Expected lines

wow.

next years slow-gun

Los Angeles Kings - "We'll try anything"

I just got a carton of milk at Ralphs and it had a picture of Patrick O'Sullivan on it... I guess being on a line with Handzus and Zeiler can make it seem like you're MISSING...

Lewis, Boyle, and Purcell in the minors and we are dressing Calder, Zeiler, Ivanans, and Westgarth. No wonder we can't score.

Just how is Zeiler getting so much respect from TM? He can't even stay on his feet let alone play hockey. He's like an unfolded lawn chair out there crashing into everything that moves. Happy Gilmour has more skill than this guy. GEEZUS!

How are the D pairings shaping up? Is Gauthier scratched?

Zeiler on line 3, hmm. I guess Calder continues to impress TM, which is interesting. That Ivan-Army-Garth is just comedy. That line should be called the, "We'll kick your ass if you think of hopping over that wall" line.

Ummm hey... lets slow this down real quick... We only have 12 forwards with the kings right now so basically they're all gonna play. Zeiler on line 3 means that Harrold will be playing Defense and gauthier is Scratched. We need to trade preissing and wave Zeiler back to Manchester for Richardson. Im guessing it's all going to depend on what Westgarth does.

Oh ya, and somehow the Calder/Stoll/Brown line is our best line so far this year.... hate to admit it.

ugggh zeiler

Murray is a moron. More line juggling...Let some guys play together and get some chemistry. Calder on line 2? Zeiler on line 3? He talks about having muliple scoring lines and we cant even put together one scoring line. Play Sully-Kopitar-Brown on line one if you want to get some scoring. Maybe Kopitar could gain some confidence too, because they will start scoring more goals. Murray the moron.

The Calder/Stoll/Brown line is our best line so far? How do you figure? Goals scored? That can't be it. Those 3 have 28 goals, whereas Frolov has 18 by himself. Calder clearly has no future here, which is why a youngster should be playing along side the other 2.

Why does Terry Murray think our players (that Lombardi gave him) are so incapable of playing in this league?

Two Goons, now? Detroit embarrassed us and they don't even have a goon.

Instead, Murray is adapting to one of the worst teams in the league - Tampa Bay.

We see them like every other year or so?

I like some of the players Lombardi has brought in, but this is now 2 failed coaching decisions.
Lombardi needs to get rid of some of the Flyers he's got holding our club down.
THIS is not the direction to be going.

Toronto needs a heavy. Package Ivan and Preissing and take on Van Ryn. Send Zeiler down, call up Boyle and Richardson and send Gauthier down.

Trade Ersberg to NYI for a 2nd.

Frolov. Kopitar. Brown

O'Sullivan Boyle Simmonds

Stoll. Handzus. Calder

Westgarth. Richardson. Harrold

Johnson doughty

Od Quincey

Greene van ryn

Quick
Bernier

Top line is solid.
Second like has size and skill in poS
Third line is shutdown
Westy is a heavy Richardson can fly and harrold is two way

i hope 3-4 of those guys are playing bc they're being showcased for a trade very soon.

i dont mind army in the lineup on the 4th line, but putting zeiler on the 3rd??? come on.

i would rather have richardson, moller, purcell, boyle, lewis, clune, anybody but z-train on our 3rd line.

i cringe every time i see calder on the 2nd line. it should be sully-stoll-brown

hopefully there's some method to tm's line madness.

kinda reminding me of crawford putting kopi on a line with ivanans.

on a more positive note, simmonds looks to be getting better every game. i love the kid. and he seems to be a nice component on our 1st/2nd line. he has hands, and can actually finish a check.

Nice comment Barney
Correct me if I'm wrong, but other than the 4th line, weren't these the lines that were used in the last game? If I'm wrong, then I'm the moron..if I'm right then whoever called the coach a moron would be the moron...I won't mention a name.
Also, I thought the Sully line was the best line the other night. They forechecked hard all game.
You don't expect scopring to come from a line with Kopitar and Frolov?
Nobody has been scoring recently, but the 3 lines have goal scorers on them. They just need to start scoring.
What is it with blaming the coach for the inadequacy of the players?
For those of us that have played hockey...or any competitive sport for that matter, when the hell did we ever blame the coach for us not scoring or playing well? If he's giving us the ice time, that's all you can ever ask for from a coach...the rest was up to us as players.

Agree, dont mind simmonds on kopis line, but put calder where he belongs....3rd line. pos-stoll-brownie. Get Zeiler out of here!!!

With these lines we basically have four forwards who have NO chance of scoring in Army,Zieler,Ivanans, and Westgarth.
Don't you think it would be wise to not dress so many of those types of players when the team can't score? I would rather see Purcell than Zieler anyday. Bottom line is that the team has to show more grit and drive harder to the net. When was the last time we actually generated more than a few quality scoring chances in a game? I cant recall.
On another note, I enjoy your comments nykingfan! I grew up in NY and was always a kings fan. Many memorable games in the nassau coliseum and MSG.

You said it jack....WOW. If I were murray I would have moved harrold to the third line. he is a way more solid player than Z. Hopefully we can get rid of some parts before the deadline and set up again for next year. This team has potential but some players are definitely keeping us down. Also, two heavyweights tonight? Unless they can both fight Boogard at the same time, this seems a bit ridiculous. I like TM but this offensive line-up almost seems like he's gunning for another top five pick.

nykingfan -

If it's the players who aren't good enough, wouldn't that be Lombardi's fault?
He's the one who put these guys together and got rid of the other players you were blaming for not getting it done - Lubo and Cammy and Blake.

It sounds to me like you're backing Murray and telling us that Lombardi has gotten it wrong.

I agree Johnny. They should trade Preissing, a pick and Boyle for a steady sniper/goal scorer. If theyre not going to let Boyle play his type of game and keep scratching Preissing, why not get something for them now?

I sure wish you guys would stop pushing for Brown-Kopitar-O'Sullivan line, when it worked we were lucky and now the truth emerges ..... There Ain't No Chemistry There .... so drop it. I really think we could use a good French-Canadian and send the Slowvainian and the American to Florida.

Im so sick of TM and his stupid lines. Bring back Pat Quinn!

Thanks for the compliment nykingfan. So the top two lines are the same as last game. My point is, leave these guys together long enough to develop some chemistry. Kopitar and Frolov on the same line works for me...leave them together for an extended amount of time. Not just two games. So your theory is, one goal scorer with scrubs on three lines produces goals? How does that work in this defensive system Murray has implemented. Who would you like me to place the blame on for rolling out lines that are continuously juggled and make no sense to most knowledgeable Kings fans? The guy is a moron until proven otherwise in my humble opinion.

Kopi-Sully-Brown works but you need to give them more than a game to get chemistry. Murry seemed to have infinite patience when it came to Calder on that line but Sully gets one game and done the few times he's seen that line.

Fro and Zeus have had great chemistry but they keep getting split up and Zeus seems to play worse on other lines.

Zeiler is Avery minus the mouth and skill.

Ivanans and Westgarth in the same game? wtf? I don't get that either.

I've hung with a lot of the moves but I don't get sending Boyle, Purcell, and Lewis going down while keeping two knuckledraggers on a team where you need scoring when they have maybe 6 guys in the league we need to play them against.

And Ivanans didn't even stick up when Doughty got hit. He was willing but the other guy wouldn't go, then you have to run someone with skill. That's his job. Now I don't expect him to catch St. Louis but someone else with less quicks would have been nice to see on their ass.

Bring in Ron Rolston OR Pat Quinn.
Bring in IGOR. He could get something out of our Kids.

AEG has to be getting impatient.
Nothing is easier to market than a HUGE point producing scorer and we don't have any.
If Larionov were here, I think we'd have 4, 5, or 6 guys they could be selling jerseys for all over north America.

If a deal is made, and I don't know if it can be done, we COULD be going after other team's prospects.

Colin Wilson
Cody Hodgson
VanReimsdyk
Tyler Myers

There are a lot of good prospects out there not playing for their big clubs right now.
I'm sure that DL is going sour on some of our youth. They want tougher players instead of skilled guys. Kopitar and Frolov don't seem to fit their mold. Maybe even O'Sullivan will go.
Could we see a HUGE trade that moves all three of these guys and gets us No. 1 overall (and AEG's marketing dream - a Canadian superstar) and some immediate return? Kovalchuk and Wilson plus Atlanta's 1st rounder.
I know the Isles are bottom of the league, but if we have 2 high 1sts, they'd probably go for the trade and take 2 guys rather than just 1.
Who knows what will happen, but TM and DL certainly have Kings fans frustrated with our scorers.
Maybe that was the plan in getting rid of our skilled players.
It will take MORE overhauling to get the team TM and DL want.
I don't see how Euro skilled players fit in to their system.

Unless you plan to release or just wiave a guy to trade means he has to play...I also believe based on what has happened so far the young guys L - B - P have not really done anything to set themselves apart from the C - I - Z - R - A group. So since they have options that becomes a business decision. TM is forced to juggle lines because the chemistry has not really been there for anyone. Plus chemistry has nothing to do with missing the net or the lack of effort. You can beat a mule all day and he will never win the Kentucky derby. So skill and effort have to come from the players, not the coach. Agreed that gauthier has been brutal and that says volumes about Priessing so the Kings do need those 2 gone. JJ to finally step it UP a notch or 10 to the DD level, get solid play from OD, Quincey and Green. Let Harrold play until we find someone better and that is NOT Kyle Mc ...another washed up slow pile. Bring someone up and that player could not be as horrible as G & P have been. Bernier needs to get in to see if he has it or not. We need to stop thinking all these little goalies are going to be Rogie...they are not.

I'm done with this team. Another season down the tubes...what is that, like seven in a row now? Wake me up around draft time when we're just good enough to lose out on the #1 overall pick or when we trade away our skilled offensive players for a bunch of 3rd-liners.

Ziggy33, re "forwards who have no chance of scoring":

since 12/23:

4 goals: Frolov
3 goals: Harrold
2 goals: Ivanans, Brown, Simmonds
1 goal: Armstrong, Stoll, Kopitar, POS, Quincey

That's right, Ivanans, Armstrong, Harrold, Quincey and Simmonds account for 50% of our scoring.

Greene has been FAR FAR worse than Harrold of late. No Benching, though.

If Gauthier and Preissing sit out tonight that will mean $4.85 million dollars/year watching from the press-box.

If, by some crazy occurance, TM actually benched Calder and Greene as well since they haven't been setting the world on fire...the total would amount to almost $11 million, or, more than a 1/4 of our payroll.

Funny, but I don't think we'd see a much different team if Calder were replaced with Purcell and Greene were replaced with Brian Boyle on D...

"If Larionov were here"?? He's not even a coach. He hasn't coached one game ever. He's not a coach. Stop talking about him like he's a coach or even wants to be a coach. Bring in Janet Gretzky. She also has a winning tradition.

By playing two "tough" guys, isn't TM actually being counter-productive in creating a "tough" team? What I mean is that now he is giving the other players an out. They can say to themselves, "Now I don't have to be tough because that's what Rongis and Westgarth are here for." Is this not a plausible result?

"Bring in Janet Gretzky. She also has a winning tradition."

this made me laugh... thanks quisp.

ETR

Please don't substitute your words for mine. I haven't seen anything wrong with either DL or TM. I may be one of the few who thinks TM is a good coach. I think DL is an outstanding GM. One of the best in the league.

You're right...he traded Cammy and Lubo. We can argue whether the players we got back were worth it or not, but there's no disputing one fact.
We didn't win jack sh** with those 2 guys here. In fact, we managed to finish with the 2nd worst record in the NHL with those 2 guys. So much for them being impact players. How do you account for us having a better record without them?

I ask again...what is this hard-on that you have for Larionov? The guy has never coached. Just because he was a great player, doesn't translate to being a great coach. The opposite is usually the case. Let him earn his stripes as a coach the way most others have...by coaching juniors or minors.

This team is a better team than last year. The young players will continue to improve. They have improved their defensive play significantly from last year. Give them time...if it isn't this year, I'm sure we'll be even better next year.
I haven't heard anything about the Kings souring on any of their prospects...have you?
The Islanders aren't going to trade the #1 pick. They are going to attempt to re-build the franchise using Tavares. they have no marquee players and the building is nearly empty. Even if they move to KC, they would want Tavares as the attraction..same as Crosby with Pitt.

Quisp, that was awesome. That was a good laugh, thank you, I needed that.

You're right Quisp.
LARIONOV has never coached a professional team as far as I know.
I do KNOW that he's organized games and lead teams of ameteurs, however, last year in Moscow and the US.
And I know that he's a leader.
What's the downside? Finishing last in the league?
We've managed to do that without him and we may come close to doing it again this year.

IMO, it's thinking "outside the box."

And what's the use in telling me not to bring it up?
You've got the guy YOU support in charge right now.
Me, I'm just a lone voice in the wilderness.

PS - what coaching experience does Kompon have?

Ersberg and JackHandy,

It would be funny if the Kings weren't much, much funnier.
I guess a King's fan has to get a chuckle one way or another...

nykingfan - the team will only be better than last year's model if we finish with more than 71 points.
We've got 38 games to get 30 points.
We'll see what happens.

As for our prospects, they're not 18-19 anymore (purcell, moulson, boyle) and we're a bad team. If they're not sticking now, when will they?
If you don't trade them now, their value goes down and nobody else will think they're worth the risk of giving up value for them.
If we can get one elite prospect by trading them, I'd say its moving forward...
DL and TM are the ones saying these guys don't fit the style they want to play.
Well, at least TM doesn't seem to like them much.
Maybe DL does.

Lubo and Cammy are actually good players.
That they were on a bad team should be quite obvious at this point.
Maybe we're better because we don't have Cloutier, Nagy, Modry, Stuart, Willsie, Thornton, and Labs.
Did you ever consider that?
We also DO have Simmonds, Moller, and Doughty.
Players we could have PLAYING ALONGSIDE CAMMY AND LUBO, while Boyle centers O'S and Brown all season.
Cammy and Purcell on the PP would have been fun to watch...

Purcell, Boyle and Lewis all getting a lot of ice time with Manchester seems good. Especially given the Kings are using both of their goalies and none of the mentioned players were lighting it up for the Kings. (Doesn't Manchester need to be competitive too)?

It is likely that the Kings will get rid of some of the one-way players; and the prospects will get decent ice time, soon.

No one has gone sour on these guys. This is likely good for their development.

Re: Raitis, Army, Westie
This line will be interesting to see (in a good way). Other teams will be on notice

Re: the rest of the lines
I think that building lines around Kopitar, Brown, and POS makes sense, for now. Support around them might not be ideal, but it is what we got and there is seemingly no chemistry between the 3. (Let them regain respect by watching each other on separate lines, for now).

Has Dustin Brown ever played center?

I see him much along the lines of a Mark Messier and wonder if a tough 2nd line center wouldn't be a great way to follow up Kopitar's No. 1 line (Frolov/Kopitar/O'S).

If Brown can play defensive responsibly and learn to take face-offs, he could be grouped with Purcell, Simmonds, Moller, Lewis, Calder. Pretty much anyone.

I think what we really lack is a second line center that is a bit of an opposite to the 1st lines skill.
Someone like Arnott, but not as old, would open up a lot for the 1st line, and the 2nd line wingers...
Maybe Brown could be that guy.

Zeiler's like that bad penny you just can't get rid of.

Okay. Don't jump down my throat. BUT. I've read a few replies. So I can confidently say this. One. Leave Zeiler alone. Honestly he played better than the rest of the guys against Detroit. And Two. I honestly honestly think that Terry needs to separate Brown and Kopitar. You know that line isn't going to do much. So why keep putting them together. They did much better separated I think. And put sully back with Kopitar. See how that works out they probably just need a little shove.
But what do I know. I'm just a girl.

Rachel:

I completely and utterly agree with you 100%.

I got it!!!!

Trade
Kopi for Ovechkin
Brown for Crosby
POS for Semin
Calder for Iginla
Ivanans for Zetterberg
Boyle for Malkin
Zieler for Datsyuk
Army for Nash
Stoll for Hossa
Frolov for Lecavalier
Handzus for Kovalchuk

The Goat for Boyle
Preissing for Chara
OD for Weber
JJ for Lindstrom

A 4th round pick and Zatkof for Backstrom
A 3rd round pick and for Mason

Then our lines could be:

Ovechkin, Crosby,Iginla
Semin,Lecavalier, Zetterberg
Malkin, Datsyuk,Nash
Hossa Kovalchuk, Simmonds

Doughty, Lindstrom
Weber, Chara
Quincy, Boyle

Backstrom / Mason

Army for Nash? I hear Nash is NOT good in the room...

Now that all of our defensemen are back and healthy, maybe it's time we try a different approach and be more aggressive on the forecheck by sending 2 guys? This might help to shake some of our scorers out of there lull. You can be defensively responsible and aggressive at the same time(look at Detroit).

Quisp....

Listen to me! Nash might not be the best in the room but we cant have everyone talking at once. Use your head on this one and dont put words in my mouth. I know what's best and you don't. I have been a kings fans since November 2008 and have attended 4 games. So please don't challenge me on theses things.

Anonymous -

I beg for your forgiveness. I grovel in mortification.