Monday's practice report
--There was quite a large turnout for the optional practice. I guess a lot of players want to remain Kings after all. Actually, everyone showed up to at least work out. The players who didn't skate were Brown, Calder, Nagy, Preissing, Stuart, Visnovsky, Dallman, LaBarbera, Armstrong and Frolov.
--Blake said he still hadn't been asked to waive his no-trade clause. I asked if he had any sense on if he would be traded or not and he said he really didn't know, to ask him tomorrow. I asked if there were a limited number of teams he would say yes to. He said he ``hadn't really thought about it and couldn't really answer because it's all hypothetical.'' That seems like a bit of a copout but, putting yourself in his situation, I suppose there really is nothing good that can come out of publicly announcing what teams you would and wouldn't except a trade to.
--I hear the ``Ice Bike'' auctioned off at Tip-a-King last night went for $35,000.
I'll have some interviews coming up with Crawford, Harrold on his first NHL goal and Cammalleri on his slump-buster plus what he has to say on the trade rumors.
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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.
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.
I hope DL can get a decent draft pick(s) for Blake and/or Stuart and that they can be resigned over summer. While understandable, what Sundin is doing in Toronto really doesn't help their chances of becoming a contending team in the near future.
Trade Blake, Cammi, and Stuart. Sign Stuart over the summer.
I doubt Blake is going anywhere with a near broke foot/ankle on the mend and a limited # of teams he willing to be traded to.
Watching Mondays leafs/sens game 1st intermission the crazy leafs commentators were throwing out wild trade rumor talk of Pens moving Malkin because they speculated that the pens would Not be able to sign him after next season for anything less than 10mil a year. They tossed a trade to the panel of To LA - E.Malkin To Pitts - Brown, Kopitar
Most thought that Kopi would be as good as Malkin