Purcell's opportunity
Could it be that the key to the Kings' season -- or at least the first part of it -- will be Teddy Purcell? Given a couple recent developments, it's not such a ridiculous argument.
First, there's the issue of Jarret Stoll's arthritis. Stoll was back on the ice today, and has said that he intends to be ready for opening night, but should circumstances change, the Kings would have to start looking at a backup option. It probably wouldn't be Michal Handzus, since Terry Murray seems to prefer trying a third line of Frolov, Handzus and Simmonds.
So, then what? It's very possible that Oscar Moller would end up at center, with Dustin Brown on his right wing. That opens a spot for...drumroll please...Teddy Purcell.
At the start of camp, I wouldn't have put much weight behind that idea. Purcell has yet to prove that he can be a consistent NHL scorer, and has frustrated coaches at times with his play. Based on what we've seen so far in camp, however, Purcell looks different. He has added some muscle and, more importantly, is playing an all-around more aggressive game. Murray praised Purcell's effort during Tuesday's exhibition game as the best game Purcell had played for him.
Or perhaps, even if Stoll is ready to go for the first game, Purcell could beat out Moller for a top-six spot? Or do you think there's a better option for the Kings?
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About the bloggers
Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at rich.hammond@dailynews.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.
Re: possible Purcell-Moller-Brown line:
The future looks bright! I think that line has a lot of upside and potential to go with Brown's grit and experience. I'd love to see it actually happen.
Anyone who has seen me post before will know what I think of this idea. Huge fan of Purcell here and I fully expect him to command a top 6 line with his play... especially now that I know that he has rounded his game. This kid is a weapon when he has the puck so now that he's playing hard to get the puck, he could be dangerous. Scratch that, WILL be dangerous.
Purcell - Stoll - Brown. 2nd line for the LA Kings.
Great article Rich. I've been waiting for the day to see this much of a focus on Ted. I fully expect to see more and more as the season progresses!
Purcell-Loktionov-Moller
Seems the only line set in stone for Murray is the #1 line. I would suspect as we saw last season he'll have Purcell, Moller, Simmonds bouncing around as they don't seem to be part of any pair that he likes to keep together.
So even with a healthy Stoll I see Moller & Purcell bouncing in and out of that wing spot on the #2 line. And then maybe even Simmonds moves up (can he play LW?) if neither of those two are meeting the expectations at the time by Murray.
And if Stoll is out I see Murray rotating all kinds of people in/out both that wing and #2 center. Note to Bernier: Work on your faceoffs and maybe you can earn a spot on the roster :-}
I highly doubt you see Moller on the 2nd line especially if Purcell is there also. If one of them is to be there, it will be Purcell.
I feel Moller and the team will be best served with a further year of development in the Minors perhaps getting as many games as Purcell got in the NHL last year over the course of one or two call ups.
Moller is too small and his body in my opinion cannot at this point sustain a full year of the abuse of NHL hockey.
Are the training camp sessions open to the public? More importantly, can anyone go check them out? Or are some/all of them closed sessions. Does anyone know for sure?
I don't see Purcell beating out Moller
Frolov & a pick for Kessel thats my answer.
DL should snag him, the Kings would be awesome
adding his caliber of a player.
Purcell & Moller = not even close to Kessel.
Purcell has always had the tools, but timid and weak he should shred like a Kessel. This is Purcell's last chance to make it, he better be eating his wheaties, otherwise he is another King like a Boyle style pick that doesnt make it.
Moller plays big for a small Fwd and blew Purcell out of the water last season until he was hurt. Moller I can see as a 3rd line or 4th line guy, he is no where near a 1st or 2nd line guy anywhere on the Kings or anywhere else in the NHL. All wishful thinking.
Its great to see all the new Kings talent and everyone hopes* that they develop, but most players do not take to long to develop. Look at other teams in the league. They step in ready, and make the squad. Its not 6 games then sent down, then up and down. We need the new so called Kings youth movement and talent to over excell and play 82 games and stick around. Thats the
what you need with youth, hungry and willing to go balls out.
The Future Kings GM Hath Spoken
72
Fro would not solve the Bruins cap issues...not going to happen unless DL gives up all kinds of picks which is not going to happen either.
Moller did play 48 games last year between the Kings (40) and the Monarchs despite getting hurt....by another youngster in an intl tourney, not in the NHL. You'd have to say that Moller has a leg up on Purcell as he was with the big club out of the gate last year and would have been all season if not for his injury. Purcell needs to prove he can compete consistently, something Moller has already done.
Purcell definitely has the talent to play in the NHL. One thing he was lacking was the heart. Let’s hope he discovered he needs to have that element of the game to play in the NHL. He is a game changer. I hope he is with the team on opening night.
I think Purcell has a significant edge over Moller for the 2nd line LW spot. Purcell is more of a playmaker than a scorer, which is just what that line needs. Stoll is a great face-off guy, and has a great shot. I'd like to see Brown go back to being the front-of-net guy on that line, with Purcell as the playmaker, and Stoll staying high in the zone for one-timers. On paper, that actually looks like a pretty good mix.
I think Moller isn't a great fit there because he's also a shoot-first guy, just like Stoll and Brown.
Gavin,
All the on-ice portions of training camp at TSC are open to the public. We went last weekend, it was pretty good.
Yea, I've got a better option. How about putting Frolov on the first line where he deserves to be. Smith to the 2nd line and Teddy on the 3rd. This team isn't going anywhere this year if players like Purcell are being concidered for the 2nd line. DL should have gotten Alex Tanguay when he had the chance. But management is still too cheap.
Future Kings GM is slow. Sorry dude.
Moller has the most offensive upside of anyone within the Kings system outside of Loktionov. There are dozens of players his size, who play in the top 6 on other teams, who compete nightly, take the pounding, and succeed just fine.
Is he ready right now, for this coming season? My opinion...no, he isn't. A year in Manchester would do him well...very well. As it would Loktionov, and I would very much rather see both of them down in Manchester.
Purcell on the other hand. Yes, this is his last chance (here at least). He has the talent. He has the ability. The only thing missing was not the heart, but the drive and will. Seems to be there (at least at this point).
Right now...
Smyth/Kopitar/Williams
Purcell/Stoll/Brown
Frolov/Handzus/Simmonds
Ivanans or Westgarth/Lewis/?
That's what I would be icing for my forward lines.
Frolov deserves to be on the 1st line?
I sure hope you guys are right. I haven't seen anything from Purcell that gives me the kind of hope you guys are tossing out here.
He was decent but we'll have to see how the next couple of weeks go for him.
I have to agree with Dan H. I haven't seen anything from Purcell that leads me to believe he's even NHL ready. If he's the "key to the Kings season" it's going to be another long year.
There are five keys to the Kings season.
1) Justin Williams
2) Jonathan Quick
3) Jack Johnson
4) Teddy Purcell
5) Stay away from significant injuries
As these things go, so will the Kings.
Moller does not have the on ice vision or passing ability that Purcell does. Moller does have heart and determination, and a decent shot. It's pretty clear that Murray has Purcell penciled in higher on the depth chart, as long as Purcell has a high compete level. That's the key.
I sure hope the Kings have the guts to get rid of the fringe talent players (Richardson, Harrold, Zeiler, and Ivanans)to start to reveal the depth the organization is building. Much rather see others get a shot, such as Lewis, Segal, Westgarth, and Hickey. The others have already had their chance and failed.
NOT IMPRESSED,
The fact that you think the reason DL didn't sign Tanguay is because management is too cheap shows that you aren't really paying attention and talking out of old biases.
This year management has shown a marked willingness to spend money. This year, Kopitar's contract kicked in, we took on Smyth's and gave Scuderi 3.4. We added ~15 million in 3 players, while only really losing Calder, Preissing, Gauthier and Armstrong. That's only ~10 or 11. Not to mention I believe Williams make more than O'Sullivan. Oh yeah, Greene's contract kicks in this year as well.
Hell, DL was even cleared to spend uber bucks on Hossa.
Yeah, I don't get it either Dan. I saw him in camp and didn't jump out. Saw the interviews, didn't jump out. Saw him play, didn't jump out. I have serious doubts about his commitment to toughness and whether or not he can sustain it over the long haul. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who responds well when he gets crushed into the boards.
Of course, I hope I'm proven dead wrong cause I do like the guy. I just see more in common with Boyle than with Brown.
For S&G's I looked up last year's game 1 starting lineup. I think this is correct (or at least it's close).
Moulson, Kopitar, Brown
Frolov, Stoll, Moller
Calder, Handzus, Simmonds
Ivanans, Richardson, Armstrong
Johnson, Greene
O'Donnell, Doughty
Gauthier, Preissing
LaBarbara
How much better are we this year?
I don't mind the Fro, Zeus, Simmonds line combo. I thought they looked good together last year.
Do we really need to call the lines 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Smyth/Kopitar/Williams
Purcell/Stoll/Brown
Frolov/Handzus/Simmonds
Ivanans or Westgarth/Lewis/?
These line combos suggested above provide 3 lines that can score and play against any other line in the league. Then there is the energy line. Plus you know TM is not scarred to change things up.
I am fired up for 10/03/2009. I have good feelings about this season!
I am unsure why people continue to comment on the lack of willingness of management to go out and sign Tanguay. The guy is a perennial underachiever.
A world better Waves...a world better.
Waves,
That starting lineup you posted from last year is not half as good as the one we are looking at now. The fact that we have replaced LaBarbera, Moulson, Calder, Armstrong, and Gauthier (and possibly Ivanands and Richardson) with better players, and that our young guys have another year of experience, means nothing to you?
As mrbrett said, we are a world better.
Waves--
Not only is the lineup better, there is a sense of urgency and intensity that is almost palpable this year, even though it is early in training camp.
So much of team success in sports is reliant on that sense of focus, urgency and intensity. I'm hoping that it's real, and not just our pipedream here on this site...
Jordon. Easy tiger. You're incorrectly reading into a literal question.
Of course I think we're better. Waaaay better.
But literally how much better are we?
Quantify it killer.
waves, he answered your question.
Worlds better.
Which is this much (stretches out arms).
yup, we're better, but so is every other team in our division...
no way jdm, i don't care how far you stretch out your arms, i know that a world is, at the very least, a little bit bigger than that distance. i think.
so here's my 2 cents...
the kopi line is an honest to goodness top NHL line. what a way to start a game with these guys on the ice. already better with just this line.
the zus line is one frolov better, one year more of healing in zus's knee better, and one year more of experience with wayno. kick ass line here.
the stoll line should be a lot better but it's factor is unknown. must have more data to calculate.
the dreaded 4th line is still a mystery to me. is it gonna be better than Ivanans/Richardson/Armstrong? i'm not so sure.
what is tm planning to do? if he goes with ivanans i'd say it's only as good as him (the weakest link or the missing link depending on how you look at it :)
or will he go with a skilled line? maybe something like quisp has suggested: Clune/Stoll/Westgarth with oscar as the sub.
i'd love it if we go skilled, but i just don't think that's what tm's gonna do.
as for defense, we're one stanley cup winner better with a dash of two young guys wanting to kick some serious ass. i gotta think our D will kill this year.
which leads me to the most drastic improvement of all from last year's starting lineup to this year's...
JONATHAN "YES, HE REALLY IS!" QUICK
who is light years better (beat that)
!!!The key to the season is not the first line, or the second line. All the success rides on the shoulders of the players commanding the third line. To completely dissolve a teams first line, is to render your opponent to secondary scoring, which defensively should be the game plan of every team. For example, our third line-FROLOV/ZEUS/SIMMONDS-if this is in fact a line that can shut down a Getzlaf line, a thornton line, a Doan/Lombardi line, then you have to look at the match up of our first line to their checking line, or our first line to their 2nd line, and our 2nd line to what would essentially be our mismatch-advantage. Our 3rd line is quite possibly the best in the division-honestley, check the rosters-so in order to create mismatches, the shear talent of our third line is invaluable. Team that with the fact its very likely you'll see either Doughty/Scuderi or JJ/Greene with this line, and you can see the point I'm trying to make. Our success this season could very well be the third lines ability to go against the other teams top line...as Murray's style dictated last year with that line-up of Fro/Zeus/and the all powerful Simmonds.
Waves,
If I'm being technical, I'll say we will score 25-30 more goals this season and let in 10-15 fewer. That would give us a modest + goal differential. We might do a little better than that, but I'm being cautiously optimistic.
TJ Snow:
Alex Tanguay a perennial underachiever you say?
He has averaged .88 points per game in his career. Not Kopitar, not Frolov, not any King has an average that high. He was signed for less than 3 mil this. We should have signed him.