at this point with too many teams ahead of them to climb.

Having said all that, would it be that bad to miss the playoffs one more season, then go sign that big veteran scorer they've really been lacking for a few years, and then make a serious run next season with everyone a year older and more mature? I don't. And I know Kings fans are tired of not making the playoffs, but obviously Dean Lombardi has a plan, and the best plan of is to stick to your plan and let it play itself. The Kings were never expected to be in contention this far into the season anyway. But should they manage to get into the playoffs, that would be nice, too.

A couple of other notes, both Erik Ersberg and Sean O'Donnell agreed to contract extensions today, and Tom Preissing was assigned to Manchester this afternoon after clearing waivers.

Kings Lose Game, But Get A Point

So much for the four game winning streak. The Kings lost their second in a row today, 3-2 at Staples to Edmonton, in a shootout, which means they still managed a very important point in the standings. The game was very physical, and it showed early on. In the first period there were several squirmishes; the Oilers led 2-0 after one period. Kings got one in the second, and then Dustin Brown tapped in the equalizer on a shot from Alex Frolov with about 26 seconds left in the game.

These are very important games for the Kings, who are still fighting for a playoff spot in the West. Their defense continues to be a strong point for them, and they did get a goal today from a defenseman, Drew Doughty, who recorded his fourth of the season. The goaltending has been solid for most of the season, thanks in large part to the solid defense in front of them, but the Kings have got to win these close games, especially at home.

Brown an All-Star

Earlier today, Kings captain Dustin Brown was chosen to represent the Kings in this year's All-Star game in Montreal at the end of the month. While it seems the fans continue to vote for their favorite players to start (this seems to be a growing problem in baseball and the NBA, as well) rather than for those who actually deserve it, it's nice to actually see the league recognize players who should be there. Brown, who has 13 goals and 13 assists in the Kings 39 games this season, has been a mainstay on the Kings top line for several years now.

The young nucleus built with and around Brown on the Kings has them headed in the right direction, with players like Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov, and Patrick O'Sullivan on offense. And despite a very tough schedule the second half of the season (they finish the season with 12 of their last 16 games on the road), they are right in thick of the Western Conference playoff chase even as they sit in last place in a very tough Pacific Division, just one point behind fourth place Dallas.

The Kings have played some very good hockey this season, especially against some of the top teams in the league, and have gotten some rave reviews from some of their opponents this season. They recently took both San Jose and the NY Rangers to overtime before losing both games, one in a shoot out, and beat Philadelphia last week in a shoot out. They boast one of the league's best and best young defenses, and their penalty kill ranks 7th in the league, thanks in large part to the return of Sean O'Donnell and rookie Drew Doughty. And they have two very good young goaltenders, Erik Ersberg and Jon Quick, with Jon Bernier getting some experience and waiting in the wings with the Kings AHL affiliate in Ontario, CA.

The Kings appear to be in great shape for the future, and have their fans excited about hockey again. Now if they could just find a way to beat their crosstown rivals once in a blue moon, all will be good in Kings Hockeyland!

Season Underway

CORRECTION (6:18pm CT): Tonight's game time is 5:00pm PT, not 5:30 as mentioned earlier.

**********
The 2008-2009 is officially underway and so far through six games, the Kings seem to be holding their own. They picked up their third win of the season last night in a very hard-fought, well-played game, a 4-0 blasting of the Blues in St. Louis. Patrick O'Sullivan, who recently signed a new contract with the Kings, picked up his team leading third goal of the season. New Team Captain Dustin Brown also scored a goal in the win. Brown currently leads the team with six points through the early season. Goalie Jason LaBarbera, who has started all six games so far for the Kings, got the win.

Meanwhile, 2008 second overall pick in the entry draft, Drew Doughty, continues to impress. While he only has one goal in six games, he has logged nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game, and has really impressed the coaching staff, his teammates, and others around the league. The Kings will continue to give him ice time over the next three games, and then they have a decision to make: do they keep him on the roster and continue to play him at the NHL level and pay him for the remainder of the season while he learns the nuances of playing in the NHL, or do they send him to junior hockey where he could benefit from playing there, as well as on the Canadian World junior team again (and where they won't have to pay him his full first year's salary)?

Stay tuned. Should be an interesting decision coming up.

Also coming up, Kings in Nashville tonight at 5:30pm PT.

Coaches, Schedule, Gretzky: 20 Years Later, Dustin Brown A Dodger?

The Kings have finally announce their coaching staff, as Mark Hardy, Jamie Kompon and Nelson Emerson will round out Terry Murray's staff. Here's the official press release.

**********
The Kings 2008-2009 schedule was released, and as expected, Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will return to Staples Center this coming season. Here is the official press release announcing the new schedule with links to the complete schedule.

**********

Do you remember where you were nearly 20 years ago this Saturday? On August 9, 1988, the Kings pulled off one of the biggest, if not the biggest trade in sports history when they acquired "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky, along with Marty McSorely from the Edmonton Oilers, essentially changing the face of hockey on the west coast, and throughout the league.

The Kings and the NHL Network have dubbed this week "Gretzky Week" to commemorate the historical trade.

**********
Kings forward Dustin Brown will be in uniform at Dodger Stadium next Friday night August 15th against the Milwaukee Brewers. Brown will be taking batting practice with the Dodgers prior to the 7:40 game that night, and is then scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Should be a fun night all around for Kings and Dodger fans!

Streak is History...

Well, that was quick. Three games and done. Lost last night 4-3 at home to Columbus. I caught most of the first two periods, then missed the entire third. Jean-Sebastian Aubin got the nod last night and was yanked after the Jackets got their third goal of the night early in the second. Kings played decent through the first two, but obviously not good enough to win. Bright spot was Dustin Brown registering his 20th goal of the season. (Kopitar is second on the squad with 16; Cammalleri, who started the season red-hot, leading the league at one point with 10 goals, is now third on the team with 15.) Kings are now 1-1 on the six-game homestand.

Next up on the homestand: Calgary on Saturday night.