Open forum, pre-camp edition

If Drew Doughty makes the team at age 18 he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency at age 25.

I believe he is more valuable at 25-27 than he is at age 18-20. Why rush him to the NHL? Could be a bad move down the road.

Doughty has had the Kings tatoo'd on his butt since he was two! eff'ing with a kid at 18 and he will be sure to leave the club the first chance he gets. You think you can burry a guy with Doughty's tallents? Think the Oilers thought that when they signed Gagner at 18? Championship thinking GM's do not think the way you think - and we all know how many cups the Kings have won!

Who's starting in goal for us this year, Rich? What's your gut feeling?

If someone were to go down to watch the practice/scrimmage is there any restriction on bringing a camera without a flash?

I figure you'd know being part of the press and all =P Thanks!

Rich, why do we have one of the worst HD hockey schedule from FSN West when many teams have this type of programming? Washington????? There are probably more HDTVs in Los Angeles than most NHL cities combined...it is pathetic the little exposure that hockey gets in the country's #2 television market...

Bethesda, MD (Sept. 10, 2008) – Comcast SportsNet, the leader in local sports television, in conjunction with the Washington Capitals, announced today a 73-game television schedule for the 2008-09 season. The schedule includes a record number of high-definition game productions, with 50 games airing on Comcast SportsNet HDTV.

Does it appear, from what you've seen, that Dean Lombardi or Terry Murray has a window in which to make the Kings a successful team? And what are AEG's expectations for this year and beyond?

How does management see Justin Azevedo? It's easy to pigeonhole a player for their size, but do the Kings really see Azevedo as someone who will contribute for the team further down the road?

Finally... what would be your ideal alternate jersey for the Kings?

Rich,

If Sully or Richardson aren't signed before training camp will they still participate in camp? Technically they're still under contract right, so they can't/won't hold out or am I just completely off base here?

I'm going to be lazy and re-post what I wrote yesterday:

Rich,

This may be outside your scope but can you look into why the Kings will only broadcast 10 games in HD? I know I don't have to argue the benefits of HD to anyone here but I am baffled as to why, with all the resources in this town, the Kings have so few games in HD.

Looking around at other teams TV schedule, I am seeing smaller markets with more games broadcast in HD than Los Angeles is offering:
Nashville has 22 on FSN South.
Washington has 70 on Comcast SportsNet.
Phoenix has 40 on FSN AZ.
Florida has 38 on FSN Florida.
San Jose has 40 on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.
And then there is this quote: "The Stars are working very hard to get EVERY game in HD..."

Thanks,

Rich, do you have contact info for the powers that be at FSN West or Mike Altieri so we can complain about the lack of HD Kings coverage?

I was going to ask about HD coverage but that has been handled.
You indicated that you thought a deal for a d-man would come down this week. So far, it hasn't happened. What is the hold up? Who do you think it will be? If it's via trade, who will we have to give up?

Rich,

Here's what we know: Lombardi has stated that he's looking to acquire a veteran left shot defenseman with only a year left on his deal, preferably someone who'd be a good partner for Doughty (if he makes the team). We've also heard this offseason that this could most likely happen via a trade. We know that the cap floor is also the Cash Budget for the year and they'll reach it the minute O'Sullivan signs at this point assuming a 22-man roster of 13 Foewards, 7 defensemen and 2 netminders.

Most teams are looking at the Kings as a way to dump a salary, therefore the Kings may not have to give up a player in this kind of a deal. We also know the Kings won't give up a high pick or high level prospect and may in fact want to dump a salary themselves in any trade to get it under the $40M.

Without speculating on the player coming back (assuming a trade is made, we've heard every rumor known to man, no need to continue that) who do you see the Kings parting with, and what teams do you see being good trade partners for them.

The HD schedule seems to be a hot topic so I'll add to it. The excuse I kept hearing last year was that Fox has only 1 HD crew and the Kings are pretty low on the priority list if others are playing that night.Is this right? Does Fox really have only 1 crew to work HD games?

Maybe I've been out of the loop here, or I'm just forgeting. Where's Trevor Lewis?

Rich, who do you think will be the veteran D'man the Kings will pick up?...The name I keep hearing is Schneider. I guess we could do a lot worse.
When he was here before, what was your opinion of him as a "team guy" and do you think he's the type of veteran who the young kids can learn from?

Of the young forwards that most here assume are a lock (Boyle, Purcell, Moulson, Richardson) and let's include Stoll since he's new too....of these guys who do you see having the most impact on our team/ the most success this season?

My guess is either Boyle or Purcell being the most prolific scorer, and Boyle or Stoll being the best 2-way guy in that bunch. That is admittedly saying that I don't know much about Richardson's game/current level.

The one thing I like most about a bunch of young'n's is hopefully they will challenge each other to not only perform their best on offense, but contribute 2-ways.

I guess my hope is that Boyle solidifies himself on this team for years to come through his performance this season.

Rich -
Why would the Kings want to acquire a guy like Schneider at 5.75 Mil/Year, which would not only help but require some sort of asset to be given to our hated rival, rather than a guy like McKee who is cheaper, more responsible in his own end, and who we would have as a vet anchor/tutor for two years? If any of the speculation is true it seems like the Kings are leaning toward Schneider which doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Out of the blue Question -

Rich, do you play Video games? And If so, have you played the new NHL09 on PS3 or 360?

Rich,

- You've had inklings before about the possibility of trades for Visnovsky & Cammalleri. Given what you see as a journalist, what you witness on the ice and breaking down DL's philosophy, do you see any way that Frolov is DL's next and possibly last big trade bait?

- You've said before that going into next season, the Kings would probably either be very young, very good and have a breakout (sort of like the TB Rays, IMO) or be very young, make mistakes and quite dreadful (sort of like Chicago 2 years ago). Where do you see it finishing closer to? As for myself, I fully expect to see something like Phoenix or Chicago last season - Okay start, very good middle and bad ending (the sign of most young teams).

- It seems as though DL and TM are setting the expectations for this coming season very low. Knowing that a lot players read the papers, is that a safe thing to be doing publicly?

- If YOU had to pick a team captain, would you pick a savvy veteran who is in his final years like Derek Armstrong, an older veteran who can still grow with the team like Jarret Stoll or Alexander Frolov or a young kid with raw leadership capabilities like Dustin Brown or Jack Johnson? Or would you go with a rotating captaincy like Columbus and Minnesota?

- Since this point last season, has your faith or trust in Dean Lombardi's plan and philosophy grown or diminished in the past 365 days?

- Give me your strangest, funniest or most interesting Kings-related story.

That's it for now. See you at the rink, Rich. Hope to finally meet you soon.

Just curious... Is there a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff/information that you know about our Kings that you can't share with us? Do you have reasons to be even more excited than us about the Kings future? Or, does DL and Staff pretty much only give you what you can give us? (Obviously I'm not looking for specifics, just in general)

Do you think the front loading of so many home games at the beginning of the season will hurt or benefit the team? On the one hand, i've heard many players say that a team bonds much better being on the road early. On the other hand, i presume the team will have more practice time which is better when installing a new system and when you have a lot of players that are developing as nhl players and a team.

Should fans be optimistic that this rebuild will be different or pessimistic since AEG is still in charge? By that I mean AEG has owned the team for 15 years now and if DL - like GMs before him - is required to run every option passed Anschutz and Leiweke, what chance is there for success when the 2 folks with the final say obviously have little hockey acumen?

Why haven't the Kings signed Patrick O'Sullivan already? For all of DL's rhetoric about building a solid nucleus for the future, it's growing a little thin. Send a message to the Players and the Fans that you're serious about what you keep regurgitating.

If my memory is correct, Corey Perry of Anaheim, another RFA, was signed by Anaheim on Jul. 1st, preventing him from being poached by another team.

DL's Dirty Harry impression of warning other GM's to stay away from his RFA's is absolutely comical! What a large ego he possesses.

The real reason POS's contract has not been finalized is due to our pathetic AEG ownership group. You'd think that the Kings were in one of the smallest markets the way AEG treats this franchise! If they move the team to Kansas City, they'll get there wish.

Ginger? or Mary Ann?

Will Thomas Hickey be the next King to wear #4...but be less pompous in wearing it???

Could this team actually succeed UNDER AEG's ownership? Who is higher on the sports totem pole? The Galaxy or The Kings?

why should I care anymore?

Rich,

There are quite a few teams in trouble with the cap. What has DL been offered to take on salary? I imagine we might get a 2nd rounder from the Ducks for taking on Schneider's 6M. But, I do not see any other team that would be interested and a buy out would still leave the Ducks on the edge. Does DL think he can get a first if he waits until opening day?

thanks

OK, we've got a young team, we're still somewhere along the spectrum of "rebuilding", and nobody expects us to be world beaters just yet. Now, say we don't win many games this season: What signs can we look forward to that might reassure us that we're on the right track? (And I'm not talking about rhetoric from anyone in management, or anything the pundits have to say; I'm talking about on-ice performance.) Win or lose, what in the upcoming season is going to sell us on the long-term course that DL has chartered for this franchise?

Thanks, Rich. As always, you are one sexy blogger!

OK, we've got a young team, we're still somewhere along the spectrum of "rebuilding", and nobody expects us to be world beaters just yet. Now, say we don't win many games this season: What signs can we look forward to that might reassure us that we're on the right track? (And I'm not talking about rhetoric from anyone in management, or anything the pundits have to say; I'm talking about on-ice performance.) Win or lose, what in the upcoming season is going to sell us on the long-term course that DL has chartered for this franchise?

Thanks, Rich. As always, you are one sexy blogger!

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