Zeiler, 3 others to Manchester

I can almost hear the corks popping all over the southland.

Rich, what's your guess for the fourth line and who will be the next set up cuts?

Hate to sound like an jerk, but hearing that Zeiler was sent to Manchester just made my day. It's nice to have a team that has depth for once in the organization.

thank god...now to just get ivanans out...

The 5 that should stay, and probably will stay.

4th line + 2 extra roster spots.

Clifford/Lewis/Clune/Schenn/Ivanans

Westgarth not even close to being a force like Ivanans
Zeiler not big enough, not talented enough. (cya)
Richardson out with the old in with the new.
Harrold not even close to an NHL caliber player, to small, so he plays D & FW, so what, versitile last year, gone this year, we dont need him. With all the Kings D, Harrold should never play D again.

The Future Kings GM Hath Spoken

Zeiler has to clear waivers, no?

Zeiler to Manchester is the best news I have heard all week. We need to keep someone with some upside in that role. Zeiler is easily repaceable as there are 20 teams out there ready to cut someone just like Zeiler as we speak. Let the kids play, at least for the first nine games

Harrold is going to stay. He can serve as the 4th line center or the 7th D-Man. The consummate utility player.

but will zeiler clear waivers? the thought plickens.

Only Richardson remains. See ya, I hope. Whoever remains is the new prototypical King, big and strong with an attitude. I love it.

So that should leave 8 guys battling for 3 spots on the 4th line:

Marc-Andre Cliche
Kyle Clifford
Richard Clune
Peter Harrold
Raitis Ivanans
Trevor Lewis
Brad Richardson
Brayden Schenn
Kevin Westgarth

It's very cool to still see Cliche and Lewis in the mix.

this DOES mean that Zeiler was placed on (and most probably cleared) waivers... A wakeup call to Z... NOT NHL caliber... hell, the Isles used to ALWAYS pick stuff up off the scrap heap.

Force like Ivanans? Our best guys got worked last year while Ivanans was there and he did nothing. Most of his penalties were two minutes for hooking.

He didn't even do his job well. Worthless.

Put Westgarth in and give him a shot. At least he can get in on the forecheck without tripping on the blue line.

that's correct pat, plus 2 forwards for the press box line (PBL). that's assuming they don't carry 2 extra defensmen or perhaps 3 goalies...???

i'm bummed segal is gone. i thought he had a good chance and i like the way he plays. apparently DL didn't.

Personally, and no disrespect intended to anybody, but for those people who feel that the Kings are going to keep two junior-age players and put them on a fourth line with fourth-line minuts, you've got to be out of your mind.

I think the main reason they sent Zeiler down was that they were couldn't afford to spend six times his salary replacing the glass along the boards.

The last five forwards are -

Ivanans-Richardson-Lewis (fourth line),

then Clune and Schenn.

Clune and Schenn switching off with Ivanans and Richardson.

Ivanans is a beast who is feared in the league.
Richardson finally gets a fair shot at a roster spot to show he is worth a 2nd pick.

Schenn gets a shot at the bigs in his first year, just like his brother.

Clune and Lewis are next in line from the Kings new deep system.

The last defenseman is Harrold. A solid back up for any position.

When you have Harrold penciled in as a top 6 defenseman, there appears to not be enough depth there,
in case a key man gets injured....even with Martinez
and/or Hickey, who are untested, it looks like there might be a deal made early in the season for another veteran....so....I'm thinking....3 goalies....if Bernier looks like the #1 guy that Kings thought he was when they drafted him, that could give a broad clue as to who might be traded....sorry, just thinking out loud....

Westgarth sucks. The sooner you guys realize this the better.

Until they get a 1a/1b center, the 4th line will be an abomination.

Since Clifford just signed, I think you can assume he'll be staying for his nine games, otherwise there's no reason to sign him. If they thought they were returning him to juniors before the start of the season, they could have waited a year to sign him.

As far as Schenn goes, (1) it's just for nine games, and (2) Stoll may not be ready for c2 duty yet, so Stoll (not Schenn) can play 4th line minutes for a couple of weeks (until he retires with chronic arthritis).

Manchester is going to be crazy good this year.

Bluliner said:
Clune and Schenn switching off with Ivanans and Richardson.

Sir, you clearly need to follow hockey a bit closer. The universe will absolutely implode before DL "wastes" a year of Schenn's career doing fourth line minutes.

1) Players his age have a high propenisty for learning. It is far better to have him skating first line minutes with his junior team than 6-10 minutes per game, flanked by under-skilled wingers in the pros.

2) You only get a small handful of years where you can pay a skilled young player near the league minimum. After that, you have to start paying him a salary near his worth. If Schenn turns into a solid, top tier center, you don't want to burn through one of the cheap years skating him only 6-10 minutes per game.

It's good to see some of these young kids stepping up. Very excited about Lewis, Clune, Clifford, and Schenn being in the mix, still. I feel bad for Zeiler, as he give 100% all the time. The issue is he has limited talent, and playoff contenders don't have rosters spots for these type of players.

Another thing to keep in mind is that of these five, two of them will be regularly alternated in and out of the press box.

Clifford and Schenn you can't do that to, so unless one of them is so good (both of them just seems a bit too impossible) he claims a consistent spot, probably not going to happen.

I see Lewis as being in the same category, though not quite as extreme as the above two.

Ivanans will most likely have a permanent spot, unless its Westgarth somehow. I don't see Murray deviating from wanting a heavyweight in the lineup every night.

Harrold is a virtual lock to be among the five given his experience, versatility, and skill/attitude. Not good enough to be a real impact player, and won't complain about the time he doesn't get to play.

Richardson is just about as big a question mark as we have, even though I know Hextall said he "didn't fit." Still haven't heard one word about the guy all training camp. He's still with the team as of now, and no news means isn't good news, it just means I don't know what to think.

Clune seems like he could be a reasonable fit and even as a rookie, someone the Kings wouldn't worry about squandering his growth in the press box. He doesn't
exactly have the same upside as Lewis/Clifford/Schenn.

Lastly, thanks for the memories Zeiler! You were a good "criminal," for the "army," but that was about it.

Ersberg said:
Manchester is going to be crazy good this year.

All part of DL's plan.

Harrold is the 7th defenseman on the press box line. Drewiske beats him out for No.6.

Stonewall -

Yes. When DL said he expects to go to the playoffs, he meant Manchester.

If they keep junior level players with a lot of upside around to pull 4th line duties with Ivanas then this organization is doomed. Utterly doomed. Westgarth skates worse than Ivanas and positionally sucks. I'd rather Ivanas be a healthy scratch than replace him with Westgarth. 4th liners are guys with little upside and can play a handful of minutes a game without be a defensive liability. Why would you waste a year of Schenn's development to pull 4th line duties? Do you guys want to boo him out of town?

Stonewall said:
All part of DL's plan.

I guess we need to somewhere, right?

Yup. It's a good thing to be bringing up guys that are used to winning.

I said it on Hockeybuzz and I'll say it here. John Zeiler isn't as bad as he is unnecessary. He gives 100% and plays aggressive. He was good for his time but we are progressing and his abilities no longer fit what we need. I wish him total luck.

Anyone remember Zeiler BEFORE Zeiler.....JON SIM? A lot of people hated him too (Not me though, he was a bust a$$ worker). Well...we let him go. Now he's only an assistant captain of the New York Islanders.

If you want it bad enough, you can progress. If Zeils wants it bad enough, he'll progress too.

Speaking of the Isles, Matt Moulson seems to be making it. He's having an awesome preseason with 3 goals AND he's actually scoring them with some talent, unlike O'Sullivan who's getting pretty lucky on most of his.

Zeiler to Manchester is the BEST news I've heard in months! I'm sure the board maintenance crews in Manchester are asking for raises as we speak.

Zeiler to MAN? I hope he doesn't clear waivers and we can be rid of him once and for all. As for Schenn, I agree emphatically that he does not even sniff the 4th line.

Lewis is far and away the best choice for a 4th line center position right now, even though he has the potential to be a full-time 3rd line checking center. He is very responsible in his own end, and can be counted on for a handful of goals with limited minutes. Put him on a line with Clune/Clifford and Ivanans and you have the energy, the defense, the aggression, the agitation and a few goals to go along with it. Remember that Ivanans ones plays 5:00 a game, so with four lines rolling he's only going to be on the 4th half the time.

Westgarth is a hack. A lot of people don't feel the same. Ivanans takes too many penalties, but the dropped weight may help. If not, sure, bring Westgarth up and watch your tunes change. He sucks donkey balls.