Oh, no. They'll win just enough to clinch the number 3-5 pick...

Wow. It's one thing for us to joke about that. It's another thing for the Hockey News to call it out on their cover. I think it's pretty patronizing to suggest that we should stay in last place for another year and a half. (lottery notwithstanding.) It shows how little they understand the fan base here. People have been bitching and moaning since October. Stamkos maybe, Tavares no way. This team HAS to get better before that.

Let's just trade for Toronto's first rounder in 09 now. Blake to Toronto for a first rounder in 09. sounds fair to me.

I don't know if I want to bet the farm hoping Stamkos or Tavares will save the Kings. Chances are the Lottery won't go in King's favor. How many First choices pan out? Seems a lot of these guys are super stars in lesser leagues, but when they hit the "Big" time its another story. Jack Johnson isn't playing like all the hype. Only guy I know playing great right out of the gate is Sidney Crosby but look who he plays with, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar and the rest of the crew. WOW.

Figures, must be a Canadian rag. Just came back from a one week trip in Ontario and all the hockey networks refer to the Kings as the "Basement Dwellers" of the NHL (or LHN depending on which side of the border your on). I was proud to wear my Kings T-shirt at one of the local pubs the night we beat Toronto. Take That Canada! You just got beat by Basement Dwellers.

Good squad is right.
We just can't continue to lose, in hopes that we get one of these players.

We as fans, don't deserve that.
And don't forget. There's no guarantee we would win the lottery, to get the 1st overall pick.

What a waste it would be to lose 2 years in row, end up in the cellar, and not receive the 1st overall pick.

Well, we are the basement dwellers. Basement dwellars are usually in last place, and thats where the Kings are.

Basement dwellers huh?

..those crazy canadians can say what they want but when the Kings finally hoist that cup on top of Staples Center, I'll be sure to rub it in their faces!

To John Ray Morgan - here is a list of the first overall choices for the past 10 drafts, how many of these players would you say havn't "panned out"

1997 Joe Thornton
1998 Vincent Lecavalier
1999 Patrik Stefan
2000 Rick DiPietro
2001 Ilya Kovalchuk
2002 Rick Nash
2003 Marc-Andre Fleury
2004 Alexander Ovechkin
2005 Sidney Crosby
2006 Erik Johnson
2007 Patrick Kane

other than Stefan id say the rest playing pretty important rolls in their respective clubs

"How many First choices pan out"- here are the 1st overall since 2000 and where there at- Dipietro (NYI- franchise goalie), Kovalchuk (ATL-franchise winger), Nash (CBJ- franchise winger), Fleury (PIT- #1 goalie), Ovechkin (WAS- franchise winger), Crosby (PIT- franchise center), Johnson (STL- D, too early to tell) and Kane (CHI- winger, having a strong rookie campaign).
Judge for yourself.

Ummmmm, hate to break it to you guys but, right now, the Kings are the "basement dwellers" of the NHL. Only by 1 point right now, but there is no question they are in the basement.

Sorry King Me, but the Kings ARE basement dwellers and have been for quite some time. No use getting upset over the facts. The team's not going to make the playoffs so why not come in last place? Not saying the team should try to to lose but I'd rather see them come in last then 9th in the western conference. Take a look at Chicago and Pittsburgh, two teams that have become real good through the draft. Of course it's never a sure thing but it can't hurt getting some of these guys.

"Hey THN, our GM drafts D."

I couldn't read the article (w/o subscribing) but I am sure they are insinuating that the NHL needs star power in LA (uh, sorry Ducks, no one cares about Anaheim.) That is true but the fans here would rather have championships. Another year in the cellar wouldn't kill us but it may prompt some genius at AEG to move the team to fill an arena in Kansas City before the Kings blossom.

Just in case anyone isn't aware, basement dwellers isn't a unique slam on the Kings by the Canadian media. It's actually a cliche and is an appropriate description for any last place team in any sport.

Stamkos would be ideal considering we have no second line center and the idea of lining him up with Frolov and Cam makes me drool. Apparently he's more of a scorer than a playmaker and considering Frolov likes to control the puck that's fine by me. What sucks is even if the Kings finish last they could still end up with the 2nd overall pick. I saw Doughty play at the WJC and he impressed, but what if he ends up being the second coming of Aki Berg? What if Lombardi drafts off the board again? I don't mind being patient if it means the Kings are developing top talent, but if this rebuilding phase doesn't work I'm starting a petition to have AEG sell the team.

I'll go further on the goon squad and was bitching the second Crawfish was hired AND got stuck with a giant Beachball that couldn't stop anything smaller than a Mack truck...

IMO Dean Lombardi may end up with both those guys regardless of the standings or lottery the next two years. He is piling up enough assets and is smart enough to pull it off.

i don't doubt lombardi's trading ability, but i don't see him trading up for a shot at stamkos when our pressing need (and apparently lombardi's desire) is on D. personally, i don't think a first line of kopi, brown, and sully is gonna need a whole lot of future improvement. if we end up with the first pick, great! we have kopi, brown, sully, frolov, cammo, and stamkos as our lethal top 6. if not, we take one of the best d-men in the draft. no problem.

and yes, we are "basement dwellers," but i think we're more mad about people associating of that term with crap, and assuming we're crap. clearly, we are not crap.

and one more thing, rich. i saw an ad about the 5 college nights @ staples, which is a great idea. i can introduce my college buddies to hockey for $10 apiece! the problem is that the games are on thursdays, and at UCLA we have many of our basketball games on thursdays. in fact, all 5 could potentially conflict. doesn't that seem like a flaw when UCLA is the biggest college anywhere near Staples? maybe tuesdays instead? just an idea...

F'ing Canadiens...

Maybe they're USC fans which if you'll check is actually closer to Staples than UCLA.

Hey Hockey News, Kiss our collective a**es!

I like the foto....I'd like it a lot better if they were wearing Kings jerseys....

1997 Joe Thornton (no cup)
1998 Vincent Lecavalier (cup)
1999 Patrik Stefan (no cup)
2000 Rick DiPietro (no cup)
2001 Ilya Kovalchuk (no cup)
2002 Rick Nash (no cup)
2003 Marc-Andre Fleury (no cup)
2004 Alexander Ovechkin (no cup)
2005 Sidney Crosby (no cup)
2006 Erik Johnson (no cup)
2007 Patrick Kane (no cup)

I've been saying this all along (to keep losing and windup with the 1st pick overall). I Love the Kings, but if they're going to rebuild or miss the playoffs, they might as well finish way at the bottom. There's no point of not making the playoffs and windup with a pick outside the top 10. I rather them finish down in basement and at least guarantee themselves a top 2 pick. Stamkos and/or Doughty would be a very nice pick.

Daniel,

1997 Joe Thornton (no cup)but league MVP
1998 Vincent Lecavalier (cup)
1999 Patrik Stefan (no cup)bust
2000 Rick DiPietro (no cup)
2001 Ilya Kovalchuk (no cup)but leads the league in goals
2002 Rick Nash (no cup)but scored probably the best goal of the year.
2003 Marc-Andre Fleury (no cup)injured
2004 Alexander Ovechkin (no cup)Rocket Richard trophy winner
2005 Sidney Crosby (no cup)Art Ross trophy winner
2006 Erik Johnson (no cup)
2007 Patrick Kane (no cup)Leading all rookies.

Brian it is spelled CANADIANS get it right next time you want to trash a Country. How very disrespectful:(

The kings organization, specifically AEG, should be embarrassed. Hopefully this will finally be a wake up call.

I don't know about some of you, but I'm tired of seeing my favorite team lose. This will be the 6th yr without making the playoffs (including lockout).

The kings do not need anymore draft picks. They have 2 1st, 2 2nd & 2 3rd this year. I will be extremely disappointed if DL doesn't use some of those picks to get some immediate help in the summer.

It is time for this organization to show some pride and start expecting Stanley Cups instead of just being happy about making the playoffs and/or drafting first in drafts. That's a loser mentality and it needs to change.

CRH

"Brian it is spelled CANADIANS get it right next time you want to trash a Country. How very disrespectful:("

Tell that to Montreal then...as in the MONTREAL CANADIENS.

KINGS FANS,
THIS IS THE BEST THING FOR THE KINGS. WIN LOTTERY AND HAVE THE 1ST OVL PICK. AND DRAFT STAMKOS!!!! S STAR!
BUT MY GUTT TELLS ME LAMBORDI WILL TRADE THE PICK.. MY PREDICTION!!!
KINGS TRADE PICK TO THE LEAFS 08 1ST OVL PICK.
FOR THEIR 08 1ST PICK 4TH OVL AND THEIR IST RD PICK 09 AND MAYBE GO AFTER TAVARES.. I THINK THE KINGS WONT A DMAN IN 08 DRAFT.. MARK MY WORDS.. BITCHES

Nobody likes seeing their team get dissed like that in a major hockey pub, but guess what? We've deserved every bit of it. We haven't had a plan since the beginning of time. Someone finally has a plan and hopefully DL's right and we become a cup contender for many years to come. This will all be a distant nightmare.
I remember as a Yankee fan the horrors of the early 90's when we were the worst team in the league, but the memory has sure faded since 95. Now Yankee fans only understand winning. Hopefully that will be the way it is with the Kings.

Alonzo, you are only about the 400th person to say the King's will go D in this year's draft on this site alone. Plus, DL said it in an interview. And watch the language.

Arron - it is ALL about the CUP.