O'Donnell's impact

To me, O'Donnell has been the best King so far and I'm greatly impressed. On numerous occasions, especially on the PK, he made the smart, correct play. Looks like he learned a lot playing in that Quackers defensive minded system.

So he's everything that Blake wasn't last year? At a discount price? Seems like a great move & great fit, maybe he's even happy aboot it considering how crappy the Duckys have been...

I believe O'Donnell has been a great addition, especially for Doughty. In my opinion, that is by far the top defensive pairing for the Kings. Wish the Kings would've got him 2 years ago, instead of that money hungry ***** up in San Jose. See Blake, take a look at O'Donnell and you will see how a true veteran leader is. Hell, even take a look at Gauthier and see how he reacts when a player hit's your goalie. Unlike you, who stands there and watches why your goaltender is rolling around in pain after a Ryan Smyth spear. Gauthier actaully sticks up for his team mates. I'm so happy you DID follow the money and you and your ego is not on the Kings anymore. And the San Jose announcers actually thought nobody in L.A. would boo your pathetic ***. They say because of respect. Why should anyone in L.A. show you respect, when you showed absolutely none in return?
Okay, I got a little worked up there. Good to have O'Donnell on the Kings.

Petey - What venom...I think the Blake-attack is both inaccurate and misguided. San Jose just put the hurt on the Kings 2 games in a row, the shot count was horribly lopsided, and our defense got stuck in its own zone for half-periods at a time. The victory over Anaheim was great and showed that this Kings team is a different animal than last season, but to blame last years struggles on Blake is missing the point. O'Donnell looks like a great addition to this year's club with his veteran calm and highly regarded character. Let's not act like the jilted lover in the Blake case, though, because he wasn't the only player to struggle last season.

cheers.

I have to admit to being surprised at Sean o'Donnell's effect this season so far. After listening to his radio interview on the CBC last week, and after watching Sean's post game interview on FSW last Tuesday, I am completely impressed by Sean's demeanor, level-headiness, articulation and the leadership he conveys. I was skeptical when Dean made the trade for O'Donnell, but Sean is proving me wrong and turning me into a believer!

Sorry Cristobal...I'm on Petey's side on this one.... you can talk about the game all you want...Petey's point was pointing out the loyalty side of things....the lies and promises Blake made and did not keep.
SJ looks great yes...but any given team can be beaten any given day.....and frankly we would've been better off with any other defenseman,...but really lucky to have Sean O'. We've got some Good IRISH temperments on this team now....it's about time!!!

Petey is simply comapring this years veteran leader to last years veteran leader. In terms of Mentoring the young defender, I think its a quite fair comparison. Blake never really stood up for the team. The only time I saw him do so was when laperriere tried to fight johnson. Granted he did his job, he played peace maker rather than hockey player. Anyhow...I like what O'donnell is showing On the Ice. Passion is what comes to mind when I watch Sean. Throws the body around, verbally communicates with the team and sticks up for his mates...Sorry guys, I'm an avid Blake-hater

Jayrew - We never see Lidstrom or Neidermeyer pounce on players who hit the goalie either. Blake was never a big Fight guy. Lets not forget that we have Mark Hardy back and no Crawford. The spirit of the team is entirely different right now and O'Donnel fits in nicely, but he doesn't have a great shot from the point, he isn't stellar at break-out play, and we won't look to him for the power play. I'm not complaining in any sense about this years team right now. From what I've seen, I love it. But sniping about Blake can't erase the mistakes of the prior 2 years, of Crawford being a misfit here, and the fact that players who are stepping it up right now were invisible last season. Unless we're going to keep bashing Handzus, Preissing, Johnson, and others for last season, lets just forget about Blake and finding fault. That stuff is over and done. Besides, the Sharks aren't looking too shabby right now.

Anonymous - Why not sign up so we know who you are and what you're other comments are? Blake didn't lie to anyone, and he didn't take more money to go to San Jose, and he didn't snub the Kings in the offseason, and he returned 3 years ago to try and help the team. We've won 1 game. Let's just let our guys play, support them because they've been awesome even in defeat and struggles. Unless we knock Blake's Sharks out of the playoffs in 7 months, there's no use saying he's crap because he positioned himself to finish his career the way he wants to. I find it hard to believe that anyone else would make a different decision. The only lies, I remind you, have come from AEG and Lombardi, though hopefully Lombardi is done with that and trusts himself more now.

cheers

I have to agree with Petey,I know he wasn`t a fighter, and thats ok. But for the $$$ he received he was a disgrace as a defense man. I`m very happy he`s out of L A.

I think O'Donnell will be great for Green also, especially with decisions of when to step in with force and when to save it for the next meeting.
Also, we all have to admit that DL's free agent signings did, uh, not go as planned. But if we look at his trades, drafts, and waiver pick ups, there is plenty to excited about. We got O'Donnell and Quincey for nothing, both are very good pieces of the puzzle.

Blake is a far better player then O'Donnell. That is why the Sharks paid big bucks for him and the Ducks let O'Donnell go. I'd take Blake in a heart beat over O'Donnell the Duck and so should have LBL.

I think both arguments are worthwhile. Cristobal, (and we don't agree often) is right about a player pursuing his career. Gretzky left Edmonton and Messier picked up the rains and won another cup there. Would Gretz like to have shared in that??? Do you think Messier thought about their loss of a gifted player? No, he went out and did his thing.

Ease up on Blake.

Rob Blake is a great hockey player. If you've ever played the game you know how fast and talented you need to be to play at the NHL level, you can appriciate how gifted he is.

Peopel can talk about his lack of physical presence last season, and it's a fair critisism, but that was never Blake's game. He plays position, and when he could he delivered a ferocious hip check.

I don't blame him at all for moving to a contender.

God bless and good luck Rob!!

In lieu of a response to the revisted Blake debate, why not reread the delightful Blake Speaks. I stick by my previous read of the events.

Just remember, folks, when you compare the '08 Sharks and the '08 Kings: (1) the Sharks are widely regarded by their fans, the talking heads, basically everyone, to have mortgaged their future in order to win NOW, whereas the Kings have, in effect, mortgaged their present to win in the future; (2) therefore, the '08 Sharks had better beat the '08 Kings every time they play; (3) if the Sharks don't at least make it to the cup finals, they have failed; the stakes are very high for them and anything short of the finals is a disappointment; (4) The '08 Kings exceed expectations if they play .500 hockey; 80-plus points would be a major victory; (5) the Sharks are a veteran team; Rob Blake (for example) has played a thousand NHL games. It will be much easier for them to play with energy now when they are fresh, rested and healthy; lets see how they are after 82 games (they're certainly not going to go 82-0; but if they do, we all know what will happen in the first round!).

It would be nice (I am probably dreaming here), if the Sharks finished first overall in the league with 110 points and the Kings squeaked into the playoffs on the last day, and got to play the Sharks in the first round. Not impossible.

Quisp, we weren't comparing the Sharks and Kings really. More so, we were discussing Blake, O'Donnell, and playing the "blame-game." I'd just like to try and point out that Blake was drafted in the 4th round, won a norris trophy with the Kings, and won a Stanley Cup with the Avs. He's now subject to charges that he "sucks" because he played on the Kings for two of their worst seasons in franchise history. While he didn't shine last year, where's the sense in raging against a 20 year player with the credentials he's earned? Especially when the coaching and "team effort" were suspect over the course of those 2 seasons. While the trades for O'Sullivan and Johnson were great moves for the future of the Kings, they also robbed the Kings of 3 key veteran (if we can call Gleason a veteran so young) players who's contributions were obviously missed. Add to that the futility of signing Cloutier and letting the young Corvo walk, and there were bound to be tough years. Why should Blake get all the venom? He's a class act and never soiled his reputation by embarrassing himself with poor personal decisions. Did he skip charity events? Did he get in car accidents while drinking or racing? Did he ever quit on the team? I don't think he did. Do Boston fans boo Ray Bourque and say he sucked? He never won a cup there and he was never a guy to start a fight to spark the team, or pummel the guy who ran the netminder.

I'm glad O'Donnel is here, but I don't get the Blake-hate. I'm not saying nobody can do it, I'm just giving my opinion and explaining why I think its unfair. That's all.

PS - Wouldn't it be the worst if the Ducks finished dead last and got Tavares 2 years after hoisting the cup? Ugghhh.

Re Blake:

My complaint about Blake is (1) he has frequently put up very, very bad plus/minus numbers throughout his career; (2) his ass-checks often took him out of position, leading to goals against and (3) he was kind of unpleasant the season of his trade to COL. The argument about whether or not he's a future Hall of Famer (it's likely he will be inducted, I guess) or should have his number retired (I think he should not) is not possible to resolve.

I would also like to say: Rob Blake is obviously very talented. You have to be literally one of the best hockey players on earth to make it to the NHL, and Rob was among the best defensemen of his generation. Should everyone who fits that description get into the Hall of Fame? I don't think so. Maybe he should, maybe not. I really hesitate to say Rob Blake is "one of the greatest ever," which is what it means to me to be in the Hall of Fame.

As far as the Bourque comparison, he never rubbed people the wrong way. Blake, like it or not, rubs some people the wrong way. (Also, Bourque's career plus/minus is about 600 points higher than Blake's career -27; just as a little reflection of their respective abilities; Bobby Orr, the gold standard, was a plus 597 in just 600+ games, and there was one season they didn't keep track, in which he was certainly at least +30; imagine that. The guy was +124 one year.)

Damn..I'm sort of agreeing with Cristobal...what's the world coming to? LOL

I loved Blake when he was a King...when he was first here and then when he came back. The guy played hard and also played injured at the beginning of last season. At that time his play was poor, but he didn't have to play, and for that I commend him. He could have sat out and waited until he was 100%. As the season went on, his play improved big time. He was a mentor for JJ.
Thanks Blake, I'll cheer you when you're in the HOF..now that you're a Shark...SCREW YOU!!!!
Since you're no longer a King, too bad if you're getting booed every time you touch the puck. You're now the enemy.

OD has come in and so far has shown himself to be a leader on the defense. He's working well with Doughty and is mentoring him the same as the "other guy" did with JJ.
Nobody can complain about his play during the first 3 games. We couldn't have asked for more from him so far.
The next time I'll think about the "other guy" is when the Kings play the Sharks again...not a second sooner.

nykingfan, Blake did not play injured. Blake was playing recovering from hip surgery. There is a difference. Blake has always been about himself, and will always be about him.
I used to like Blake as well. I forgave him after he ripped the "C" off his chest, and came back a few years later. But to turn down being dealt to help the Kings for the future, only to turn around and leave for more money the following off-season, show's me he only cares about himself. Anyways that's all I have to say about that.
Sorry Rich for bringing up the name Blake.

petey - Blake did not sign for more money with San Jose. 6 mil with Kings, 5 mil. with San Jose. Was he ever offered a contract extension with LA after the trade deadline? And I doubt the Avs players would agree with you that its always all about him.

To go off topic slightly, does anyone know why the Kings ever let Laperriere go? He's one of my all-time favorite Kings and he really seemed to enjoy trying to contribute to Kings Charities and events for kids. Great guy, from an outsider point of view.

cristobal, Kings offered $4 mill. this off-season, and the Sharks offered $5 mill. The last time I checked, 5 was more than 4.
Anyways, that's the last I talk of this situation.