Forum answers VII
The end... Thanks for all the great questions. They covered a wide variety of topics and covered some good ground. In the next few days, we can start looking at the draft and who might go fourth and, more importantly, fifth.
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Question: bob said: Hey Rick, nice job on TOTALLY dodging the Pronger subject. We all know how you feel about rumors, Eklund, etc...but there was a bit more to this than just the usual rumor.
Answer: Well, Bill, I presume when you talk about me ``TOTALLY dodging the Pronger situation,'' you were referring to the way I was the first one to refute the report, with a denial from Dean Lombardi. If you'd like, I can continue to post the same thing every day. And, if you would, please enlighten me as to how there was ``a bit more to this.''
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Question: The LA Kings website just released an article saying the NHL draft order is set and also mentioned that we have a conditional pick in the third round, and that it could possibly go to LA, Vancouver, and Buffalo. Do you know what the conditions are?
Answer: I didn't see that story, and I'm not sure what the reference is to. As far as I know, the Kings have the third-round pick (although not their original third-round pick).
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Question: What is your reasoning above about not liking Gaborik? The injuries? That makes sense but are there any other reason for your negative outlook on him? Just curious.
Answer: Yeah, it just seems risky to me, if you're talking about signing him to more than a two- or three-year deal. He just can't stay healthy, and if the Kings are going to make a ``big splash,'' either this summer or next, I think there are better options. Plus, in the back of my mind, there's the thought about him wanting to play in L.A. Why? Is it because he loves the franchise? Because he really believes in Dean Lombardi and Terry Murray? Or because he wants to live on the beach and enjoy the weather?
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Question: Rich, don't you think a gritty veteran forward or two would help their skilled players immensely by having more room on the ice, thus translating in more offense, excitement, and respect?
Answer: Actually, I think the players currently on the roster should be concerned, first and foremost, about generating their own offense, excitement and respect, and not look for it to be generated from outside sources.
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Question: Do you really want to deal Frolov as you answered? Dont you think he can reach another level?
Answer: This is basically my third answer to this question, but I understand why it's asked. Again, when you hear Frolov's name mentioned, it's not because he's expendable. It's because he's a player who other teams desire, and because he's on track to be an unrestricted free agent in 12 months.
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Question: Hey Rich, sorry if this has already been covered but in The Hockey News you say the Kings "take a break in round 3" but don't the Kings have Buffalo's 3rd rounder from the Myers/Teubert trade?
Answer: Was that published under my name? Because I didn't write it.
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Question: Can't believe I forgot to ask this earlier - Will the Kings operate on a 'Cash Budget' (again) for the 2009 - 2010 season?
Answer: No, I don't believe so. The impetus for that, even though the Kings didn't say it at the time, as the attempted sale of part of the team to the Boston Celtics ownership. The Kings wanted to keep costs down in order to make the team more financially attractive to the Celtics, but that fell through. I will ask about that at a later date, but I don't believe it's an issue this summer.
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Questions: 1) With Quick, Ersberg and Bernier all making their claims to be in the NHL, do you think we have found our goalie who we could depend on to bring us deep into the playoffs or are these just good young players that can give us a chance to win some games? 2) A lot of Kings fans think that Richardson was not given a great chance to prove himself this year. Do you think he may have a full time shot with the kings next season on that 4th line role? He seems to have a ton of energy and speed which never hurts. 3) If we get off to a rough start, say something like a 5-7-3 start to the season, do you see any BIG changes happening early on either in management or on the ice? Or do you think we will just play through it and see how the kids respond?
Answers: 1) Still unclear. None of them have conclusively showed that they are unquestioned No. 1 goalies, but all have displayed potential at different points. The Kings will need one of those three to step forward. 2) Richardson certainly will get a look. His season had a lot of fits and starts, in part because of that weird foot injury he had. He falls into that group of several players who could contend for third- or fourth-line spots. 3) After a 5-7-3 start? That's 13 points in 15 games, so, no. Teams that fire a coach early in the season, the way the Blackhawks did this year, are teams that have championship aspirations. The Kings aren't there.
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Question: Rich referred to what happened during the JW trade, when it leaked out here first, before it was done. Rich got in some trouble because of it, but it all was a misunderstanding from the beginning. Thats why he had a lower profile this time when the Pronger rumour started (on Friday)
Answer: Actually, the Williams rumor was true, and incorrectly denied because of information I got from Lombardi. The Pronger report -- not rumor, as it was published as a ``done deal'' on two websites -- was a complete non-story, and thus not worthy of anything but a quick, simple denial.
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Question: Actually, Rich, there is an official Draft Party being hosted by the Kings....for STH's (Full & Half season from what I hear).
Answer: It's a watch party at ESPN Zone, but not a Kings-hosted draft party. They are assisting with it, but don't expect anything close to the past couple years.
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Question: Rich, a question for you. I haven't seen too many people ask you about the Goaltending situation. How do you see it playing out next season and for the long term? Are any of them trade assets? Ersberg has longevity problems. Bernier is about ready to start playing some NHL games. Quick had a fine season, but can he replicate that. Personally I think things are starting to stabilize at that position when in years past it was incredibly unstable. So what do you see happening with the Goalie position for next season and beyond?
Answer: I agree that things are starting to stabilize, in the sense that the Kings essentially have three goalies who seem capable of playing in the NHL. So that's three goalies for two spots. The favorites, going in, will be Quick and Ersberg, because they have the most NHL experience. Lombardi would prefer his goalies to spend two seasons in the minors, and Bernier only has one season, so that also lends itself to a Quick-Ersberg combo, but that will be resolved in training camp.
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Question: FYI, Reading is no longer a Kings affiliate, the Royals now belong to Toronto. Only Manchester (AHL) and Ontario (ECHL) are in the Kings farm system.
Answer: Just to add to this, Reading is still owned by AEG, and the Kings still have the right to assign prospects to Reading, even though it's no longer their primary ECHL affiliate.
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Question: Do you know anything about the business side of the Kings operations? How is the team doing financially? Is Luc doing a good job as a President? I have heard the NHL has been giving money to teams so that they could continue to operate. Just like the Coyotes have been operated by the NHL for a year now? Are the Kings operating with assistance of the NHL $$$?
Answer: I wouldn't expect to hear a lot from the Kings about their financial situation. I sort of feel bad for them, because every time they try to discuss finances, they get hammered. Last year, Robitaille talked about how the team was losing more money than ever, and it didn't come off well. Without getting into the whole financial structure of the NHL, it's easiest to just say that, no, the Kings aren't being ``propped up'' the way the Coyotes have been.
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Question: In that group I would include Brian Burke along w/ his old Philly buds. Do you agree w/ that idea? Second, assuming Burke is a regular dance partner care to speculate on all the news that Burke wants to move up in draft to possible bag the other Schenn kid? A TSN mock draft shows LA taking Schenn.
Answer: Yes, Lombardi and Burke are relatively close, and they're working together on Team USA stuff for the Olympics as well. I've also heard about Burke's desire to trade up and grab Schenn, but I have also heard about his desire to get in the top three. There's nobody less predictable than Burke, so it will be interesting to see what he tries to do.
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Question: I don't know if you're still taking questions or not Rich, but if you are do you think there's any possibility the Kings don't make any major moves in the offseason? I.E. they don't trade the #5 pick or trade or sign a goal scoring forward? I just have this sneaking suspicion that Dean Lombardi & Terry Murray think this team is better then the fans do.
Answer: Sure, I think there's a very good chance that could happen. At no point has Lombardi come out and said he MUST make a move this summer. Essentially, he said he wouldn't hesitate to make a big move if it was the correct big move. If the move isn't there, it isn't there. No GM is going to put himself in a position where he says, ``I must make a move,'' because then 29 other GMs know he is desperate.
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Question: Here's another question, and this should spark some discussion. And let me say I'm 100% against this. Any chance Dean Lombardi would try to sign Mike Camalleri when hits the market?
Answer: No.
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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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Bill--Bob, that one had me rolling Rick errrr Rich!
Marian Gaborik as we already know is one of the more elite players in the league, when healthy enough to play. Out of the eight years he has been in the NHL he averages: GP: 63 G:27 A:27 Pts:54 a season. His best season was in 2008 to where he had a career year in G:42 A:41 and Pts:83 in 77GP.
Sure, he wants to sign with the LA Kings, but the question is WHY? (like Rich already mentioned above) is it because 1. He could be living on the beach with great weather 2. He believes in what DL and TM is doing 3. He has had a nack for this organization. But whatever it is and if he REALLY wants to sign here with the Kings, he has to make a committment and that is he keeps himself HEALTHY for crying out loud. The only way he to ever stay healthy to where he can actually play an 82 game season is if he worksout by doing cardio/aerobics and strength training to get himself better overall. So if Gaborik does that and agree to a one year contract at first with the Kings, then I say sign him up because doing this would let DL and TM know where Gabby stands at if to cont. being with this team in the future.
re the Kings 3rd round pick:
The article mentioned on the Kings site does in fact say there's a conditional third round pick. There isn't. It's Buffalo's pick from the Teubert/Myers pick swap last year. The reference the above questioner made to the mystery conditional pick either going to LA, VAN or BUF appears to stem from the fact that the Kings' original 3rd round pick was dealt to VAN in the Cloutier deal (it WAS a conditional pick, conditional upon signing Cloutier, which we did) and was in turn dealt by VAN to BUF in exchange for Steve Bernier. It's Buffalo's pick now (66th). And, as I said, we have Buffalo's pick (74th). Small world.
Rick, first of all, don't get your panties in a wad when a few of us call you out once in awhile. Fact is, we are all reading your site which means you are doing something right...and in my opinion, I feel fortunate to have you doing what you do to satisfy my addiction to the Kings. So, thank you.
Secondly, I think you clearly explained in another question why the Pronger rumor, had a 'bit more to this.' You stated yourself, "The Pronger report -- not rumor, as it was published as a ``done deal'' on two websites". There you go...how many Eklund rumors get that kind of attention? So yeah, that's why I felt there was a bit more to it than the standard E4...ya dig? On top of that, your site had exploded with hundreds of comments regarding the topic and nothing but two sentences from you. The question was justified.
I appreciate the response, Bill, but I'm still puzzled about how many sentences you would have liked. Five? Six? Fifteen? How many sentences does it take to indicate that something isn't true? And how many times does it need to be repeated? There was, and is, nothing else to say about that subject.
bob,
Getting a definitive response from Lombardi on the day of game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals and with Rich indicating he was away from his office seems above and beyond to me. I know I was dazed from the news, but once I read the quote from Lombardi "Rumors not true" I had a great Friday afternoon and a wonderful weekend. It's still fun speculating what the Kings will do next, but at least I don't feel the need to "call out" Rich. You're funny bob.
Rich, wouldn't it be nice if all posters actually called you RICH and not RICK
I've been called much worse.
Thanks for doing this Rich! I really appreciate your insights.
LMAO @ "The Bill & Rick Show" I haven't laughed that hard in a while ;)
HAHAHAHA
Rich, I love the subtle "Bill" poke.
Gaborik is worth the risk. This guy is a top-five sniper, so let's get him and do whatever is necessary to keep him healthy and keep him a part of this terrific core we've built over the past several years.
I wouldn't be at all surprised that he wants to play in Los Angeles. Many players have expressed such a desire, over the years, and frankly...who cares?? So what if he wants to live in a place with better weather, more culture, more entertainment options? He's a pro, it's not as though his game would simply fall apart. Anson Carter was an anomaly. This guy is too gifted for anything like that. Plus, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he truly DOES feel that we are on the right track, and wants to be The Man on a young, elite team on the rise. Elite meaning we will indeed be in the elite if we continue on our present course, and in little time. What's wrong with that? Plus, he probably knows our style well, appreciates it, and wants to play in a larger market. There are surely a variety of reasons for his desire to play in LA, and again, I don't care which you choose. Sign him up, Dean!
Actually Rich,
The Mike Camalleri question was kinda harsh. See I have an inside source that states there may be a "slight" chance Cammy comes back. So don't be surprised.
Anyways this source told me Luc was the major voice in bringing Cammy back and having Cammy stay in the first place. Luc is a big Cammy fan and the guys in the locker room also like him a lot and want him back. Anyways there was a month where Luc and Dean were mad at eachother cause Luc wanted to stick his nose in Dean's business and tell him to KEEP Cammy. Guess there was lots of tension for a while. As the story goes, the team STILL wants Cammy back and at the end of the season Dean ONCE AGAIN was MAD at the TEAM Captains this time because he believes that when Kopi and Brown said they needed a scoring LW, it was a jab at Dean and Kopi and Brown supported Luc's idea. Dean feels like he's loosing his grip with Luc trying to call the shoots is what I understand.
Anyways this is the story I heard for a close source. This source never tells me ANYTHING, so take it with a grain of salt and do not be surprised if Cammy is a King this year or in the future and do not be surprised if Luc is our next GM....
Rich, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your response to so many of the questions. I'm not trying to flatter you or anything, I'm just expressing what I think. You are succinct (which I'm still trying to learn to be) and articulate .... then again, you are a writer.
Everybody has opinions and I just say to myself saying "now That makes sense" irrespective of the fact that I tend to agree with 97% of your comments.
Thanks again for this site.
Everybody has opinions and I just say to myself saying "now That makes sense" ...
That'll teach me to not preview my comments!! So I not only need to work on being more succinct but ......... well at least I can laugh at myself :-)
Thanks 6, that's very kind of you to say.
Damn, Rick, you are one sexy blogger.
Rich,
So now you also been called "sexy blogger", that´s not a shame ;)
Which, by the way leads us in to some more personal questions. Can´t you tell us a little bit more about yourself? So we get to know you better?
Where do you live? House or apartment? Single or married? Girfriend? Kids? Interests? And so on...
Rich-
I echo the praise being thrown your way, these forums are wide-ranging and engaging with your loyal Kings fan readers.
Sure makes the offseason go by a bit smoother and less depressing knowing I'm not the only one thinking Kings as I sit at the beach or on the golf course in summer.
Draft next week, FA in less than 2 weeks....great time of the year. And...it must be nice to know that "Rick" would have a strong army behind him should some fans get angry with your reporting!
I hope Dean doesn’t trade the 5th pick. I believe you build your own stars through the draft. Why change focus now. If Dean were really smart, he would try to get John Tavares. The kings need a goal scorer, you can’t get better one than him. He should package JJ and 5Th pick, along with boyle to get the 1st overall pick from NYI. Then on July 1, sign Gaborik as a free agent, with these two moves the kings will have ample fire power and should be a good bet to make the playoffs.
Geno,
You could not be more correct. I've been pushing for this sort of thing (to deal for Tavares) for a couple of years now, but as we get closer to the draft (and it appears that the deal will not happen, though I hope I'm wrong), I've sort of refrained from saying the same things over and over.
However, if there is any way Dean could pull this off, it would be the best thing that could've ever happened to this club. Those who say JT is 2nd or 3rd (folks like Kyle Woodlief) could not be more off-base. This guy is a Gretzky/Lemieux/Crosby/Ovechkin type of talent...once a decade. So he's not terrific defensively! So what??? How many guys with his sort of puck skills (or even half of his talent) come into the league with the same shortcomings? I'd say just about all of them. He is a goal-scorer, and a unique, generational one at that. If Dean pulls that off, he will be the King of Kings. Add Gaborik to that roster and all-of-a-sudden, you've got a team that not only will absolutely make the playoffs, but one that will be a contender for years to come.
Just imagining that scenario gives me a bit of a rise, if you know what I mean. Sorry, Rich. That was disturbing.
And I echo the complimentary sentiments of the rest of the posters, Rick. Fine job, and greatly appreciated.