Army's army
If you're handing out an unsung-hero award among the Kings, I don't see how it could go to anyone except Derek Armstrong. There's little flash to his game. It's all about grit and hard work and being a responsible player. That kind of thing gets lost among people who just watch highlights and glance at box scores, but if you watch closely, you'll quickly understand how important Armstrong is. Dean Lombardi understands it, which is why he locked up Armstrong with a contract extension before Armstrong could hit free agency this summer.
Besides leading the team in plus-minus, he's a outstanding leader in the dressing room and is versatile enough on the ice to play with any wingers. When you hear Marc Crawford talking about the young forwards, he often mentions Armstrong and his role as a leader and mentor. It's pretty amazing, given that when Armstrong got here in 2002 he was a 29-year-old journeyman who had spent the previous season in Switzerland.
I talked to Armstrong about being a leader among the veterans and a mentor to the young guys.
``I guess I'm a little bit of both,'' Armstrong said. ``I'm an older guy but I think the younger guys can still relate to me. I never thought I could be the `old guy' in the room but I just do what I can, try to lead by example and work hard.''
A look at Armstrong's career shows that he went through Salt Lake City, New York, Denver, Worcester, Detroit, Hartford, Ottawa, Mancehster and, of course, Bern, before he found a permament home in the NHL. Now he's a fixture with the Kings.
``It's definitely rewarding, especially with the respect they have shown for me here,'' Armstrong said. ``I worked hard to get to this point, but I don't think you can ever feel comfortable. These young guys, they're here to take our jobs. That's how it is. We want to help them but we have to work hard because they're coming for our jobs.''
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J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
E-mail J.P. at jp.hoornstra@inlandnewspapers.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews
.com.
Vincent Bonsignore is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News. E-mail Vinny at vincent.bonsignore
@dailynews.com.
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I was a huge fan of Armstrong's when he made the team, as I lived in NY when he had his tenure with the Isles and Rangers, and was very pleased with the way he was able to plug into virtually any situation and not suck :)
BUT... this year... as a 2nd line center, I am offended. In that role, this guy is marginal at best and for all that he brings in terms of leadership and dedication, he brings hands of stone and an uncanny ability to be facing the boards 95% of the time he's on the ice.
If Derek Armstrong can go back to being some sort of utility guy who gets 9-10 minutes a game, kills some penalties, and occasionally fills in when a skill player is injured or in the penalty box, I say "great." If I have to watch him plod through 17-18 minutes a game in all situations, I know I am watching a non-playoff team muddle through 82 hapless games.
I do appreciate your positive attitude towards Army, but this team needs to strive for better than that in the role he's played this season.
Those are some good points Marc. You don't ever want a guy like Armstrong to be your first- or second-line center. Although their games are different in many ways, it reminds me a bit of what the Kings went through with guys like Eric Belanger and Brad Chartrand. In a specific role, they have value, but you don't want to ask them to do too much.
I'm with Marc. Army, while a very servicable and hard-working center, is still not more than your #3 guy at best.
Still, I'm glad they locked him up from a depth perspective and we all know that we can count on his 40+ points each season, along with a decent effort every night.
While I'm pleased with being agreed with... if Armstrong gets 40+ points next season, it means he's playing WAY too much (or the Kings have gotten Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin via trade ;) )
If Armstrong can get his ice time cut in half, and his point total goes with it AND that ice time goes to someone who will get MORE than 40+ points in a season... it's a big win for the Kings.
First of all Rich, terrific Blog. While the LA Times dumbs down their hockey coverage, you expand yours. You may or may not remember me, but you actually interviewed my wife and I the day tickets went on sale coming out of the lockout. We were first in line for tickets.
Here's my only issue with Armstrong. The only thing on the ice he does better than average is "think and work." He has average offensive skills, he's an average skater, maybe slightly better than average hands, but Sid Crosby he's certainly not. His shot is average and he's very average in the face-off circle. If Derek Armstrong could improve in the face-off circle, he'd be a solid 3rd line center. But if you were going to ask me who I'd rather have at the beginning of the season to play on a 3rd line between Army and Eric Belanger, I'd say Belanger every time. Belanger was smart, fast, strong in the circle and defensively responsible. Having said that, I'm sure we wouldn't have gotten Jack Johnson for Army + Gleason and I'm glad Army's locked up, but I hope the Kings can reduce his minutes next season.
Call me a tool but I need to let Crawford make the best decision on this. I agree that Armstrong shouldnt play on the top two lines in theory... because his abilities limit him to 3rd and 4th line. But, how well he has done with Frolov and Cammy. You can say "anyone could score 60 on that line". This is true, but I think Frolov and Cammy have learned alot from Army and part of their improvement is because of him... and I guarantee Crawford, Frolon and Cammy would be the first to agree.
Actually, Ernest, only 9 of Frolov's 35 goals were assisted by Armstrong. 26 were assisted by a center other than Armstrong. Also, only 10 of Cammalleri's 32 goals were assisted by Armstrong. 22 were assisted by a center other than Armstrong. It just does not appear accurate to me to suggest that Armstrong is the reason for these players' improvements. In fact, the data seems to suggest that both do better without him than with him.
On the other side of the coin, 24 of Armstrong's 42pts were goals scored by or assisted by either Frolov or Cammalleri. That's over half of Armstrong's points. I think that it's clear who's been helping whom the most this season.
I like Army a lot and think he gets way too much criticism. That being said, he should be on the 3rd or 4th line.