New York Post rumor ...
that players are tiring of Crawford. I ran it by Cammalleri and this is what he had to say ...
``I haven't heard anything about that. That's news to me. Crow and his staff have worked hard to get their message across to this team and I think we're definitely buying in.''
18 Comments
Leave a comment
About Rich Hammond
Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at rich.hammond@dailynews.com.
The New York Post is a serious tabloid, and Larry Brooks is wrong A LOT...
Well of course Cammy isn't aware of this rumor or about other players not happy about Crawford.
That's because Cammy is quite contempt with his current role on the team.
He averages over 20 minutes a game. He's first team on the power play unit, and he's on the top line with Kopitat & Brown.
So you're not going to hear him complain too much.
Talk to other players like
-Frolov, whose currently off to a slow start - 3 goals thus far, with no definite linemates.
-Nagy who has already been benched.
-Wilsie whose been scratched 5 games thus far.
-Sully who plays a defensive role on the 4th line (Hasn't played on the power play yet).
-Calder & Handzus who get juggled on different line combinations (like tennis balls).
-Or Dallman & Thornton, who don't even play anymore.
These are the players who might have some grievances.
Anthony: No offense intended, but have you been hiding with your head in the sand for the past couple of weeks? Five of your six points are no longer current or relevant.
The rumor has got to be Sean Avery's doing...
can anthony be traded?
Anthony--you read these posts every day. You know Matt and Rich have talked to Fro, Nagy, Calder, Willsie and Sully (maybe Handzus too). They've all commented on playing time, linemates, etc. If there was any grumbling the players would do publicly, Rich and Matt would have heard it. Frankly, I think the rumors started outside the organization, and don't reflect anything within the organization. Hockey players are human (just with better pain thresholds than their counterparts in MLB where a hangnail warrants a stint on the DL) and if there was the level of discontent reported by the NY press, it would show on the ice. Handzus wouldn't throw himself in front of two shots on a single PK shift (especially after he was hurt with the first shot), Calder wouldn't be working his butt off in the corners and in front of the net, and on and on--you get the idea. I think y'all need to get out of the suites and move down to the 100's and see what's happening at ice level.
The Rangers have their own problems to worry about. They currently have a league low 19 'goals for' on the season with four wins. They are not getting a lot in return for those high priced FA's they snagged this summer.
Drury 1 goal, 7 assists
Gomez 2 goals, 1 assist
The rest of the cast is no better,
Jagr 3 goals, 8 assists
Shanahan 2 goals, 3 assists
Avery's been riding pine with a shoulder injury since game 2 so he's got nothing to contribute besides running his gums.
Don't remind me of that lame LGK campaign, "What would Avery Do?" Embarrassing...
Kyle,
I'll never give up my suite.
But I often do contemplate wearing a helmet at the games in the event I have to dodge something that might be thrown at me.
Especially, lately by some of you fans.
I have to admit... I'm a little baffled at the Thornton situation. How do you continuously bench a guy that you deemed important enough to the team that you give him an "A"? Even if he has a slow start. It just seems odd to me...
Anthony--I'd never throw anything at you, other than a non-malicious dig or two in these postings. Heck, I'd even buy you a cold one if you'd leave the decadent luxury of the suite and mingle with us ordinary folk...
Seriously, if anything gets thrown, it ought to be at the writer who started this whole mess. Got an extra typewriter laying around?
Anthony has a suite? Got room for one more in there my man?
Coaching is not a popularity contest. Ask former Red Wings players how popular Scott Bowman was. The coach is a boss, and sometimes when his team isn't producing, he has to ride his players and friction results. In the end, winning makes everyone happy.
My favorite part of Anthony's post was that Cammalleri was quite "contempt" with his role...
THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!
Anyone who has followed the Kings for a while knows that the national (i.e., Eastern) hockey press apparently likes to make up stuff out of whole cloth when it comes to writing about the Kings. It's a good bet that this is just more FUD.
But what was the most significant bit of off-ice news from this week? Dustin Brown committed to the Kings for 6 years — an eternity as sports contracts go, and he probably cost himself some money in exchange for stability. Somehow, I doubt that he would have locked himself in for that long if there really was that much dislike of management in the clubhouse. Read the quotes in the interview he gave to Lisa Dillman in the LAT.
Finally, I would agree with John Strachan on both points. When an intense coach like Crawford gets the breaks and wins, he's a genius; when he doesn't, he's a tyrant. See Mike Keenan for an example in extremis. Chemistry doesn't create winning; winning creates chemistry.
or, andy murray gets the kings off to a terrific first half, "coach of the year" candidate; when the team starts collapsing later, fired.
still don't believe the players are out to get crow, though.
nothing but rumours....new york sport writers are just pissed off at the fact that all their over paid players aren't producing ....and they look at a young team like the KINGS with great talent and are just plain jealous....we have a great team...and will have for the next few years and we are not paying them ridiculous salaries...
GO KINGS GO!!!
The Post reporter most likely just needed something to fill his collum and wrote what he did without fact checking. Sort of like what the NY and LA Times "reporers" do with ALL their stories.
I e-mailed this guy and of course got no response. I asked him who his his sources were and also why Dustin Brown and Lubo signed up for extensions with the Kings knowing full well Crawford will be around for awhile. This guy is just trying to fill space in his NY Post crap column and deserves no credibility whatsoever.