About the 23rd player...

Zeillerrr

The kings ROYALLY screwed O'Sullivan... good job DL

O'Sullivan ROYALLY screwed the Kings.. good job Sully

How did someone get screwed here?
O'Sullivan's career is not over, he's just going to start late and slow his development a bit, so he's not screwed.
As for the Kings,if they were legimate contenders for the Stanley Cup this year and he was the one player we need to win the cup, well, I could see that...since we're being picked to compete for the 1st overall pick in the draft, I don't think that is case.
Reality is, we get a chance to see some of our young talent a little bit sooner (Moller and Simmonds) and when it's all said and done, Sully's contract will fit in nicely with our other Salaries (Brown, Kopi, JJ, etc.)so that we're not like the Ducks, giving away players because we're pushed up against the cap max.

I believe that this will be the worst team in Kings history. Good effort Purcell - way to put in the extra effort to make the team

With all due respect to John Zeiler -- who works harder than most -- I find it pretty discouraging to think we are saving a roster spot for him. Hopefully this really is a placeholder for Patio.

Rich, now that the season opening roster is basically set it might be interesting to conduct a poll to see where people think the Kings will finish this season. I believe we'll be somewhere near the bottom, but only in my most pessimistic moments do I believe we'll be worse than the Islanders. We may also wind up ahead of the Thrashers, Blues and Leafs and perhaps a few others. I would guess somewhere in 23rd to 27th place.

This is nowhere close to the worst Kings team ever. Those late 90's post Gretzky teams were brutal, and had no hope for the in form of prospects.

This year's team has talent, as unproven and green as it might be once you get past Kopitar, Frolov, and Brown. Also, this year's team looks a lot more potent than Chicago did at the start of the season last year.

This might be the youngest Kings team ever though.

I think that a lot of people are going to be surprised just how good this team is.

Whether or not O'Sully joins us (I think that it is probable) we have a couple of top scoring lines and outstanding young D-men like JMJ and Doughty leading a vastly improved defense, with O'D and Greene supplying size, more toughness and experience. All we need is one goaltender to get hot behind better D then we have seen in years, and this year's playoffs may last more than one round.

Things are looking up our the Kings as I see it.

Well said Della Nooch.

People want to think that the world will end because Sully isn't here by opening night.
I like the makeup of the roster. I love the fact that Simmonds and Moller made the team. One of the two would not have made it if it wasn't for Sully's holdout. Again, the holdout lets others get a chance to show what they can do. Hopefully, they take advantage of it.

The D was a no brainer. It would have been counter-productive to have either Martinez or Hickey sitting in the stands as the 7th defensemen. both need to play regularly.

I love the fact that the goalie situation came down to the last game. I wonder if he told the goalies that before the game?

Any word on who the captains and assistants will officially be ? Or did I miss an announcement ?

Please tell me this is a sick joke...

ZEILER???

Zeiler blows. I can care less how hard he works, he just doesn't have the talent or moxie to hold down a NHL roster spot.

It's saved for O'Sullivan, they'll get a deal done soon enough. How long the terms will be is the real important question.

The Kings will win their division with or without POS, so it's all good.

JonG - great idea on a thread for where the Kings finish. I am going with 14 wins before the break and 7 wins after the break considering the brutal second half schedule. While I do agree that there are a handful of teams that we are better than, I think we compete in the best division. Three teams have a shot at 100 points; okay, the Ducks may need some good fortune. The Yotes would likely be a playoff team if they played in any other division. This makes for a painful short term outlook. One advantage is that our youngsters will often be playing against the best. The learning curve will be tremendous, if the team can stay positive.

I agree that the post-Gretzky years were the worst ever. Little talent, little effort, and few prospects.

At least in the late '70s and in the '80s we would have a decent year every so often just to keep things interesting.

About the 23rd player...
Making the team was easy... getting a good contract was another story.

Starring: Patrick O'Sullivan, Dean Lombardi, Phillip Anschutz, Rob Lowe and Demi Moore.

Patty and Deano are two single men living their lives on the wild side. But when Deano meets Phillip at a bar and the two start a relationship, Patty's life takes a different turn. How does the negotiation end? Will the relationship survive? What effect will the holdout have on both people and their friendship with their best mates?

Opens in theaters October 11th

JonG - we all realized that going into the trade for Gretzky pitiful years would follow. We gave up 6? 1st round picks. The basement view was inevitable.

As bad as those years were, the team never finished bottom 3, three years in a row. To me, that is unacceptable. Throw in that the only contributor for the coming season that Lumbo has drafted will likely be Doughty, and it looks worse.

I'm hopeful for these youngsters Simmonds, Moeller, and Teubert, but don't think the teams NHL performance has been this bad over 3 seasons since I can remember. Taylor, though he wasn't perfect, would have taken these bottom-dwelling seasons personally, for better or worse.

The big question is: Will this season be the 4th bottom 3 finish in a row? If so, will Lombardi get the chance to see through his "plan"?

Doesn't anyone remember "About last night?" I thought my post was at least a little bit funny. Not even a remark about it. Oh well!