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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

In Case Anyone Was Wondering...

Terry Murray is in fact the new head coach of your Los Angeles Kings.

Rumors Galore!

For over a month, we've all been wondering how long it would be before the Kings hired a new head coach, and who it might be. In the last few days, the Kings had narrowed down their search and last night it became more and more clear who that person might be. As of right now, nothing is official, but it appears former Washington-Philly-Florida head coach Terry Murray, brother of Ottawa's GM Bryan Murray (and still no relation to former Kings and now St. Louis head coach Andy Murray), will be named new head coach of the Kings, barring any veto from ownership. The deal is expected to be for three years.

I personally don't know much about Murray other than he led the Flyers to Cup Finals in 1997, and he has strong connections to Kings GM Dean Lombardi and Asst. GM Ron Hextall, who played for Murray in that 1997 Finals.

Said Lombardi as quoted in today's L.A. Times: "He's a detail guy, a good teacher, not going to play mind games. He'll tell it straight to your face." Maybe just what the young Kings need.

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And speaking of Ottawa... now for the biggie!

According to Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun today, a blockbuster three-way deal involving the Kings, Ottawa and Chicago is in the works centering around Chicago net-minder Nikolai Khabibulin. The report suggests Ottawa would send goalie Martin Gerber and defenseman Andrej Meszaros to the Kings, who would then ship forward Anze Kopitar to Chicago, who would send Khabibulin and either defensemen Brent Seabrook or Cam Barker to Ottawa.

Now just looking at this makes me laugh because there is no way Lombardi would send Kopitar in any deal of this kind for a one-year rental goalie. It just doesn't make any sense what-so-ever. And apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks this rumor is ludicrous.

For one, Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo's Puck Daddy Blog thinks the rumored deal is outrageously hilarious. And according to two bloggers at Hockeybuzz.com with key sources, Kopitar isn't even being mentioned by anyone involved in negotiating the deal. In fact, some are suggesting the Kings really don't need to be involved at all in this. In any case, these are the latest names being heard around Hockeybuzz.com:

Sens would get Khabibulin, Barker and Sharp.
Kings would get Gerber, Seabrook and Chris Neil or Antoinne Vermette.
Chicago would get Erik Ersberg, Tom Preissing, Patrick O'Sullivan and ether Neil or Vermette.

This one seems to have a little more fruition to it, but I still don't see the Kings making this deal with even O'Sullivan involved.

And of course, then there is this... a cliffhanger from some unreliable Senators fan with his own blog who claims to have inside sources from outside the "circle"?

This is getting very juicy and kinky all at the same time! Stay tuned...

Kings Trade

The Kings have acquired defenseman Denis Gauthier and a 2010 second round pick from Philadelphia in exchange for two minor leaguers, defenseman Patrik Hersley and left winger Ned Lukacevic. More details to come.

BREAKING NEWS: Visnovsky Traded

The Kings have traded 31-year old defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky to the Oilers for 25-year old forward Jarrett Stoll and 24-year old defenseman Matt Greene.

The Kings essentially dumped 5 years, $28 million on Edmonton, while getting younger, and creating some salary cap space. Stoll will be an unrestricted free agent next year, and Greene has two more years before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

It's likely the Kings will re-sign veteran free agent defenseman Rob Blake, and sign defenseman Brad Stuart, whom they traded to Detroit at the trade deadline this past march, once free agents can officially sign with new teams. The Kings, however, are not expected to be very active in the free agent market with top-tiered free agents.

Stay tuned Tuesday evening for a recap of Day One of the Free Agent Frenzy!

Tampa Hires Former Kings Coach

Yup, you guessed correctly if you said the "Mullet Man" himself, Barry Melrose. Melrose, who coached the Kings for three seasons from 1992-1995 and lead the Kings to their only Stanley Cup Finals appearance in his first season as head coach, was hired away from ESPN by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Melrose had been an ESPN studio analyst since he was fired from the Kings in 1995. He replaces recently fired John Tortorella, who is being courted, ironically, by the Kings to be their next head coach.

Entry Draft - Day One

The Kings were very busy on Day One of the Entry Draft yesterday, first, taking offensive defenseman Drew Doughty with the second overall pick, then trading captain Michael Cammalleri to Calgary as part of a three-team trade with Anaheim that netted them the 12th overall pick. That pick was then traded to Buffalo to get the 13th pick, where they selected another solid defenseman, Colten Tuebert. Both Doughty and Tuebert are expected to make immediate impacts on the Kings starting next season.

Here's TSN.ca's take on both picks:

• Bob McKenzie: "[Doughty's] got a level of hockey sense that cannot be measured. His smarts are off the scale. [He's] an offensive player, but his defence is under-rated. This is a guy that will absolutely be in the NHL next year."

• Pierre McGuire: "[Teubert] is such a good pick. Put that pick with Drew Doughty on defence and you've really got something in Los Angeles. He's physical and he loves to get after people. The Kings are building the smart way - strength on the back end, just like Detroit."

And Gare Joyce of ESPN.com:

• "The Kings had to decide between Doughty's hockey sense and [Zach] Bogosian's toughness. Score one for skill and first-pass offense."

• On taking Teubert 13th overall: "Hard-rock ying to Doughty's skilled yang. Kings goaltending and blue fine fully reloaded. [GM Dean] Lombardi can go to the market for immediate first- and second-line scoring."

As for Cammalleri, my thinking is the Kings made the move to clear cap space, knowing they probably were not going to re-sign him after this upcoming season as he is an unrestricted free agent. There is the possibility that Lubomir Visnovsky could be next, as well. In the meantime, Dan Cloutier was placed on waivers and the Kings are expected to buy out the remainder of his contract. Stay tuned...

Crawford Fired

Well the Kings finally undid a mistake they made two years when they hired Marc Crawford as head coach: they fired him. Crawford was fired on Tuesday after a two-year run and a last place finish in the division and conference standings this past season. Crawford still had one more year left on his contract, but it was obvious with the team in a youth movement that Crawford wasn't a good fit; he never really was.

So where do the Kings go next? Well, several other teams are looking for new coaches, including Tampa Bay, Ottawa, and Atlanta. Several other coaching vacancies were filled in recent days, leaving the Kings number one rumored candidate according to the St. Pete Times via The Fourth Period still available: John Tortorella. Tortorella led Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup in 2004, the year before the lockout, and could bring in a style of play that would fit the young Kings.

Stay tuned...

Checkin' In!

Just thought I'd check in since it's been about a month. Nothing's changed for the Kings, and they still have the worst record in the league! However, they're in a battle with the Lightning for that dubious honor!

By the way, I'd mentioned before that I had been to the first three Kings games here in Dallas against the Stars, and was disgusted with their play each time. Well, I decided I didn't have the time to go to the last of the four here this past Saturday (being Easter Sunday weekend and all). Having said that, the bastards came into town and beat the Stars 4-2, to take the season series lead 4-3, and become the first road team to win in the season series! Now they have a shot to actually win the season series against the Stars for the first time in two years when they play at Staples at the end of the month. Woo-hoo! Something to be excited about!

Ok, that's really about it. I know guys like Frolov, Kopitar and O'Sullivan, just to mention a couple off the top of my head, are having solid seasons, but it'd be even better to celebrate their excellence if the rest of the team was doing well...

Frolov Nets Hat Trick Against Blues

Well, that was a fun game last night, wasn't it? Alexander Frolov scored a hat trick, Patrick O' Sullivan had five points and Anze Kopitar added a goal as the Kings routed St. Louis 5-1. A week ago in St. Louis, the Kings looked lost and weary. Last night at Staples, they looked like Cup champions as they rolled all over former King goalie, Manny Legace for four second-period goals. And while the Kings are still at the bottom of the standings, they're certainly not playing like a team in the cellar of late, if you remove three of the last four games before last night's win.

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In case anyone missed it, Jaroslav Modry was shipped off to Philly on Tuesday for a third round pick in this year's draft. Modry will be sorely missed... NOT!

Not Much Has Changed...

Well, It's been another long month since I've had a chance to post anything regarding the Kings, and not much has changed. The Kings are still the league's worse team according to their record, although they are in a dog fight with Tampa Bay to avoid that honor. Since the January 3rd loss at home to Columbus, the Kings have gone a respectable 8-6-1, including another home win over Dallas (the season series is now 3-3 with the home team having won all 6 games) and big road wins on the current 8-game road trip against both New York teams, and Detroit. In the Detroit game this past Thursday, the Kings trailed 3-1 after two periods and scored four unanswered 3rd period goals to take the win, 5-3. They followed that up with a horrific performance yesterday in Pittsburgh, losing 4-2. The game wasn't really that close.

All-in-all, the Kings are playing better. Michael Cammelleri has since returned to the lineup from is injury, but Rob Blake is out now for another week with a non-displaced fracture in his left ankle. Speaking of Blake, his name has come up in trade rumors and he's been linked to Detroit and Colorado (he played for the Avs for five years between his first and current stint with the Kings). Speculation is even if he is traded, he does become an unrestricted free agent after the season and there is talk that he would re-sign in L.A. anyway to finish up his career in L.A. (he said when he signed in L.A. before last season that he intends to retire a King). Stay tuned for more on this one.

Kings have two games left on their current 8-game roadie where they are 3-3. They play in Columbus tonight at 6pm PT, and finish up the trip in St. Louis on Tuesday night.

Second year forward Anze Kopitar played in this year's All-Star game in Atlanta, but didn't record a point in the loss. This should be the first of many All-Star game appearances for Kopitar, assuming the league continues with it. There was talk over the All-Star weekend that a lot of changes could be coming for the festivities, including possibly eliminating the game altogether because of a lack of interest from fans and whatnot. It would be such a shame for this to happen as the league struggles to regain its image after the lockout several years ago.

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.

A New Streak

It's been a busy few days. Since my last post, the Kings have suddenly turned things around and are now on a nice three-game winning streak. The streak started with an impressive come-from-behind 3-1 win in Colorado on Saturday afternoon. They followed that up with a great win in Chicago on Sunday evening, scoring three unanswered goals as they upended the Blackhawks 3-2 in OT. Last night they got the Hawks again, this time at home at Staples and fell behind early 1-0, and then 2-1. But they regrouped very quickly and :13 later Ladislav Nagy netted the tying-goal with what would be the start of a huge night for him and the Kings offensively. The Kings would end up scoring the game's final EIGHT goals en route to a 9-2 romp of Chicago as they started the New Year on a very high note. As for Nagy, he netted a hat-trick and two assists, and Alexander Frolov netted two goals and three assists. The power play was en fuego last night as they completely picked apart the league's best road penalty-killing unit.

The Kings are actually playing very well now (they played well in the last couple of losses during the 'other' streak) and now have some momentum as they try to chase Phoenix in the Pacific standings. Next up: Columbus tomorrow night at Staples.

Sharks Take Bite Out of Kings

Again. (And sorry for the late post again!) Another close one again, and another loss, 3-2. I didn't get to see any of the game, which might be a good thing. The offense is really struggling right now and its sent them spiraling to 8 straight defeats. Of the eight losses, five of them were by two goals or less, and two by three goals. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight for this streak. Well, at least for one more game. Kings hit the ice tomorrow afternoon in Denver, then head back to Chicago on Sunday for a another shot at the Blackhawks.

Kings in the Music City

Not much to talk about (sorry for the late comments)... another loss for the KIngs. Final: Nashville 4, Kings 2. This is becoming routine. They actually played well for most of the game (at least what I saw of it) but the result was pretty much the same. The Kings are free-falling and getting buried as the league's worse team according to the standings. On a bright note, rookie Patrick O'Sullivan is on a tear of late. If the Kings can just get the rest of the offense going again, and maybe get a little help in front LaBarbera and Aubin, they might win a few of these games they're losing.

Next up, the Kings are back at Staples day after Christmas to take on San Jose...

Kings in Columbus...

UPDATE (8:25pm CT): Game over. Kings lose again, sixth straight I think, 2-1. Seems like some of the players have quit on head coach Marc Crawford. I missed a good chunk of the game, unfortunately (or fortunately?) but it seems like they just can't catch a break. There's no consistency in their losses either; they either play a good game and lose, or they completely stink.

Next game is tomorrow night in Nashville. Game time is an hour earlier than tonight, 7pm local time (CT).

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The other night I mentioned not being able to watch the Detroit game because I was shut out on TV on two feeds. I mentioned this was the second or third time this has happened. One of the other times was in Columbus earlier in the season, but I'm pleased to say I can actually watch the game tonight.

So far, the Kings are off to a good start, leading 1-0 towards the end of the first. They just had a power-play goal nullified (but I didn't see or hear why).

Center Ice/Tonight's Game in Detroit

UPDATE (8:49pm CT): So much for the good game. Rout is on. 6-2 Wings mid-way through the final stanza...

UPDATE (8:00pm CT): Missed this one... Wings added another... got their two-goal lead back... 4-2 now.

UPDATE (7:42pm CT): Or, maybe not... grrrr. Wings regain the lead 3-2 on a Holmstrom goal at 3:35.

UPDATE (7:35pm CT): O'Sully ties it up just 15 seconds into the 2nd... might be a good game after all!

UPDATE (7:15pm CT): Brownie gets one back @ 18:32 in the first... 2-1 now...

UPDATE (6:53pm CT): Here we go again... 2-0 Wings...

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So I'm paying big money to be able to watch the out-of-market games, such as the Kings. Well, this isn't the first time this has happened but I turn on the game to FSN West and Detroit and BOTH feeds are blacked out here. What the hell is the point if BOTH feeds are going to be blacked out even though I'm paying for it?

Anyway, enough venting... I guess I'll be following tonight's blowout online, and with the help of ESPN goal and end-of-period/final score mobile text alerts. Speaking of which, just got the first one... 1-0 Detroit just 0:59 into the game on Zetterberg's 25th... hahahaha... Gonna be a long night for Kings fans. Maybe it's a good thing I can't get the game...

End of Last Night's Game...

Was very uneventful. Avs got an empty-netter with just over a minute left, leaving the Kings with another loss and falling deeper and deeper into the Pacific cellar...

Imagine if they had played as well as they did in the second and third periods for 60 minutes... and every night, too...

Next game is tomorrow night in Hockey Town... good luck Kings... you'll need it...