Forum answers IV
Still going with the open forum answers. Looks as though there will be a couple more sets of answers to go...
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Questions: 1. Does Justin Williams seem to be fitting in with the team and his new teammates? 2. Are you surprised by the play and consistency of Wayne Simmonds? 3. Do you think we will make the playoffs next year? 4. If you could sign one free agent in July who would you sign?
Answers: 1) I'm only around the players for a very limited time every day, but I took Williams' interest in ping-pong to be a good sign. He's interacting. 2) Yes, very surprised, and you used the correct word with ``consistency.'' I'm very impressed with his ability to maintain a solid level of play deep into the season. The fact that he made the team out of camp was surprising. The fact that he's still going strong in mid-March is highly impressive. 3) Yes, I think that's a reasonable projection. 4) Michael Cammalleri. Just kidding. Marian Hossa.
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Question: Rich whats the deal with Zeiler? He got a 4 year contract but in your opinion how long will he be here? He brings nothing to the team in my opinion.
Answer: Zeiler showed something in his first season, mainly with his willingness to skate and throw his body around, but his game really hasn't evolved at all. The four-year contract he signed came at a very low price, so if he doesn't make the NHL roster next season, he would simply fall into being a minor-league player who would be exposed to waivers (I believe) if he got called up.
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Questions: 1) Why is Harrold playing forward? Is there really no better options...Boyle, Lewis are better than Harrold at forward... 2) Why is Calder still in the line-up? 3) Whats the FSN HD Broadcasting situation next year?
Answers: 1) Because the coaches like the job Harrold is doing at forward and didn't like what they saw from Boyle, which has been well-documented. Lewis got a little look at the NHL and should get a much longer look next season. 2) Because even though a lot of fans don't like him, the Kings' coaches do, especially the way Calder plays defense. 3) It hasn't been announced yet, but the word I got from FSN's since-departed PR person was that the network's goal was to get every pro game on the network broadcast in HD later this year. We'll see.
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Question: Here's my question from a previous thread: What I want to know is why the Kings often lapse into prevent D with a lead in the third. A lot of times, it doesn't work, especially against teams like Detroit, who smoked us witha two-goal lead in the third when we went into "no offense" mode. 3 shots in the third and zero in the final 12 minutes or so. Not acceptable. This happens in virtually every game in which we have the lead. Is this a concerted effort or just a byproduct of youth and inexperience?
Answer: Well, given my other job responsibilities, I probably don't get to watch as many NHL games these days as a lot of you do, but I think it's fairly natural for a team to fall into more of a defensive game when leading in the third period. Plus, it's not just that the Kings are ``falling back,'' it's that the other team is doubling its effort to push forward. Add this to the fact that we know Terry Murray's emphasis, all season, has been on defense, and collectively it sort of explains the ``prevent'' defense. YOuth probably plays into it as well.
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Questions: 1) Oh, I forgot to ask about what DL thinks of prospect Jordan Schroeder.. I think he would be a nice fit for this team.. 2) Also, why TM has been making Brad Richardson a healthy scrach..?
Answers: 1) I really haven't talked about draft prospects yet. It's a bit early. 2) I heard that, the other night on Kings Talk, Ron Hextall mentioned that he wanted to see more offense from Richardson. That was the first I had heard of that.
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Question: Did Dean have to consult with Leiweke before making the Williams trade or does he have unlimited say over the hockey dept. or only up to a certain dollar acquisition amount?
Answer: I know that Lombardi prepared a ``briefing'' folder for ownership, with a few different charts and numbers, leading up to the trade deadline, but I don't think the Williams trade had to be approved because it didn't have big financial implications. They will probably sit down early in the offseason and talk budget, just as they did last season.
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Questions: 1) Rich, is today a good for the 'long' story to the Sully trade? 2) Do you know if many people have renewed their season tickets? If that number is up or down from this time last year? 3) What aspect of this blog/covering the Kings do you get the most personal pleasure/fullfilment from?
Answers: 1) Yeah, it's fine, but I honestly don't remember which parts of the story I didn't tell before. So...the three-team deal was in place, and the Kings were looking at Williams' medical records. The Kings nearly pulled O'Sullivan from the lineup on Tuesday, because they knew the trade was going down. On Tuesday night, the Toronto paper had a blog item about the Kings being interested in Williams. I messaged Lombardi to ask him about it, and he said no. Shortly before that, Edmonton had called off the trade because they found out the Kings were getting Williams and they didn't like it. Lombardi thought I had broken that story, and he was trying to scare me off of it so that he could save his trade, so he lied about Williams. He didn't know that I was merely following up on the Globe and Mail report, so he really wasn't doing himself much good. So anyway, the next morning, he had to include the second-round pick in order to get the Oilers back to the table. The trade got done and Lombardi came clean about lying the previous night. I think that's pretty much the quick version of the long story.
2) I don't think that period is over yet, so no, I don't have that number yet. 3) Wow, tough question. I probably enjoy the ability to sit down with people such as Lombardi and Murray and pick their brains. I don't have any desire to be a GM or a coach, but I think it's fascinating to talk to someone in-depth and get them to dissect the way they do their jobs. A lot of it ends up being off the record, which isn't necessarily good for my ability to report, but it does help me understand what's happening and I find it really interesting on a personal level.
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Question: Rich, how can we ensure the kings keep Frolov?
Answer: Talk to him and tell him to a) consistently play at a high level and b) not ask for an obscene amount of money in 15 1/2 months.
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Question: Do you agree it is time to do away with the term "core"? Hasn't it been done to death at this point? All it seems to do is give fans a group of players they can feel betrayed about losing, even if its in the nme of making the team better. Your thoughts?
Answer: Well, yes, I agree with you. Every team has a ``core,'' but that core is constantly changing, and it does seem as though a segment of fans takes the term ``core'' to mean ``players who will be here forever.'' Two years ago, the ``core'' of the Ducks was Selanne, Pronger, Niedermayer and Giguere. That's going to have changed quite a bit by the time the 2009-10 season starts, right? So I would recommend to Lombardi that if he wants to talk about a core, he explain himself a little more clearly, because some people are taking that word and attaching their own meaning to it.
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About the bloggers
J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
E-mail J.P. at jp.hoornstra@inlandnewspapers.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.
Vincent Bonsignore is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News. E-mail Vinny at vincent.bonsignore
@dailynews.com.
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POS takes a stupid penalty in OT to lose the game for EDM. OUCH
POS just took a slashing penalty in OT vs. Montreal (he broke somebody's stick) and Mont scored on the PP to win. I feel bad for Sully. Not the best way to start with a new team.
BTW, Rich I had posed a question earlier and probably need to learn to be more succinct in my formation of questions, so I will next time.
Kind of off topic, but Patrick O'Sullivan took a penalty in overtime tonight against Montreal, and the Canadiens scored and won the game..
In 3 games, O'Sullivan has 1 assist and is playing on the 3rd line
Rich, thank you for taking the time to answer everyone's questions. As you eluded to in one of your answers above, you are subject to a lot of off the record conversations with Kings management & coaching staff. Based on what you have heard or come across, in your opinion, which free agent(s) do you see the Kings being most interested in?
Also, are there any other trade inquires that were made by DL at the deadline that you can tell us (player names, teams, positions)?
do you find it odd that DL felt he had to lie to you? Couldn't he have just asked you to keep it quiet or ask if you broke the story? I would think that by this point you would have enough of a rapport for him to be honest, even if it had to be off the record. Do you take it as a sign that he doesn't trust you and if so, does that bother you at all?
Nick
Classic, from today’s GM meetings –
"Right now, you can blindside a guy, you can see a player coming through the centre of the neutral zone, looking away to take or receive a pass, and
you can drop your shoulder straight into his head and it's a perfectly legal and appropriate hit,"
said NHLPA executive-director Paul Kelly at the league's annual general managers' meetings in Florida. "We don't think that is correct. We think that is a serious safety issue."
Maybe we can get Anthony to defend Goat at his next hearing?
I'm not surprised at all about O'Sullivan. I've said for a long time that he's overrated. And he's not even rated that high, so you get the idea. Huge win for the Kings in that trade.
I watched O'Sullivan tonight and minus the unfortunate penalty at the end, he was fantastic. best game yet-great defensively and dangerous offensively. He had that fight and energy in him like last season. The third line he was on was one of the best and he got top line minutes. Good for him. Hopefully this work out the best for him and we can only wait and see how our end works out for us which i hope goes well.
Hey Rich,
Why is there a tougher standard for Frolov than with any other King? He seems to work hard on the boards. It's tough for the D to take the puck away from him. No other King is as good as he is at holding on to the puck. When he is playing with good players he produces. This year they got him as a set up guy on the PP and makes the smart play. He gets benched for a turnover versus Vancouver that really wasn't his fault I guess he could have iced it but that's nitpicking. Kopitar is a freaking -16 and he doesn't get benched for his turnovers. I just don't get it. He our 2nd or 3rd best player based on how you value Brown. What gives?
PS: Why do I have to sign in every few days? Why can't the site remember me for a longer period of time?
Great game for Sully tonite in Montreal,agressive and involved.Similiar results as our game there,should of had 2 points,they got 1.Those Frenchys are irritating.
The answer is because more is expected of Frolov than any other player. He's the veteran and the top-end talent among the forwards that are or could be a part of the future. When he gets punished for mistakes, its because Murray thinks enough of him to not want him to do it again. He's trying to get those mental lapses that have plagued Fro throughout his career out of his system.
Also, every player takes a different approach, just to prepare for the "why doesn't Brown/Kopitar/Doughty/Moller/Simmonds get punished!" group. Obviously Murray thinks this is the way to take things with Frolov. IMO, Fro has had his best/most consistent year to date, so I think it's working.
I don't get one thing...what is the big freakin deal about Fro getting benched?
To bring up Kopitar's play as compared to Fro is utterly ridiculous. Forget about the useless +/- stat...when do you see Kopitar taking games off....let alone shifts?
That's been Frolov's biggest problem since he's come into the league.
He's an incredible talent. Very few players in the league have his skill level. So why isn't he a big goal scorer or have huge point totals? It can't be because he's been playing tough D since he got here...until this year, his defense sucked.
The guy doesn't compete hard every night and every shift. He should be a consistent 40-50 goal scorer and 80-100 point guy...but he's not...He never has and until he gets it that he needs to work hard every night, he never will.
He's just coming into his prime now. Hopefully he realizes why TM is benching him and corrects that major flaw. We all want him to succeed and play up to his potential every night. That can only help the Kings.
As for Sully...Who cares?
The guy plays for Edmonton...our rival. I'm glad he took the penalty in OT to cost his team a point...Hopefully its a point that eliminates them from the playoffs and gets us in.
Happy Wednesday morning guys!!!!!
He did the Kings a favor!
Nick: You make a good point. Hopefully, that is what's going on. He is our best forward. I want to see him long term with the Kings. Out of curiosity, what will he be worth per year? 6 million? more/less?
NYKingfan: I think it's not a fair statement. I think every player takes a shift or two off. It's a long season. I think Fro was unfairly benched for his turnover against Vancouver. Yeah, he had control of it for a second but the guys from Vancouver get paid to play as well and it was a good strip of the puck. He could have iced it in that split second but that's the way it goes. There were 4 other Kings who couldn't clear the puck out as well. As far as the rest of comments about him being an incredible talent, I guess it's why I get upset when he not out there. He should be. However, until we get better talent up front he won't get 100 points playing with our 2nd and 3rd line guys. Plus, the league is too defensively minded. When I became a hockey fan you could see forwards beat defensemen one on one at least once or twice a game with sweet moves. Jagr or Lemiuex could go 1 on 2 and beat them. Just think of Lemieux's goal in the SC finals against Minnesota in the 90s. When was the last time you've seen a forward beat a d-man with awesome stickhandling and speed? It's just a different game.
In the particular instance of this game it was that Fro turned the puck over in the neutral zone on two or three possessions. Vancouver was pushing hard and the Kings needed to be getting the puck out and deep to get some time in the Vancouver end. After repeated turnovers at a crucial point in the game Murray benched him.
The exact opposite was Moller, who on a couple of occasions fought his way up the boards to dump the puck deep in the Vancouver zone, and he got a lot ice time in the 3rd.
if you have to sign in every few days, that means your cookie expired. nothing you can do really, and I don't think Rich has any control to change it on their end. it's either set by whatever login you are using (mine is MT), or possibly the insidesocal site admins (doubtful).
Big Rob
I agree you can't go 100% every shift...but over the years Frolov has taken off a lot of games. He doesn't bring the intensity that a Dustin Brown brings.
I might be crazy but I think he is just as talented a player as Pavel Datsuyk. Datsuyk is a much better player because he plays hard all the time. He had a huge advantage of playing with and for winners. Frolov needs to get that attitude of being a winner. The only way that happens is by winning..catch 22.
DL believes in bringing in people who have been winners. Williams was a cup winner...the young kids he drafted have all been winners...
Unfortunately through no fault of his own, Frolov hasn't been with a winner in a long time..if ever.He's developed some bad habits....not bringing high intensity nightly is one of those.
We need him to be at his best every game the rest of the way or we're not going to the playoffs. If benching him in such a big spot doesn't wake him up, then maybe he does need to go.
I didn't even realize that he was benched against Vancouver. That's because he wasn't noticeable most of the game. You can't have that from one of your stars when you're thisclose to making the playoffs.
Rich,
With the depth of this draft and us losing the 2nd round pick for acquiring Williams do you see DL likely to move up in this draft with all of the later round picks that they have. Maybe trade Phillys '10 2nd round for their 2nd '09? We seem to have a surplus of tradable players which is obviously isnt a bad thing, but what is Dean going to be doing with players like Richardson, Boyle, Preissing? Just be content with leaving them either scratched or in the minor league??