Murray, on final cuts
I just got off the phone with Terry Murray, who gave an update on all of the decisions he made today and the thoughts behind them. To start, here's what Murray had to say about two of the toughest cuts he had to make, Teddy Purcell and Kevin Westgarth...
``They're very difficult decisions. It's very tough to talk to hockey players about not making the club. It's probably the most difficult decision you can make. Getting down to the final roster number, I looked at it from the coaching point of view, and I tried to relay that to the players I talked to today. I tried to stress to them that it's a positive, because they're some of the last players here to talk to. The most important thing is that their attitude going down is correct, so that they can continue to work on their game. That's the attitude I tried to leave, for all the players to have.
``With some guys, like Purcell, I tried to be specific in things I saw and things I'd like to see a big focus on. Same with Westgarth. I thought he did a good job in his role. His role is a very difficult one. Not a lot of guys can do it, but what we need is for him to upgrade the playing part of his game, puck control and making good decisions with it in the neutral zone. Don't get too cute, just play straightforward and get it in deep. If he does that, coaches will trust him because we like to have players who can play that role.''
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About the bloggers
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.
Rich, do you plan to get DL's comments about roster cuts and specifically if there's a reason to have only 22 players on the roster instead of 23?
To leave room for o'sully
They don't have 23 on the active roster because they are not required to. They're operating at the floor. Why would anyone expect them to pay an additional salary that they are not required to?