Kings at No. 12?

that's why the nhl season is played inside t.v.'s by really tiny people - not vicariously by the print media...

i think that this team will prove all the "experts" wrong...

I think so. But I also love having the opportunity to prove the Canadian hockey writers wrong. I'm pretty sure the Hockey News did not pick the Penguins to win the Cup, so maybe being the dark horse is a good thing.

I think they'll be battling for a playoff spot this season, but ultimately I think they'll finish 10th this season. I saw that THN slotted the Kings in at 12th and although it didn't surprise me, it would've been nice to see them picked higher.

To me, next season is going to be the make or break season or whatever cliche you want to heap on Lombardi, Murray and/or the kids. I really think next fall will be the jump on the bandwagon year for all of the hockey pundits to latch onto.

It seems like a pick that is overly safe. If you look at thn's predicted standings so far, despite their blurbs they seem to just going off of last year with some conservative variation. I don't see this list as being the product of very much thought. Probably took one of the interns an hour and an old newspaper.

I don't have a clue how they can put the Oilers, Predators, or Jackets, above us. What additions have been made by these teams to be better than they were last year? I don't see it....other than MSP to the Oil. Also, the Stars are being predicted to finish higher...are you kidding me? That prediction alone is enough to have this list thrown in the garbage. Morrow doesn't play goalie, so their problems aren't fixed! One could argue that the Blues are treading water. Theyre getting back Johnson, but Brewer may be done.

I attribute it to the Jon Quick factor. A lot of these sportswriters don't know enough about him.

If we had a "name" goaltender we would be rated much higher.

I don't think the analysis is far off based on the exposure the Kings normally get. However, the point of having a very tough conference to play in is quite valid. The blues have only gotten stronger, the Stars will be back to their true form next season, and the Oilers upgraded as well. Not to mention, the often forgotten Blue Jackets and Predators.

The playoff picture won't be too solid until after the olympic break. My guess is that at least a couple big name players are going to suffer injuries that can change the tide of a team's playoff hopes. Imagine losing Brown or Kopitar right before the final 2 months of the season...But on the other hand, it could work in our favor with a rival losing an all star or two...I wouldn't mind seeing that at all.

As a fan, I really want the Kings to make it...but I'm reluctant to say it will be a for sure bet.

Deelo...great point about Quick.

"Excessively low", not really. I do have a hard time believing that we'll finish below Nashville and Edmonton. I don't the Stars have done nearly enough this off-season to warrant any playoff contention. With Crawford at the healm, Turco will be hung out to dry even more so.

I firmly believe LA will ice a playoff team this year. It's another year of development under the belts of the kids and we finally have situation in goal that represents some kind of stability.

Most of the Canadian media is asleep before the puck drops in the West so it's no surprise that they have LA so low. I don't think that will be the case at the end of the day.

Even if no , i said yes GO KINGS .

While I certainly hope we will finish higher, the West is so tough and competitive who knows where we'll end up? Dallas should be better just by being more healthy, Columbus and St Louis already made the playoffs last season and are just as good if not better now, Nashville is a solid team, Oilers underperformed...

It's gonna be a dog fight.

All these predictions are banking on Quick having a "sophomore slump" which Kings fans know won’t happen. This guy is a competitor! Plus, Ersberg -or Bernier- can step in if Quick does happen to slump a bit. If "hockey people" payed as much attention to LA as they do the Leafs, they'd slot the Kings as the 8th seed in the west!

i would take their opinion w/ a grain of salt. They didn't get a single prediction correct last year and they only had 5 of the correct teams making the playoffs

Predictions
1. Detroit Red Wings
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Calgary Flames
4. Dallas Stars
5. Anaheim Ducks
6. Chicago Blackhawks
7. Minnesota Wild
8. Edmonton Oilers

9. Phoenix Coyotes
10. Nashville Predators
11. Columbus Blue Jackets
12. Colorado Avalanche
13. St. Louis Blues
14. Vancouver Canucks
15. Los Angeles Kings

Actual standings
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Detroit Red Wings
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Calgary Flames
6. St. Louis Blues
7. Columbus Blue Jackets
8. Anaheim Ducks

9. Minnesota Wild
10. Nashville Predators
11. Edmonton Oilers
12. Dallas Stars
13. Phoenix Coyotes
14. Los Angeles Kings
15. Colorado Avalanche

Hockey is too unpredictable, predictions are useless.

If the Kings get goaltending and a little more offense, they'll battle for a playoff spot. If Quick turns out to be a 1 hit wonder and Ersberg/Bernier/Zatkoff can't step up to replace him, 12th is a generous prediction. And the offense really depends on 2 players. Williams and Smyth. If they put the puck in the net the Kings will be better. If not, it's going to be a long year.

agreed. quick is THE key. we all wondered how we would have finished last season if quick had played all year long. well, now we get to find out...hopefully.

12th? Child Please!!!!!

We'll be battling it out all year for the playoffs and we'll make it during the last week of the season.
That prediction is based on the same BS used by the prognosticating media....A hunch amd a prayer!

i guess the kings missed out on the vick sweepstakes...

...better move them down to 13th, hockey news...

Rich,
Whats your take on these rankings, and what weakness do you feel the publication is basing their assesment on?
Also...you da man

My meaningless predictions:

Detroit
Chicago
San Jose
Calgary
Columbus
Vancouver
Los Angeles
St Louis
-----
Anaheim
Minnesota
Nashville
Dallas
Edmonton
Phoenix
Colorado

But of course nobody knows. Will Chicago be good because they had a good playoff run? Didn't really work for the Kings in '93. Is Anaheim really any good now that Pronger is gone? Probably, but who knows.

I don't think Lombardi's in trouble unless the Kings are out of it before the last five games. If they end up 10th with 90 points, that's a muted victory. If they end up 12th with 83 points, that's a problem.

The hockey media based out of Toronto has no clue about the teams on the west coast. To them "on paper", the Kings look like the 12th best team in the western conference.

We (Kings fans) are all hoping that the Kings make the playoffs this year..The team is there,but i feel that they are 1 or 2 more moves (trades/signings) away from the playoffs.. If not this year,next year for sure...Now, i'm going to make alot of Kings fans angry..As for the Ducks,i hate to say it but that line-up looks damn good.. I don't see them missing the playoffs.. But i know the Kings will play them hard like they always do and will win a few over the Ducks... GO KINGS GO!!!!!!

12 is too low.

From last year...
1) We've upgraded our goaltending--a full year w/Quickie and EE (maybe Bernie), we'll be in most games except for a handful; Gone is Barbie.
2) We've upgraded our D - with (hopefully) JJ the full year, DD no longer a rook; solid D from Scuds, Greener and OD; + a wildcard?? (Hickey? another vet?) Gone is Goat, Preissing, and Quincy
3) Smytty will be a net presence; JW will be healty, but still a ?; a solid 3rd line with Zeus/Simmonds/?; and Kopi, Brownie, Stolli, and Fro will find their scoring touch and play a 2-way game...Gone is Sully. Oscar and Teddy need to step up their games, maybe get a challenge from Lewis.

I see us somewhere between 6 and 10.

Let's be honest. The only question we need to be asking here is: will the kings finish in the 1-8 range or 9-16 range? The order is trivial really.

actually ianmonsta, the prediction last year is very good. sure they didn't get them all right, but it's pretty accurate for what it's worth.

I see the kings as a playoff team. But Quick has yet to prove himself and we can't go expecting his performance last year to be an accurate gauge of his performance this year (look at ersberg). The fact that he'll be fighting for a job come training camp shows that he's still largely an X factor.

We've added a lot of significant pieces and I personally don't know how we'll meld together. Williams, Scuderi, and Smyth fill 3 of the top 2 lines, if they don't work out, that's going to be some big holes in our lineup.

TB -- i would say that we did lose Brown for the last 2 months of the season. That is not to blame him. I doubt I would perform better at work is that situation.

We played in the West, we had the toughest schedule for a playoff run, we had the most rookie-games played, and we had an unsettled goal situation to start the season. We had a projected top pair Dman lost for half a season in game two. I thought we should have been last in the league with 65 points. Quick and the defensive system gave us a chance.

Symth, Scuds and Hickey for Calder, Goat and Q, seems like an improvement. I think we will finish 10th with 86 pts. The ducks will be a better regular season team w/ Koivu, but they will not fair nearly as well in the playoffs. The Stars would have been a playoff team last year w/o Avery. The Blues will be a 5 or 6 seed if they can avoid the Andy Murray curse.

Unless Huet practiced alot during the off season I can't see him being as good as "The Bulin Wall" was and I think that Calgary or San Jose could finish ahead of the Hawks. "IF" Quick has even the same type of season he had this past the Kings will make the playoffs. Quick is a better goaltender the Huet.

jet,

i think you're probably right re your predictions. last year, I believe I gave a range of low-to-mid 80s -- and was off by a few points, obviously -- this year I feel like the range for this team should be 88-94 points. And that will either be good enough (92-94) or not (below 92).

My reasoning is, Kopitar and Brown will have better seasons than last year's (otherwise, we have a big problem). Frolov will benefit from the presence of Smyth, as will everyone else in the top six, bumping numbers up accordingly. (Smyth and Williams instead of POS and Calder -- that's a good trade, right?) Williams may or may not return to his 30-goal form, but he's almost certain to be an upgrade over POS+Williams of last year. Moller, Simmonds and Doughty will be a year bigger and stronger (scary). The team has confidence in its goaltenders for the first time in about seven years. Quincey is gone but Scuderi takes his place. JJ is healthy and it's hard to imagine he won't make more of a difference than he did last year. Hickey just might crack the roster this year (I won't bum out if he doesn't, but won't be surprised if he's wearing #4 in October), giving the Kings three mobile scoring threats on the blue-line. When's the last time that was true? When has it ever been true? And the team has a year of Terry Murray under their belts, so we've gotten some of the learning curve out of the way. And all of that (aside from Hickey) doesn't even get into the possibility of some prospects surprising at camp and making a difference.

There's just no way they're not better. I don't care if everyone else is better, too, because when I say better I mean "we will beat them more often" not "we're all better so we'll still lose the same amount."

Great points Quisp, as always..

My thoughts:

Kings now have a shot at making the playoffs, unlike last seasons. They have made great improvements, but still has some question marks..

* Kopitar and Brown MUST be better, especially Kopi.
* Williams has to prove that he is a top 6 forward.
* Quick has to prove he is a starting goaltender, and that he can carry the team the whole season.
* Defense has to be as solid as last year.
* Jack Johnson has to prove he is what he is expected to be.

If all this factors come true, the we WILL make the playoffs.

But the loss of Quincey might be harder for us than you think. We dont have so many offensive defensemen left, and I dont think Hickey is ready yet (though I wish I am wrong). Quick is young, and like Quisp said, he is a major factor for next season.

So, to sum up, we have a great team, and have made some improvements. But that is not guaranteeing a playoff spot in the West. The west is tight, and has many teams just like the Kings, so we might well end up in the 10th spot. (12 is too low I think).

My predictions:

1. Detroit
2. Chicago
3. San Jose
4. Calgary
5. Vancouver
6. Anaheim
7. Columbus
8. LA
9. St.Louis
10. Nashville
11. Dallas
12. Minnesota
13. Colorado
14. Phoenix
15. Edmonton

Jonathan Quick= The Savior of LA you heard it here first book it!!

Quisp,
I agree with you on all counts except for "There is no way we cant be better"........ Goaltending is the key. I think J Quick has it in him, but if he doesnt do what he did last year we aren't going to be an 90 point team. I just dont want to Jinx it, we were all sold on Ersberg, and now nobody would give a rats ass if we got rid of him and had Bernier back up...... I think we definatley should be better but we shall see

In the West I think there are only a few teams that are locks to make the playoffs - Detroit, San Jose, Vancouver & Chicago. And only a few that are locks to miss - Phoenix & Colorado. Other than those teams, it's up in the air for every other team. Plus I think we're better than Dallas, Edmonton, Minnesota, and Nashville, which puts us at least 9th. And furthermore I think we're as good as Columbus, St. Louis, Calgary, & Anaheim. So in the end, yes we're a playoff team.

Quisp great points about this years squad. Our team is heavily improved with Smyth and Scuderi, and the good thing is we have such a huge influx of D-men coming up in the system. I think the kings should be happy being low so we can be the underdog and it gives us something to work for. I can imagine us at 7-8 in the standings because I see the ducks weaker now without Pronger, and Dallas without Tippet is in trouble, their once vaunted special teams are going to be worse. The coyotes are not a threat anymore with the team for sale etc... the only team in the pacific that is a monster is San Jose. Sure Chigaco, Detroit, Calgary and Vancouver are going to be tough, but the majority of our games are vs a deconstructed west. I think we have a great chance to establish ourselves in a weaker pacific and use those points to get in at 7-8. I don't care where we finish in the season as long as we get into the playoffs. All it takes is a hot goalie and anything can happen.

Obviously our additions are a big factor but for me there's really only one component.

Quick all year this year versus Labarbera for part of year last year?

No question we're playoff bound.

Oldthunder, I like a lot of what you brought up. The Pacific division is undeniably weaker than in previous years. While SJ will probably be a regular season powerhouse again, I can't see Phoenix adding any payroll whatsoever with all this ownership turmoil, Anaheim's D has definitely taken a hit (although I think that long-term, they definitely won the Chris Pronger trade), and Dallas will be in the dogfight alongside LA, (or maybe down with Colorado with Crawford runnning the show lol). I'm expecting LA to finally play more than 82 games with a 6th-8th seed. Anything less should be a huge disappointment to all of us.

Two articles about the Kings on NHL.com.

The first is another article where Ryan Smyth talks about how great a move coming to LA is for him. Anyone else think it's sounding like he's trying to convince himself?

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=469988

The second is NHL.com's "30 in 30" look at all the teams in the league, and they do a comprehensive review of the Kings organization, including an interview with Lombardi.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=469987

There's also some Kings related programming coming Friday on the NHL Network so look for it.

Quisp -- excellent point with regards to Murray’s first year. The players should be more comfortable with the system this year. I still think we surprised some teams with our work ethic last year. Every team knows what to expect from us this year. I also do not believe we have the depth, yet anyways, to overcome any substantial injuries. Finally, many players went through an enormous growth phase last year. It may be unrealistic to expect the same amount of growth this year. Still, I hope that I am wrong.

macswede, re quincey -

Oh, I am secretly or not so secretly worried about that. I loved Quincey from before day one even, when my red-wings-maniac family was freaking out over losing him to us. I thought he should retire a King. Uh -- didn't quite happen. As I said several times last year, if he had qualified as a rookie (he played the absolute minimum number of games in previous seasons to disqualify himself) he would have led all rookie defensemen in assists and would have been a legitimate candidate for ROTY. I hope Scuderi is equivalent or better, but you never know. It's going to be an asterisk for me for awhile. I like the trade for Smyth, but Quincey is going to be great for COL.

Also, when I say the range for the Kings is 88-94 points, I mean that anything less than that is a problem, not necessarily that they WILL get there. Anything can happen. But they SHOULD get there. And that's the first time in a while anybody's been able to say that without being laughed at. Last year, I said low 80s and other people were saying we'd be lucky to get to 50 points.

Hey Paul, regarding the question of Symth's move:

He wants to settle down. The NMC he negotiated from the Av's shows this (and he and his family was recently moved around a lot, after a long stint in Edmonton)...

So for him to waive the clause, a lot of convincing would be needed... After all, he is most likely looking after his family too, just as the LA Kings management would expect from their players (i.e. "character guys").

Regardless, I have a feeling that he and his family will love it in LA. And the point that he will be playing here already shows a lot (IMO).

p.s. How awesome is it to look at all those Getty Images of him right in front of the net!

Thanks Paul from Oxnard
I would have missed those if not for the heads up.

Hard to tell the tone without actually hearing the conversation and seeing his body english...If we suck this year I'm sure he and the rest of us,with the exception of the Dl haters,will be really pissed off and miserable. Those guys are pissed off and miserable before we even play a game.

I like the write up on DL. Ineresting how he really goes after Kopitar...and for good reason.
With everyone we brought in if Kopitar doesn't step up his game big time we're not going to win. He's our best offensive player and as he goes, we'll go.
I don't know what it means, but it was good to read that he thinks Kopi got himself into shape for the season.
It was also nice to read Jack Ferreira's comments about the quanity of talent throughout the organization. That's the pipeline that will keep us at or near the top when we finally make it there...notice I didn't say IF we get there.

Hey Hockey festers - Enter code: HFCEN into Special Offers Box to get a discount to $50.

Rich -- you can remove this if inappropiate, just trying to save the boys some beer money.

There is no way the Kings are coming in 12th. They will make the playoffs and will come in at least 7th or 8th.

I do think Quick IS the Goalie and something tells me Bernier may be gone later late in the season. It's all up to Quick though but I think he is the real thing.

The reason for those low rankings and expectations for the Kings is the East Coast just doesn't pay attention to the Far West and that includes Vancouver/San Jose/Anaheim/Kings. The only reason San Jose get so much attention is because of their dominance and Anaheim well they won the Cup.

12th is probably a little low, but expect the Kings to be among six or seven clubs battling for three playoff spots.

The locks are probably:

1. Detroit
2. San Jose
3. Vancouver
4. Chicago
5. Calgary

San Jose could switch places with Detroit. Chicago probably can't. Vancouver wins the Northwest again. Calgary grinds its way back into the top eight, whether it's in fifth, sixth, or seventh.

So. Three more spots. Six worthy clubs.

Edmonton
Columbus
Anaheim
St. Louis
Nashville
Los Angeles

The Playoffs begin after the Olympic break. Olympic injuries will be a factor. The last time the Kings entered an Olympic break in the playoff hunt, Frolov got hurt, the team collapsed down the stretch, and the Coach and the GM were fired.

Edmonton and Nashville seem like question marks, but Nashville is always a question. And they always manage to break in.

The rest:

Phoenix is in bankruptcy; good young forwards put it at the top of the bottom four. Dallas is getting ready to rebuild. I don't think Minnesota can make it without Gaborik. Colorado IS rebuilding.

A few quick thoughts at work:

The Kings have the potential to be a 90+ point team this year, with the current roster and coaching staff.

- The second season under TM's system will hopefully yield the same results defensively, while increasing offensive production.

- The supplanting of Calder, Armstrong, and Gauthier with Smyth, a full year of Williams, and Scuderi should provide a massive upgrade.

- A year under the belts of the young guns (Doughty, Moller, Simmonds, etc.) will hopefully yield more consistency. They exceeded expectations, let's hope they keep it up.

- Brown and Kopitar will hopefully return to 07-08 or better numbers.

- Jack Johnson is due to start fulfilling expectations.

- Quick, to me, is a question mark. Hopefully he picks up where he left off.

- If we perform well against the Pacific division, that is a lot of points for the taking.

- If everyone stays relatively healthy, Quick, Kopitar, Johnson, Williams, etc. don't disappoint, and we beat up on the Ducks and Stars, I don't see why we won't crack the top-8.

Wayne Simmonds for president.

This is a very interesting thread, for multiple reasons. Personally, I found myself frustrated when trying to handicap the 2009-2010 season. One thing clear is that the Kings are an unknown quantity; they are young, improving with a change in the cast of top six forwards that leads to questions about chemistry, particularly in scoring, especially during crunch-time, tied late in the third period.

But on top of all that, the greatest questions are about the other western conference top dogs. So many of them are due for a fall. That includes San Jose and Detroit (despite the fact they will likely be rated 1-2), Vancouver, Anaheim, Calgary, Dallas, Nashville and Minnesota. Age, changes in key personel, and the omnipresent boogieman INJURIES make predicting the order next to impossible.

I actually think the conference could be turned upside-down this season. Only time will tell.

But one thing FEELS right...

The Kings are about to be a lot better, bank on it.

Bako -

I agree completely. Well, Detroit always seems to manage to persist in greatness, despite key players leaving. But that said, I feel like Detroit, Chicago and San Jose could easily stumble this year -- yet you can't really say, "oh, yeah, San Jose is going to finish fifth."

And the injury thing can completely derail a team, or...bring a team together.

Chemistry: always an unknown, but I like DL's method of dealing with this. He favors leaders and workaholics and avoids, well, d**ks and selfish a**h***s. That sounds like a good recipe for chemistry, although there are finer details that you can't just predict, like which three unlikely forwards will combine to make a hall of fame line combo. A lot of it has to be, stick to your basic principles and hope for the best. DL seems to have done a pretty good job of that.

A few funny articles from Edmonton this week about how "we shouldn't have traded Stoll and Greene" and Lubo is "untradeable" with that big contract. Hilarious.

Really, the best anyone can do, prediction-wise, is to look at who's trending up and who's trending down. The Kings are trending up.

quisp -- and that upward trend appears to be sustainable.

variable said:
that's why the nhl season is played inside t.v.'s by really tiny people...

V:
That is hilarious! I keep thinking of the train station locker in "Men In Black". Then, I think about opening a door someday and finding myself looking out over some strange, huge landscape, with huge creatures looking down at me, asking me if the L.A. Kings have won the Stanley Cup yet...

I want to be saying, "Hell, yeah! No contest, won it in four games! Weren't you watching? Where have YOU been?"

yahoo sports(no great HOCKEY authority by no means)
mckeon's power rankings put kings at #18 OVERall with 9 west teams ahead of us.. making us #10..

1.chicago
2.vancouver
3.detroit
4.calgary
5.anaheim
6.san jose
7.EDM
10.Kings

mckeon definately inhaled...

QUISP, BAKO, JET, PAUL FROM OXNARD, 4THLINE, TB, IRISH PAT, MACSWEDE...(and all the other great bloggers on here that contribute that i have failed to mention)...

more than ever before, we have so much to look forward to as devout followers of our kings...and regardless of our various predictions, we are all expecting a precipitous ascension in points which will translate into the team's playoff participation...and from that point on, who knows what could happen...(?!)

at the risk of sounding or getting to chummy or maudlin...i just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you guys...and many others...for making this blog one of the highlights for me every day...

i am always guaranteed varied opinions, thoughtful insights and witty observations and commentary every time i open a thread...i've learned so much from so many of you...regardless if i agree with what's being said or not...that i felt compelled to let all y'all know about it...

and when we become a more successful franchise in the coming years and (hopefully) achieve the lofty aspirations (perhaps more attainable than ever before) we all so desperately want from our beloved kings, i will have the utmost pleasure and satisfaction of knowing that i was able to enjoy it all in the company of my "virtual" friends on this site...

sure...rich has been the catalyst and our forum purveyor...and we are always grateful to him for making this forum possible...we have all done our part in the past to document and express our gratitude to him for all that he's done and continues to do for us...

but a blog is only as good as it's participants...and this forum, in my opinion, is at the top of the food chain because of its content, followers and voices...and that's why i'm going to savor this upcoming season even more so...

here's to the '09-'10 season and to you...!

These predictions are meaningless. As far as i'm concerned it's playoffs or bust. The organization has run out of excuses. They need to start building a culture based on high standards, results, accountability and most of all...WINNING. BTW these might be the same people who picked San Jose to go all the way... so go figure.

In fact, the 8th spot in the playoffs would be a nice start. Forget about owing the fans.... they owe it to themselves to establish some good old honest pride.

Yahoo has us the closest of anyone I have seen.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AhWAS_zOZxygm0qUp0T5P4cmvLYF?slug=rm-nhlpower081209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

For what it's worth, in Terry Murray's previous 2 stints as an NHL head coach at Philly and then Florida his teams broke 98 points in his second season of coaching for each team.

Hey Variable, you forgot about ANTHONY....

My picks

1.Chicago
2.San Jose
3.Calgary
4.Detroit
5.Vancouver
6.Anaheim
7/8.Columbus
8/7.Los Angles
9.Dallas
10.St.Louis
11.Minnesota
12.Edmonton
13.Nashville
14.Colorado
15.Phoenix

Right back at you VAriable, I com here 10 times a day to get my Vitamin V,Q and J(Variable,Quisp,Jet )..... and all the others..... You guys all make my offseason just a lil bit easier...... I like the idea of meeting up at the rookie tourney

Mark and Bako,

Thanks for bringing up top teams falling. I really think people are assuming Calgary will be great, where I think Kipprusof is due for a big fall, and I'm sorry but JayBo does not replace Cammy's goals. Look at how bad our offense suffered without him, how much will it affect Calgary when their version of Cammy had a career year.

I also think San Jose is a team without an identity and I'm also losing trust in Nabakov. These are two teams without a backup capable of taking on a big load if Kipper or Nabby have a Giguere like tumble.

As for the Kings, I am confident and hopeful we can sneak into 8th, possibly 7th if the stars align. Safe pick is 10, and I think 11 is where we end up if Williams doesn't produce or Quick struggles out of the gate. 12 is too low for my taste, but not ridiculous to think possible.

But I am very excited. So much so I am considering season seats for the first time ever.

Mark and Bako,

Thanks for bringing up top teams falling. I really think people are assuming Calgary will be great, where I think Kipprusof is due for a big fall, and I'm sorry but JayBo does not replace Cammy's goals. Look at how bad our offense suffered without him, how much will it affect Calgary when their version of Cammy had a career year.

I also think San Jose is a team without an identity and I'm also losing trust in Nabakov. These are two teams without a backup capable of taking on a big load if Kipper or Nabby have a Giguere like tumble.

As for the Kings, I am confident and hopeful we can sneak into 8th, possibly 7th if the stars align. Safe pick is 10, and I think 11 is where we end up if Williams doesn't produce or Quick struggles out of the gate. 12 is too low for my taste, but not ridiculous to think possible.

But I am very excited. So much so I am considering season seats for the first time ever.

But I am very excited. So much so I am considering season seats for the first time ever.

I had that itch. Scratched it with a Ten Game Weekend Pack.

1. Chicago
2. San Jose
3. Vancouver
4. Detroit
5. Calgary
6. Minnesota
7. Los Angeles
8. Dallas

9. Columbus
10. St.Louis
11. Edmonton
12. Anaheim
13. Nashville
14. Colorado
15. Phoenix

Variable -

You're a good man, Charlie Brown. Hopefully, this won't be the emotional highpoint for the season.

I agree with you. It's nice to have a forum to hash these things out. Especially a democratic one, where anyone who cares to can jump right in.

As far as the predictions and everything else go:

I'm glad people (well, pundits) are under-estimating the Kings this season. That's just perfect, if you ask me. The Kings are, in my opinion, all but certain to do better than several of the teams consistently ranked higher than them in these polls (e.g. EDM and DAL). MIN? New star, new coach, new system, who knows if they're any good. STL? Should be about the same as the Kings, if everyone's healthy. NSH? We ought to be at least as good as them. CBJ and ANA... should be competitive, but so should we. It's going to be close. It's basically, from an August point-of-view, a six-way tie for seventh place.

Fun, fun, fun.

What about Frolov? It's the last year of his contract and I bet he really turns it on this year. Because that's the way the Kings roll, more drama as to the money situation and if we keep him or trade him. He will perform well and we wont' know if he's staying or going. If he stays where in the line up does he go and if he goes, he needs to turn it up for trade value. The Kings will make the playoffs this year, if only for the first round.