July 2009 Archives

The final set of questions and answers with Jim Fox. Thanks very much to Jim for taking the time to answer an extraordinary number of questions. As always, his annual guest-blogging is a blog highlight.

More extensive and interesting answers from Jim Fox. One more set to go...

The third set of questions and answers from Jim Fox, who graciously agreed to do some guest-blogging this month...

The second set of questions and answers with Kings broadcaster Jim Fox...

As I start to get back into the flow of a normal existence, I'll start posting the questions and answers that Jim Fox has graciously taken the time to answer. As always, Jim is candid and comprehensive in his answers, so I hope you enjoy the first set of answers...

Juraj Mikus' two-year, entry-level contract with the Kings has been completed.

The press release from the Kings:

Mikus, 22, recently participated in the Kings annual Development Camp. The 6-1, 200-pound native of Skalica, Slovakia, recorded 90 points (31-59=90), 52 penalty minutes and a plus-58 rating while appearing in all 56 regular season games with Skalica HK 36 of the Slovak Extraliga this past season. Mikus led his team in assists and finished second to teammate and former King Ziggy Palffy in both goals and total points.

Originally selected by Montreal in the fourth-round (121st overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Mikus recorded 43 points (21-22=43) and 52 penalty minutes in 54 regular season games with HK 36 during the 2007-08 season. In 2006-07, he skated with Chicoutimi of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), totaling 71 points (29-42=71) and 36 penalty minutes in 60 regular season games.

Mikus has also skated for his native Slovakia on an International stage on several occasions during his career. He last skated for his country at the 2009 World Championships, registering one point (0-1=1) and two penalty minutes in six games. He's also skated with Slovakia at the 2008 World Championships (2 GP, 0-0=0), the 2007 World Junior Championships (6 GP, 5-1=6; his five goals led the tournament), the 2006 World Junior Championships (6 GP, 0-0=0) and the 2005 U-18 World Junior Championships (6 GP, 0-7=7).

I was able to get some further information about the Juraj Mikus situation, particularly in terms of the ``option'' he would have to return to Europe. From what I'm told, that ``option'' is very common, and a standard part of a contract for a player with European experience. It's a mutual thing, because the player and the team, in case both sides think it's best for a player to be assigned overseas. It's very similar to the situation with Brady Murray, in which the Kings retain his rights even though he is now playing in Switzerland. By all indications, Mikus is dedicated to staying here and further learning the North American game.

Mikus' contract has not been finalized yet, but apparently it's going through the typical NHL red tape when it comes to international players.

There's a report out of Europe that, once translated, indicates that the Kings have signed forward Juraj Mikus to a contract, and that the agreement includes some type of clause for Mikus to return to Europe. You might remember that Mikus was the Slovakian forward invited to the developmental camp this month.

The Kings have not, at least officially, signed Mikus, although they appear to be heading down that road. There's a lot of NHL red tape that has to be dealt with in issues such as this one. I'm not sure, just yet, what this agreement might be, in terms of Europe, but I'm attempting to find out.

For those unfamiliar with Mikus, click here.

Teddy Purcell signed a one-year, one-way, $600,000 contract today.

Restricted free agents Teddy Purcell and Drew Bagnall have signed one-year contracts, and forward prospect Justin Azevedo signed a standard entry-level contract. I will attempt to find out how much Purcell's contract is for, since he is the most significant player involved.

From the Kings...

Purcell, 24, recorded 16 points (4-12=16) and four penalty minutes in 40 regular season games with the Kings and 38 points (16-22=38) and 12 penalty minutes in 38 regular season games with the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, this past season. The 6-3, 202-pound native of St. John's, Newfoundland, led the Monarchs in goals and ranked second on the Monarchs in points when he was recalled to the Kings on Feb. 23, 2009 (his second recall of the season). Purcell was named to the 2009 Canadian AHL All-Star Team on Jan. 6, 2009, and later that same month made his second consecutive appearance in the AHL's annual All-Star Classic.

Azevedo, 21, recorded 36 points (12-24=36) and 31 penalty minutes in 49 regular season games with the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, this past season. The 5-7, 180-pound native of West Lorne, Ont., finished seventh on the Monarchs in scoring even though he missed a significant part of his rookie season in the AHL because of two injuries.

Bagnall, 25, recorded six points (0-6=6) and 150 penalty minutes in 79 regular season games with the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, this past season. His penalty minute total ranked second on the Monarchs as did his total of 79 games played.

Jack Johnson re-signed with the Kings today, a two-year contract with a salary-cap hit of $1.425 million per season. Teddy Purcell's contract isn't likely to be done until Monday.

The Kings will most likely announce a new contract for Teddy Purcell soon. The fact that today is Friday could complicate the final stages of contract approval, etc. Talks with Jack Johnson's agent have also been going well but seem to be headed toward a short-term deal, which would be interesting. I'm not sure if either of those will get finalized today.

Here is the Kings' 2009-10 schedule. All times are Pacific, and the TV and radio schedules will be announced later...

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LOS ANGELES KINGS -- 2009-2010 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE

14 OCTOBER (6H-8A)

1 Sat. 3 PHOENIX 7:30 p.m.
2 Tue. 6 SAN JOSE 7:30 p.m.
3 Thu. 8 MINNESOTA 7:30 p.m.
4 Sat. 10 @ St. Louis 5:00 p.m.
5 Mon. 12 @ NY Islanders 11:00 a.m.
6 Wed. 14 @ NY Rangers 4:00 p.m.
7 Thu. 15 @ Detroit 4:30 p.m.
8 Sat. 17 @ Columbus 4:00 p.m.
9 Mon. 19 @ Dallas 5:30 p.m.
10 Thu. 22 DALLAS 7:30 p.m.
11 Sat. 24 @ Phoenix 6:00 p.m.
12 Sun. 25 COLUMBUS 6:00 p.m.
13 Wed. 28 @ San Jose 7:30 p.m.
14 Thu. 29 VANCOUVER 7:30 p.m.

13 NOVEMBER (5H-8A)
15 Mon. 2 @ Phoenix 6:00 p.m.
16 Thu. 5 PITTSBURGH 7:30 p.m.
17 Sat. 7 NASHVILLE 1:00 p.m.
18 Mon. 9 @ Chicago 5:30 p.m.
19 Wed. 11 @ Carolina 4:00 p.m.
20 Fri. 13 @ Atlanta 4:30 p.m.
21 Sat. 14 @ Tampa Bay 4:30 p.m.
22 Mon. 16 @ Florida 4:30 p.m.
23 Wed. 18 PHILADELPHIA 7:30 p.m.
24 Sat. 21 CALGARY 1:00 p.m.
25 Wed. 25 @ Edmonton 6:30 p.m.
26 Thu. 26 @ Vancouver 7:00 p.m.
27 Sat. 28 CHICAGO 7:30 p.m.

15 DECEMBER (6H-8A)
28 Tue. 1 @ Anaheim 7:30 p.m.
29 Thu. 3 OTTAWA 7:30 p.m.
30 Sat. 5 ST. LOUIS 1:00 p.m.
31 Mon. 7 CALGARY 7:30 p.m.
32 Wed. 9 @ San Jose 7:30 p.m.
33 Thu. 10 PHOENIX 7:30 p.m.
34 Sat. 12 DALLAS 7:30 p.m.
35 Mon. 14 @ Vancouver 7:00 p.m.
36 Tue. 15 @ Edmonton 6:30 p.m.
37 Thu. 17 @ Calgary 6:30 p.m.
38 Sat. 26 @ Phoenix 5:00 p.m.
39 Mon. 28 MINNESOTA 7:30 p.m.
40 Wed. 30 @ Calgary 6:30 p.m.
41 Thu. 31 @ Minnesota 5:00 p.m.

13 JANUARY (8H-6A)
42 Sat. 2 WASHINGTON 1:00 p.m.
43 Mon. 4 @ San Jose 7:30 p.m.
44 Thu. 7 DETROIT 7:30 p.m.
45 Sat. 9 ST. LOUIS 7:30 p.m.
46 Mon. 11 SAN JOSE 7:30 p.m.
47 Thu. 14 ANAHEIM 7:30 p.m.
48 Sat. 16 BOSTON 1:00 p.m.
49 Tue. 19 SAN JOSE 7:30 p.m.
50 Thu. 21 BUFFALO 7:30 p.m.
51 Sat. 23 @ Detroit 4:00 p.m.
52 Tue. 26 @ Toronto 4:00 p.m.
53 Thu. 28 @ Columbus 4:00 p.m.
54 Sat. 30 @ Boston 4:00 p.m.
55 Sun. 31 @ New Jersey 2:00 p.m.

6 FEBRUARY (5H-1A)
56 Tue. 2 NY RANGERS 7:30 p.m.
57 Thu. 4 ANAHEIM 7:30 p.m.
58 Sat. 6 DETROIT 1:00 p.m.
59 Mon. 8 @ Anaheim 7:00 p.m.
60 Thu. 11 EDMONTON 7:30 p.m.
61 Sat. 13 COLORADO 7:30 p.m.

15 MARCH (7H-8A)
62 Tue. 2 @ Dallas 5:30 p.m.
63 Thu. 4 @ Nashville 5:00 p.m.
64 Sat. 6 MONTREAL 7:00 p.m.
65 Mon. 8 COLUMBUS 7:30 p.m.
66 Wed. 10 @ Chicago 5:30 p.m.
67 Fri. 12 @ Dallas 5:30 p.m.
68 Sun. 14 NASHVILLE Noon
69 Thu. 18 CHICAGO 7:30 p.m.
70 Sat. 20 NY ISLANDERS 7:30 p.m.
71 Mon. 22 COLORADO 7:30 p.m.
72 Wed. 24 @ Colorado 6:00 p.m.
73 Thu. 25 @ St. Louis 5:00 p.m.
74 Sat. 27 DALLAS 7:30 p.m.
75 Mon. 29 @ Minnesota 6:00 p.m.
76 Tue. 30 @ Nashville 5:00 p.m.

6 APRIL (4H-2A)
77 Thu. 1 VANCOUVER 7:30 p.m.
78 Sat. 3 ANAHEIM 7:30 p.m.
79 Tue. 6 @ Anaheim 7:00 p.m.
80 Thu. 8 PHOENIX 7:30 p.m.
81 Sat. 10 EDMONTON 1:00 p.m.
82 Sun. 11 @ Colorado Noon

Restricted free-agent defenseman Joe Piskula re-signed a one-year contract with the Kings today. Here's the rest of the press release from the Kings...

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Piskula, 25, recorded 12 points (0-12=12), 40 penalty minutes and a team-leading plus-11 rating in 67 regular season games with the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, last season. The 6-3, 212-pound native of Antigo, Wis., also skated in 55 regular season games with the Monarchs during the 2007-08 season, recording six points (0-6=6) and 57 penalty minutes, and he also played in all four postseason games with the Monarchs that same season, recording zero points and four penalty minutes.

Piskula, who signed with the Kings as an unrestricted free agent on March 21, 2007, made his Kings/NHL debut at Chicago on March 23, 2007. In five career NHL games with the Kings, he has zero points and six penalty minutes.

Prior to entering the pro ranks with the Kings at the end of the 2006-07 campaign, Piskula appeared in 38 games with the Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA) that same year, notching five points (1-4=5) and 34 penalty minutes. During his three-year stint with the Badgers, the blue-liner registered 22 points (3-19=22), 80 penalty minutes and a plus-36 rating in 112 career games.

Piskula, who was voted as the Badgers' Otto Breitenbach Most Improved Player by his teammates in 2005-06, played for the Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) prior to attending the University of Wisconsin. He was also a finalist for Wisconsin's "Mr. Hockey" while skating for Antigo High School.

For those who didn't see yesterday, the Kings signed free-agent forward Brandon Segal to a two-year contract yesterday.

From the Kings' press release...

Segal, 25, has spent the last six seasons in the American Hockey League playing with the Milwaukee Admirals, Portland Pirates and Norfolk Admirals. The 6-2, 210-pound native of North Delta, British Columbia collected an AHL career high in goals (26), assists (26) and points (52) with Norfolk last season and made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 3, 2009. Segal was held off the scoreboard during his two games with the Lightning, had two shots on goal, clocked more than 27 minutes in ice time and averaged 17 shifts per game.

In 404 games in the AHL, Segal has registered 177 points (94-83=177) since he made his professional debut during the 2003-04 season. As a member of the Norfolk Admirals, he was named to the Canadian AHL All-Star Team for the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic in Worcester, Massachusetts. Segal was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round (102nd overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

I'm very happy and grateful to announce that Jim Fox, the Kings' award-winning television analyst, has agreed to do a blog question-and-answer session for a third consecutive year. For the past two summers, Fox has been very gracious with his time, and very honest and forthcoming with his answers to fans' questions about the Kings, the NHL general, and wine!

For those not familiar with the format in previous summers, please post your questions for Jim as comments on this blog item. I will take a cross-section of the questions and send them to Jim. I expect that I will send Jim the questions over the weekend, and he will answer them at his earliest convenience.

Ask away!

The online editors at my paper always say that bloggers should let their readers know when they're going to be away for a few days. Seems a bit self-important in my mind, but what do I know?

So for those who ask if I ever take vacation, the answer is yes, and it's essentially for the next 12 days or so. It's a good time to take a little time off, because things are slowing down after the draft and free agency. Of course, as I never tire of reminding Dean Lombardi, the Kings hired Terry Murray during the middle of my vacation last year...

So if any news should happen, I'll be around, although it might not get posted instantly. I'm also trying to get a couple things together, including (hopefully) at least one reader Q&A with a Kings figure, so stay tuned for that.

As always, thank you so much for all your support and kind words. I'm not always able to answer every e-mail and message, but I assure you that the support is always much appreciated. Some stuffy newspaper editors (not mine, by the way) like to grumble about how people don't care about hockey in L.A. It's nice to prove them wrong, and the success here is entirely thanks to you. So...thanks.

Interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal this week, which identified the top ``clutch players'' who switched teams this summer. ``Clutch players'' were identified by ``how often they are on ice when the game is in a clutch situation (two minutes left in a one-goal or tied game).''

The Kings had two of the top five, in Rob Scuderi and Ryan Smyth.

NHL Teams Hunt for Talent in a Frenzied Bazaar

Here's the interview with Colten Teubert. If you've seen him play, you probably won't be surprised to know that Teubert exudes confidence, in a good way. He's easy to talk to, and a good quote, but it's clear that he thinks he can play in the NHL.

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Question: Can you talk about the contrast between last year, when you had just been drafted, and coming back here a year later?

TEUBERT: ``Yeah, it's a lot more comfortable. You can talk to the young guys and just say, `Hey, calm down,' because I was in the exact same situation they're in, just gripping the stick and being really nervous. But it's just an opportunity and a chance to get better here at development camp. We've got a lot of coaches, so I just try to be a sponge and soak it all in.''

Question: The fans in L.A. kept track of you from afar this season. Can you talk a bit about what the season was like for you?

TEUBERT: ``Well we weren't very successful with my Regina Pats team, which sucked, but I did win a World Junior gold medal with Team Canada, which was an unbelievable experience, one I'll never forget. Also I got called up to the Ontario Reign at the end of the year, which was awesome. I came in and played eight regular-season games and then we ended up losing Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs. That really sucked, but overall it was just a really good experience to play with guys that much older than you and just have a different perspective in coaching from Karl Taylor, who helped me out a lot. He's here at development camp too. It just shows you that no matter what league you play in, you can improve. It was an unbelievable experience.''

Question: In those World Juniors, it seemed as though you were paired with Hickey quite a bit...

TEUBERT: ``Me and Hickey were kind of like the shut-down crew, defensively. I didn't play any power play, but I was a PK guy and had the shut-down pair with Thomas. It was nice to play with him. He highlights me as much as I highlight him. He's a very good player and he was a great leader and he helped us win gold, for sure.''

Question: That seems to be an interesting pairing with you two. Obviously it's different styles, different body types, but there seems to be something there...

TEUBERT: ``Yeah, I think so. I think our off-ice relationship helps too. We're pretty good friends, and that translates onto the ice. We look out for each other, and with his skill I can help out defensively and it's very nice playing with him.''

Question: There's obviously quite a bit of defensive talent in the pipeline here. What are your goals for training camp this year?

TEUBERT: ``It's an opportunity. I'm going to come into camp and do whatever it takes, just like every other guy. I think it's going to be a very good battle. Like you said, there are lots of good defensive prospects, and that's good. That's a very positive thing for the Kings and I just look to the future and I hope that I can be a part of that.''

Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday, as I've been trying to prepare to get out of town.

There are a couple of good interviews to be posted today. The first is with Jonathan Bernier, who is far too normal to be a NHL goalie. This kid is going to have to develop some personality quirks or weird habits if he wants to make it in the league... Seriously though, this interview gives some insight into what Bernier went through last season.

-----

Question: This is now your third camp. Does the comfort level increase every time you come to one of these?

BERNIER: ``Any time I can have some experience coming in, it's a big advantage for me. I think the camp is really good, just to get in good shape for the last stretch of summer and get ready for September. So I'm just here to work hard and try to show what I can do. I'll work hard in the practices and the games.''

Question: It's no secret that there's going to be a lot of goalie competition at training camp. Are you completely focused on earning a spot with the Kings?

BERNIER: ``Yeah. I'm not coming here for vacation, for sure. I'm coming in because I want to make the team this year. Last year didn't really go the way I wanted. I had the injury and there was nothing I could do about it. But this year, if I can have a healthy camp and be ready for it, I will show what I can do.''

Question: Do you feel you got the experience you needed, playing at the AHL level last year, to make the full-time jump to the NHL now?

BERNIER: ``I really had it tough last year. In all my years of junior, and even before that, everything was really easy for me to get the net. Everything was going well, and then last year, to not get the chance to be here and to be down there, it was a big disappointment for me. It took me a couple weeks to get in the game, especially with the injury, and then when Jonathan Quick got called up, it was hard for me too. So I really had some ups and downs, but overall I think that if I look back in five years, it's going to maybe end up being the best year for me, even if it was up and down. I had a really good end of the season, so that feels good, to finish on a good note.''

Question: What do you think it was that pulled you out of that, if anything in particular?

BERNIER: ``I think what I learned is that when things don't go your way, you have to go back to your base. Just do the little things in practice and work hard. I had a long talk with Ron Hextall and that's what he told me. `Work hard in practice, and it won't come right away, but your game is going to come.' And that's what happened at the end of the season. In the last two months, I was really happy about it. I worked hard in practice, even if I was not really happy. The thing is to not worry too much. When I got cut, I was so upset, but I'm still young. I'm 20, but I don't really realize that though, because it's my third camp, but I'll get my chances, and when I get them, I just have to be prepared.''

Question: It's going to be pretty competitive between you guys in camp. Do you talk about that at all?

BERNIER: ``Not really. We all know what we need to do. When you're focused and you don't really worry about anybody else, then you'll have the best chance to make it.''

For those attending the camp this weekend, or for those just curious, here's a more complete roster of skaters and goalies, including the non-roster guys. Going over my notes, I think I might have missed a No. 65, but I think I got everyone else...

SKATERS
34 - Daniel Weiss - RW* (Berlin, DEL)
37 - Thomas Hickey - D
40 - Tyler Maxwell - C* (Everett, WHL)
47 - Corey Elkins - C
48 - Andrei Loktionov - C
49 - Nicolas Deslauriers - D
50 - Bud Holloway - LW
51 - Brandon Kozun - RW
52 - Garret Roe - LW
53 - Alec Martinez - D
55 - Brayden Schenn - C
56 - Wes Cunningham - LW* (Elmira, ECHL)
57 - Linden Vey - RW
59 - Patrick Mullen - C
61 - Brandon DeFazio - F* (Clarkson, NCAA)
62 - Justin Azevedo - C
64 - Kyle Clifford - LW
68 - Brett Parnham - C* (Oshawa, OHL)
70 - Michael Pelech - LW
71 - Jordan Nolan - C
72 - Nic Dowd - C
73 - Radko Gudas - D* (Czech League)
74 - Dwight King - LW
76 - Viatcheslav Voinov - D
77 - Robert Czarnik - C
78 - Geoff Walker - RW* (Ontario, ECHL)
79 - Colten Teubert - D
80 - Ben Shutron - D* (Windsor, OHL)
81 - Andrew Campbell - D
82 - Geordie Wudrick - LW
83 - David Kolomatis - D
84 - Juraj Mikus - C* (Slovakia)
85 - Constantin Braun - D
*- non-roster player

GOALIES
36 - Jeff Zatkoff
45 - Jonathan Bernier
65 - Martin Jones
75 - J.F. Berube

Andrew Campbell, Justin Azevedo, Brandon Kozun, Michael Pelech, Bud Holloway and non-roster invitee Ben Shutron scored goals in the scrimmage today, which lasted roughly an hour. The four goalies, Bernier, Zatkoff, Jones and Berube, split time in the scrimmage, which was sandwiched between two skill sessions.

Loktionov has not arrived at camp, although apparently there's still a chance he will show up this weekend. It's not injury-related, so there's a good chance that it's visa related, based on prior complications with foreign-based players.

I have interviews with Bernier and Teubert and a few things with Terry Murray, so look for that a bit later...

Two players are missing from the scrimmage. Viatcheslav Voinov is recovering from injury and is doing drills but not playing in scrimmages. Andrei Loktionov is not yet at camp. Not sure why just yet.

Probably around 150 on hand for the first official session of the developmental camp in El Segundo. It's supposed to be split in two groups, '09 draft picks in one and prospects in the other, but there's already some crossover. There's a break at the moment, before a scrimmage game.

I'll have some prospect and coach interviews later.

Juraj Mikus has the potential to become blog legend, along the lines of our Tommy's vs. In-N-Out debate (the majority of you are still wrong, I must respectfully add...)

The non-roster forward on the ice at the development camp is indeed Juraj Mikus, who was a fourth-round draft pick of Montreal in 2005. Mikus spent the previous three seasons is Slovakia's pro league and totaled 31 goals and 59 assists in 56 games last season. To be honest, I don't know much about the level of competition in the Slovakian league, so maybe someone who closely follows international leagues can lend some opinion.

Mikus, 22, also played for Slovakia in the World Championships in 2008 and 2009. He spent one season (2006-07) in the QMJHL and had 29 goals and 42 assists in 60 games.

The two-game rookie series between the Kings and Phoenix Coyotes will be played on Wednesday, Sept. 9 (6 p.m.) and Thursday, Sept. 10 (2 p.m.) at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo. As far as access, the Kings so far have only said that rosters and ticket information will be announced later this summer.

Restricted free agent forward Scott Parse has signed a one-year contract with the Kings. Parse, 25, a sixth-round pick in 2004, had 15 goals and 24 assists for Manchester last season.

OK, I believe I got through all the non-duplicated questions from this week. Thanks to everyone for all the interest and the questions. I'll be going out to at least one day of the prospects camp, so hopefully I'll get some good stuff from that. Here's the final set of answers...

Here's the Kings' preseason schedule for 2009. The two-game rookie series against Phoenix will be held before these games, in El Segundo...

Tuesday, Sept. 15: Kings at Phoenix, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 15: Phoenix at Kings, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 17: Kings vs. San Jose at Ontario, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 19: Ducks at Kings, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 22: Kings vs. NY Islanders at Sprint Center in Kansas City, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 23: Kings at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 26: Kings vs. Colorado at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 27: Kings at Ducks, 5:05 p.m.

Tickets for the two games at Staples Center will go on sale on Saturday, Aug. 1. Tickets are currently on sale for the games in Ontario, Las Vegas and Kansas City.

Looks like there will be a need for one more set of answers, which might be a record. Here's the seventh set of answers...

Another set of questions and answers. Still quite a few to go. Looks like we might be headed for a record!

The next set of questions and answers...

For those not at the Michael Jackson memorial, here's the fourth set of Open Forum questions and answers. Still plenty to go...

Matt Moulson today signed a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders. Moulson, a 25-year-old winger, totaled six goals and four assists in 29 games with the Kings over the previous two seasons.

The third set of questions and answers...

The second set of answers. Lots of good questions coming in, and some of them aren't even about Travis Moen! Apparently, ``Are the Kings going to sign a third-line winger?'' is the 2009 version of ``When are the Kings going to trade for a goalie?'' Here's the next set of answers...

Please feel free to keep posting questions, but here's the first set of answers...

With the draft and free agency having died down, I thought it might be a good time to open things up for an ``open forum'' question and answer session. Go ahead and post any questions that you think I or fellow readers might be able to answer...

With a little more than two months before the start of training camp, a realistic roster is taking shape for the Kings. Here's a decent guess at how the roster could look, with 2009-10 salary-cap hits included:

FORWARDS
Kopitar (6.8 million)
Smyth (6.25)
Handzus (4)
Stoll (3.6)
Williams (3.5)
Brown (3.175)
Frolov (2.9)
Moller (.875)
Lewis(.855)
Simmonds (.821667)
Ivanans (.600)
Richardson (.587500)
Zeiler (.543750)
Purcell (?)

DEFENSEMEN
Doughty (3.475)
Scuderi (3.4)
Greene (2.95)
O'Donnell (1.25)
Harrold (.583333)
Drewiske (.525)
Johnson (?)

GOALIES
Ersberg (.750)
Quick (.770)

BUYOUTS
Cloutier (1.033)
McCauley (.666667)

That would make for a salary-cap figure of roughly $49.9 million, with Johnson and Purcell still needing to be signed. If I had to guess, I think that you can add another $500K in, because I think Lombardi will still try to sign another defenseman (perhaps bringing back Denis Gauthier) in the $1-million range. A rough estimate of all of that might put the Kings in the range of $54-55 million, but also remember that there's a cushion for bonuses, which is probably most relevant in Doughty's contract. That would still allow the Kings to add a player at the trade deadline, and Lombardi has said that he would like to leave himself the flexibility to do so.

So that's one way of looking at it, at the moment...

Here's the Q&A I did a few minutes ago with new Kings winger Ryan Smyth. He's scheduled to come to Los Angeles this week and have his physical exam on Monday...

The roster released by the Kings for next week's development camp included goalie Jonathan Quick, but when I expressed surprise last night to Dean Lombardi about Quick's participation, Lombardi said Quick's name should not have been on the roster. Quick, Lombardi said, will be participating in extensive off-ice workouts with the veterans starting in the next few days.

Ryan Smyth had the following quotes in a TSN story:

``They have great young player. I've always thought the world of (Anze) Kopitar since playing against him at the World Championships in Austria where he dominated. To play with him and Drew Doughty and (Dustin) Brown...these are great young players and I'm excited about that.''

``As a family, we've really enjoyed Colorado. It's been a great place to play and a great place to live and I really think if our team had been healthy over the last two years we would have been a lot better. ... With management and coaching changes, I didn't know (if I would be traded), but there was talk of rebuilding and moving salary, so I wasn't surprised.''

A quote from Smyth, as released by the Kings:

``I have seemed to play well in LA. I look to continue that now. It is a great transition for my family and myself, and I just want to be a piece of the puzzle. I want to contribute to the winning side.''

I'm hoping to get an extended interview with Smyth tomorrow...

Here on Dean Lombardi's comments on tonight's trade, in which the Kings acquired Ryan Smyth from Colorado for Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing and a fifth-round draft pick in 2010.

Hang tight, just have to clean up my typing...

The trade is contingent upon all player passing physical exams, which is typically a formality but can be an issue every now and then.

I'm expecting to talk to Dean Lombardi tonight and Ryan Smyth tomorrow.

If you're a hockey fan, you probably don't need much of an explanation on left winger Ryan Smyth, a four-time 30-goal scorer who turned 33 in February. The Kings pursued Smyth in 2007, when he signed his five-year, $31.25-million contract with Colorado, but the Avalanche found themselves in a bit of a salary-cap crunch. Smyth's salary-cap hit for the next three seasons will be $6.25 million. His actual salary, for the next three seasons will be $6.5 million, $5.5 million and $4.5 million, respectively.

TSN reports Smyth to the Kings for Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing and a fifth-round pick (which will be in 2010).

(The Kings had been holding off confirmation on the player names until both players had been made away of the trade).

The Kings have acquired Ryan Smyth from Colorado for two players and a fifth-round draft pick. More details to come.

From an L.A. Times blog about Michael Jackson's memorial at Staple Center:

[Updated at 12:03 p.m.: In an earlier version of this post, Tim Leiweke's name was misspelled as Lieweke.]

Yesterday I posted the schedule for the development camp. Right now, there aren't any plans for the usual end-of-camp scrimmage that usually takes place. Also, as they did last year, the Kings and Phoenix Coyotes will play a two-game rookie series during training camp. Last year's games took place in Phoenix, so this year they will shift to L.A.

A quick interview with Dean Lombardi...

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Question: How did this one come together?

LOMBARDI: ``We were trying to avoid what happened last year with Orpik. It was the exact same situation. With Orpik last year, we knew what Pittsburgh offered, and we made our offer but the (current team) is always going to get the last chance, and they got him. In this case, we found out what Pittsburgh was offered and we knew we just had to blow them out of the water. When you're talking about offers, it's not just the money. It's cost of living in L.A. and it's taxes. If you're offering $500,000 more, it's really not that much when you look at everything. So we knew we had to blow Pittsburgh out of the water, but we wanted this guy. He has a ring and there are no questions at all about his character.''

Question: Where do you see him fitting in with the guys already here?

LOMBARDI: ``He's a steady guy who can go with Doughty and a steady guy that can go with Johnson. We like the guys we have, the Quinceys and the Greenes, but the real steady guys I've got are the ones that are coming up through the system now. I didn't want to have to play those kids right away. I wanted another guy with experience, and now I can put all of those kids in the minors for a year and I've got a guy with a ring. Now hopefully I don't have to go back into that (free-agent) market for a while looking for guys (on defense).''

Question: Looking at the roster, it would seem that you have six NHL-ready defensemen. Is there a chance one of the kids could still jump out at you?

LOMBARDI: ``Sure there's a chance, but there's also a question of how the money might even out. It's a huge price to pay to break a kid in at this level. You get him in, then he maybe has one good year and then, boom, he's asking for (a big contract). When you build depth, you try to do it the way Detroit did with (Jonathan) Ericsson, and bring them along slowly. Let's say Hickey comes in and lights it up in training camp. OK, that's a good problem to have, but in the long run, if you can wait until your guys are completely ready, you hopefully end up like Detroit. It gets tough when you have a situation like we had with Moller. He has a great camp and we take him, but he's not really a man yet. I hate to do that, so this (Scuderi signing) helps us.''

It's tough to make judgments based on a phone call, but it seems safe to say the Kings got a great character guy today in Rob Scuderi. Often it's the little things that say a lot about in person. In Scuderi's case, he made two attempts to reconnect after his cell phone cut out, and apologized profusely for interrupting the conversation. It's already clear that Scuderi will be a ``go-to guy'' for reporters seeking quotes.

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Question: Did you think the Kings were an option from the start, or is this something that just developed over the last couple days?

SCUDERI: ``They showed some interest on the first day, but they didn't really make an offer, so my agent and I didn't really know what would happen. I was interested in the Kings, because obviously there's a lot of young talent there. Today they made an offer and we got it done.''

Question: You mentioned the young talent. How much do you know about this Kings team?

SCUDERI: ``When you play in the East, you don't look a whole lot at the West. I think we played them once or twice during my time with the Penguins, but when I talked to Lombardi and Hextall, they told me to take a long look at the roster. It's not hard to see the good mix of talented guys and the young talent they have coming up. It's hard to miss guys like Doughty and Johnson, and it looks like there's a whole lot of potential on this team.''

Question: In talking to Lombardi, he seemed to be looking for a guy with some experience and leadership. Did he talk to you about what he expects, on and off the ice?

SCUDERI: ``One of the positives, one of the things that made my decision easier, is that they don't expect me to do anything different than I did for the last four years in Pittsburgh. A lot of guys, when they sign a free-agent contract, they feel like they have to do more and they feel obligated to live up to it, and it ends up hurting them because they try to do too much. They know what they can expect from me, both on and off the ice. I'm a family man, and I'm not the type of man who's going to be out burning the candle at both ends. I hope I can bring some leadership to the team.''

Question: Fans saw a lot of you in the playoffs, obviously, but maybe not a lot in general. What should people know about your game?

SCUDERI: ``I'd say I'm an extremely under-the-radar type of player. If you haven't noticed me during a game, I probably had a good one. You can expect me to make the simple plays when they need to be made and not take chances that lead to bad mistakes.''

Question: During your time in Pittsburgh, the Penguins went from being a pretty bad team to being champions. What types of things do these young Kings need to know about winning?

SCUDERI: ``It's all about the attitude and work ethic that you bring to the rink every day. We tried to create a winning culture in Pittsburgh, and I've seen how fast things can turn around for a team. I'm hoping I can be one of the players who helps create that type of culture here. This is a talented team, with all the defensemen and with guys like Kopitar and Brown and Frolov. They're not that far away. They were in it until the final month of the season, and I really think they're not that far away.''

Here's the release from the Kings. Quotes from Scuderi and Lombardi coming soon...

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Kings have re-signed restricted free agent right wing Kevin Westgarth to a three-year contact, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today.

Westgarth, 25, made his Kings/NHL debut this past season and played in nine games, recording zero points and nine penalty minutes. He also played in 65 games with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, recording 10 points (4-6=10) and a team-leading 165 penalty minutes.

Originally signed by the Kings as an unrestricted free agent on March 16, 2007, the 6-5, 241-pound Westgarth is a native of Amherstberg, Ontario. Before turning pro, he played four years of college hockey at Princeton.

Here's the roster and schedule for the summer development camp, as released by the Kings. It doesn't appear as though there will be a camp-ending scrimmage, as there has been in previous years.

Defensemen:
Constantin Braun - sixth round (164th overall) in 2006
Andrew Campbell - third round (74th overall) in 2008
Nicolas Deslauriers - third round (84th overall) in 2009
Thomas Hickey - first round (4th overall) in 2007
David Kolomatis - fifth round (126th overall) in 2009
Alec Martinez - fourth round (95th overall) in 2007
Patrick Mullen - free agent signing, 2009
Colten Teubert - first round (13th overall) in 2008
Viatcheslav Voynov - second round (32nd overall) in 2008

Forwards:
Justin Azevedo - sixth round (153rd overall) in 2008
Kyle Clifford - second round (35th overall) in 2009
Robbie Czarnik - third round (63rd overall) in 2008
Nic Dowd - seventh round (198th overall) in 2009
Corey Elkins - free agent signing, 2009
Bud Holloway - third round (86th overall) in 2006
Dwight King - fourth round (109th overall) in 2007
Brandon Kozun - sixth round (179th overall) in 2009
Andrei Loktionov - fifth round (123rd overall) in 2008
Jordan Nolan - seventh round (186th overall) in 2009
Michael Pelech - sixth round (156th overall) in 2009
Garrett Roe - seventh round (183rd overall) in 2008
Brayden Schenn - first round (5th overall) in 2009
Linden Vey - fourth round (96th overall) in 2009
Geordie Wudrick - third round (88th overall) in 2008

Goalies:
Jonathan Bernier - has played in 4 games with the Kings; first round
(11th overall) in 2006
Jean-Francois Berube - fourth round (95th overall) in 2009
Martin Jones - free agent signing, 2008
Jonathan Quick - has played 47 games with the Kings; third round (72nd
overall) in 2005
Jeff Zatkoff - third round (74th overall) in 2006

SCHEDULE

Friday, July 10:
Group A - Practice, 8:30-9:15 a.m.
Game - 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Group B - Practice, 10:45-11:45 a.m.

Saturday, July 11:
Group B - Practice, 8:30-9:15 a.m.
Game - 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Group A - Practice, 10:45-11:45 a.m.

Sunday, July 12:
Group A - Practice, 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Game - 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Group B - 1:45-2:30 p.m.

Rob Scuderi will get an average of $3.4 million over the next four years.

The paperwork is still being finalized, which is why there haven't been any official announcements. Still hoping to talk to Scuderi this afternoon.

From the Kings:

Rob Scuderi, Pittsburgh's 5th round choice, 134th overall, in 1998, has played in exactly 300 games with Pittsburgh, scoring 3-36=39, a plus-13 and 112 PIMs. He has added 1-7=8 in 49 postseason games with the Pens, including 1-4=5 in 24 games during the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, including an amazing save in Game No. 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals to preserve a 2-1 victory over Detroit as Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup.

I will be able to get some quotes from Scuderi later, so stay tuned for that.

The Kings have reached a deal on a four-year contract with Rob Scuderi. Contract numbers haven't been tracked down yet, but given that Rob Rossi is one of the best beat writers around, I'd say $3.4 million per year is most likely an accurate figure.

Defenseman Rob Scuderi is close to signing a contract with the Kings. It has not yet been finalized, but it's in the final stages. Details to come...

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was one of 46 players (and 16 defensemen) selected to participate in Canada's 2010 Olympic men's hockey team orientation camp, which will take place Aug. 24-27 at the Saddledome in Calgary. One notable omission from the camp was Steven Stamkos, who was chosen one spot ahead of Doughty in last year's draft.

A story on the selections can be found here.

OK, here are all the quotes from tonight's interview with Dean Lombardi. I typed fast, so excuse any typos. The only thing to add is that I asked Lombardi if he had any talks with agent Don Meehan about Alexander Frolov, and Lombardi said those would take place after the free-agency stuff sorts out a little more.

Hope you enjoy the quotes...

No? OK, I'll just get some sleep in that case...

(Just a joke)

(Don't overrun the Daily News' servers)

Give me a few minutes to get my notes together, but here are some bullet point (all according to Lombardi):

-- The Kings, and two other teams, had exclusive negotiating rights to talk to Hossa before July 1. If they had signed him, they would have owed some type of compensation to Detroit. The Kings were prepared for a massive Hossa deal, but he wanted to go to a more successful team.

-- The other big target was Mike Knuble, who ultimately decided to stay in the East.

-- The Kings looked at Gaborik, and debated whether to give him as many as three years, but weren't prepared to go anywhere near the Rangers' offer. They also looked at Havlat, in a similar way, but less seriously.

-- Lombardi said he will look at some of the remaining forwards, but sounded more prepared to look at trade possibilities, particularly with teams that have salary-cap issues.

-- Adding a veteran defenseman is a possibility, but not a strong one right now. Lombardi said they ``dabbled'' with Francois Beauchemin, but that's about it so far.

Pretty good stuff...give me a little while to put it together.

TSN reports that Martin Havlat has reached a ``verbal agreement'' to join the Minnesota Wild.

RDS is reporting that Montreal will sign Brian Gionta to a five-year, $25-million contract.

TSN is reporting that Marian Gaborik will sign a five-year contract with the New York Rangers worth $7.5 million per year. (corrected report)

Michael Cammalleri signs with Montreal...five years, $30 million.

Mike Komisarek to Toronto...five years, $4.5 million per year.

Steve Sullivan back to Nashville...two years, $7.5 million.

Samuel Pahlsson to Columbus...three years, $7.95 million.

We're chatting in a post below, so jump in if its not at capacity...

I'll just keep this open and add to it for a while...

David Koci to Colorado, one year, $575,000
Kent Huskins back to San Jose, two years, $3.4 million
Hal Gill to Montreal, two years, $4.5 million
Michael Rupp to Pittsburgh, two years, $1.625 million
Ian Laperriere to Philadelphia, three years, $3.5 million
Scott Clemmensen to Florida, three years, $3.6 million
Erik Cole back to Carolina, two years, $5.8 million

TSN says...Nikolai Khabibulin to Edmonton, four years, $15 million.

Latest reports...

Jaroslav Spacek to Montreal, three years, $11.5 million

Brian Boucher to Philadelphia, two years, $1.85 million.

Per TSN...Joel Ward still in Nashville, two years, $3 million, and Aaron Rome to Vancouver, one year, $550,000.

One year, $6 million per TSN.

Per TSN, Donald Brashear to Rangers...two years, $2.8 million.

Mike Knuble has signed with Washington, two years, $5.6 million.

Steve Montador to Sabres, 2 years, $3.1 million.

Dwayne Roloson to Islanders, 2-year deal, $5 million

Tomas Kopecky to Chicago, 2-year deal, $2.4 million.

Per TSN/Sportsnet

Reports have goalie Ty Conklin signing a two-year, $2.6-million deal with St. Louis.

TSN reports that Tampa Bay has signed Matt Walker to a four-year deal worth $1.7 million per year.

TSN is reporting that Marian Hossa has signed with Chicago, 12 years at $5.2 million per year.

Toronto has signed Colton Orr to a four-year contract worth $4 million, TSN reports.

There was a call for a chat earlier. I'm going to set this up, but I'm not going to have a lot of time to moderate it, so it's not an ``open'' room but I'll approve comments as I can...

Sportsnet and USA Today reporting that Mattias Ohlund has signed with Tampa Bay. Ohlund says seven years, $26.25 million. (they have corrected this)

TSN reporters that Daniel and Henrik Sedin are staying in Vancouver, on five-year contracts that will pay them an average of $6.1 million per season.