Forum answers, Part 4
This should be the last of them...
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``Exactly how many picks and where do we have in this year's draft? Is the first pick still decided by the balls?''
First of all, yes, the first pick is still done by lottery, weighted by where the teams finish. And here's what I have, in terms of the Kings' picks. Hopefully I didn't miss any... (thanks for the corrections):
FIRST ROUND: Kings' own pick plus Dallas' pick (Norstrom trade).
SECOND ROUND: Kings' own pick but Calgary's pick (Conroy trade) plus Detroit's pick (Stuart trade).
THIRD ROUND: Kings' own pick plus Philadelphia's pick (Modry trade) plus a conditional pick (for not signing Jan Marek).
FOURTH ROUND: Tampa Bay's pick (Munce trade) plus Vancouver's pick (Sopel trade). The Kings traded their fourth-round pick to Washington.
FIFTH ROUDN: Kings' own pick.
SIXTH ROUND: Kings' own pick, plus Dallas' pick (Evgeny Federov trade).
SEVENTH ROUND: Kings' own pick plus Anaheim's pick (Aubin trade).
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``I think Cammy is an outstanding player, and I would very much like him to stay in the Kings. But I also agree with you other guys that Kings have to give up something in return for a defensman. We have many young talents, maybe too many, why cant we give up one of them? We have tons of talented forwards. What are your thoughts Rich?''
This is quite possible to happen if two factors fall into place: one, the Kings don't sign a big-name free agent, and two, contract talks with Cammalleri go nowhere fast. I think it's unreasonable to expect that all of the Kings' young forwards will stay with the team long-term, and given the lack of depth on defense, it's probably unwise to have such a wealth of talent in one area when they lack talent in another. It then becomes a question of making sure they don't trade the wrong forward. Based on a combination of factors, I think Cammalleri is a more likely trade target than Kopitar, Brown, O'Sullivan or Frolov.
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``What is the situation with LaBarbara's contract for next season? Is he RFA? Also, to pick up on Eric's point about the captaincy....what about the possibility of Kopitar being the next captain of the Kings? I would assume if Blake is back, which I hope he is, he would remain the captain, but just wondering what your feeling is about Kopitar? How is he viewed in the locker room?''
LaBarbera has one more season left on his contract, with a salary-cap hit of $825,000. If Blake doesn't come back, I think the captaincy is a really dicey question. There's no obvious choice. In the past, I would have said Armstrong, but Crawford didn't even make him an assistant captain this season. Cammalleri might step into the role, but with his contract situation lingering, I'm not sure if that's the best decision. Among the young players, Jack Johnson has shown the most leadership ability so far, but he would only be a second-year player. There's nothing particularly wrong with Kopitar, but he still defers a little bit, in terms of being a vocal leader. In a few years, he might grow into the role.
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``I was wondering on the status of Purcell's contract. I thought if you played 10 games or more you loose a year of arbitration? Can you clarify his situation, and the plans for him in the future in this organization.''
I don't know the CBA, page-for-page, but I'm not aware of any 10-game rule for rookies. As far as I know, it's only junior players to whom that rule applies. If I'm wrong on that, someone please correct me.
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``What song did hall of famer Bob Miller sing at that Nashville honky-tonk bar? ...or did he swore you to secrecy? ..and did Foxy back him up?''
Ha! I couldn't remember the country song to save my life. Most of them sound the same to me anyway. But it was at Tootsie's, a favorite of Bob and legendary Kings trainer Pete Demers, among others. I think Jim Fox was trying to find the nearest Jamba Juice.
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``I'm curious as to the franchise's cap situation. With various media outlets predicting that the cap will rise to approximately $54mil, what is the franchise's current cap number for '08-'09? How many players are under a one-way contract for the next season, or how many of the players combined are anticipated to be on the roster come opening night? Given the past few years, what is the organizational "temperature" for possible free agent acquisitions this summer...or does the organization feel youth would better be served by staying in house for the start of the year (leaving a larger amount of cap space for the next deadline for a possible acquisition of a "remaining piece")?''
As far as contracts and cap numbers, I would refer you to www.nhlscap.com, which is unofficial but seems to do a great job of compiling contract information. As far as the ``temperature'' this summer, the Kings stand to lose at least three NHL-caliber forwards (Thornton, Willsie and Nagy) and ``two'' NHL-caliber defensemen (Blake and Klemm/Dallman). I think the temperature will be pretty similar to what it was last summer, with perhaps a little more willingness to be big spenders on the free-agent market, since the team is (presumably) getting closer to where Lombardi wants it to be.
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``Why is it that Lauri Tukonen gets consistently passed over for NHL looks? He's been up a couple times, but has never really had a long-term shot with the Kings. Have they given up on him, or does the Lombardi regime discount him as an NHL contributor?''
Over the last three years, Tukonen has 33 goals and 57 assists in 167 AHL games. Plus, there have been questions about his work ethic in the past. That's a bad combination, and doesn't speak well to Tukonen's future with the Kings.
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``Do you think Crawford is likely to be retained? It seems there is an awfully long leash with him. What positives does DL see that keep his faith in him?''
Yes, I think Crawford will be retained. If Lombardi was looking to get rid of him, it would have happened in December, or some time when the season clearly was heading into the dumpster. But I think the leash gets CONSIDERABLY shorter next season. I haven't asked Lombardi specifically what he sees in Crawford, but I presume it's the same things he saw when he hired him.
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About the bloggers
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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Rich,
First of all, this open forum has been great. Really appreciate your time, effort and candor in answering all these questions especially considering your other responsibilities.
I think my question came in a little late so I am hoping you can answer here. Here is what I posted:
If it's not too late to ask (and this may be a question for Dean) but I really think the Kings missed an opportunity to get a potentially strong goaltender in AL Montoya. Worse was that a division rival picked him up and it seems for very little. I'd love your thoughts.
Ersberg supposed to start tonight.
Rich, first off, this is exactly why you are the best man for this job. Your knowledge of both hockey & the kings combined with your "educated" opinions make your comments both informative and thought provoking. Second, I am going to change my opinion about paying for this site. I think that if this type of content - with "first hand" knowledge, insights and information from actual king's management and players - is a consistent feature, then by all means you should charge and be somewhat compensated for it. Who knows ... you could recruit other contributors from other teams and create a "hockey blog" where subscribers pay for one, two or numerous team sites. I'm sure you got some old newspaper buddies lying around with extra time on their hands. Great job!
Nice work Rich.
A few things to add about Tukonen-he's had several problems with shoulder injuries over his first 3 years, which have certainly impacted his play. He played through much of it and still has managed to score at a .5 point per game pace, not too shabby for a an injured 19-21 year old. I don't recall the questions about his work ethic you mentioned- most of the chatter i remember is that he needed to bulk up and fill out. This is a big issue for a power forward like him. I would hope the kings would not give up on him just yet and give him more time to develop given that he is only 21 and power forwards historically take longer to develop.
-J
What more can we say about you Rich, I didn't ask a question but wow your awesome to this blog. You keep this blog alive with these constant new Ideas, don't leave us fans with some b.s. writer, do what's best for you, and best for us! Thanks a lot man, i really do appreciate your work.
Rich, thanks for the open forum. I know your time is limited and we all appreciate it here.
On the draft picks, I believe we got a 7th rounder this year for Aubin.
Here's a question I just thought of...
Which Kings will get invited to the World Championships this year? Here's the list I came up with off the top of my head:
USA:
Brown
O'Sullivan
Johnson
Preissing
Canada:
Camalleri
Blake
Russia:
Frolov
Slovakia:
Handzus
Nagy (If he's not hurt)
Visnovsky
Latvia:
Ivanans
Slovenia:
Kopitar
The World Championships take place in Canada starting on May 2nd. The nations participating can only invite NHL players whose teams are not in the playoffs.
Did I miss anyone? Is anyone on the list that shouldn't be?
Anyone know if the Center Ice package will televise the Worlds?
Tootsies. I never thought I would be reminded of that place ever again. Its the minor league resturant to Hooters.
Your open forum is much better than Scott Wolf's. You post the questions, and you don't refer to the Kings' coach by a goofy nickname. ;)
Great job Rich.
We actually only have 3 second round picks. The second round pick you have listed from Vancouver for the Sopel trade was used last year for Wayne Simmonds.
Rich ........... absolutely the best, now that is the way a hockey writer does it. When I see you at training camp next year I'll be looking forward to shaking your hand and telling you personally how much I enjoy this blog when you are involved. You have spoiled us, as you always have the "fact" answers and you don't go off on the team. I really appreciate your very hard work and great insight and I feel that the rest of the gang that comes here for the real Kings info does also. Again Rich, thank you very much.