Thanks for your participation,
Gene Warnick
Sports editor
L.A. Daily News

The new blog site will be located at www.LAKingsInsider.com. I suppose it would be an understatement to say that I hope you visit, starting tomorrow! The blog will be my main platform, for breaking news, opinion and discussion, while game stories, notebooks, features and the like will be featured prominently on LAKings.com, and also will be easily found by visiting the blog.

To address the main question I've been getting about the new blog, yes, commenting will remain. The ground rules will not change. No profanity, no personal attacks, no persistent, blatant, antagonistic drubbing of the same points. They're simple rules and they have served us well so far, so there's no reason to change. It might take a couple days to figure out the best way to moderate the comments, but they will continue to be a staple of our community.

There's also no reason to change the content of the blog. It's been the subject of endless -- and I do mean endless -- conversation, but I will continue to stress the same point I've made consistently for the past week: it's not going to change. I don't want it to change, and the Kings don't want it to change, so why would it change? Coverage, as I said last week, will only get more comprehensive. That's exciting for me and, I hope, for you as well. Anyone who has doubts is welcome to check it out for themselves. As I have said, the proof will be in the product.

The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive, and I so grateful for that. Thank you for you support and for your trust. Please know this: the money is coming from the Kings, but in my mind I work for the readers, the fans. Everything I do, in writing and reporting, comes from the basic idea that I want to serve the readers the best way possible. You, not anyone in Kings management, will be the ultimate decider of whether this new venture is a success, and that will never be forgotten.

There will be plenty to discuss on the new site. At this point, I just want to express my gratitude to the Daily News. It's no secret that the newspaper industry is a tough one to work in these days, but I have always been proud to work alongside such talented and dedicated people. There's nothing quite like working for a newspaper, and I mean that in the best possible sense. People have asked what the future of this blog will be, and honestly I don't know. I do know that the Daily News values its coverage of the Kings and has always encouraged my desire to cover hockey.

So that's all for now. I'll be working tonight on the new site and getting familiar with everything, hopefully ready for a smooth start tomorrow. Please visit www.LAKingsInsider.com!

Rich

Lombardi: Los Angeles Kings have interest in Gretzky

If it's obvious move, if Gretzky is interested in returning to the league in some form. Besides his playing-days ties to the Kings, Gretzky and his family still live in the Los Angeles area.

Here are the quotes...

Question: Can you talk about what went into the decision to keep Ersberg over Bernier?

MURRAY: ``The meeting we had with Jonathan was about going down and working on his game and continuing to play the way he finished the last couple months of last season. Everyone's feedback was very positive with his work ethic and intensity. Of course, I wasn't there to see all that in Manchester, but my observation and feedback to him was that when he came up -- there were a couple games last year when he came up and he backed up -- I was able to see him practice. The talk I had with him then was that I needed to see more work and more intensity. Then when I got a look at him in the development camp in July, and in training camp, I was quite honestly blown away with the way he turned things around. He did great work. Physically, he obviously spent a lot of time working in the offseason and he got stronger and everything seems to be going right in perfect direction for him.''

Question: But you go with Ersberg. Is the thought that Bernier can still develop better in Manhcester?

MURRAY: ``It is the thought. It's just him continuing to work at the same level as he finished off the season down there. Continue with it, handle it the right way, deal with it and become one of the top goaltenders in the AHL and help that team move toward the playoffs down there. The bottom line is just to learn and to develop your game.''

Question: The question that everyone will have is, `How did he take it?' Last year, Bernier admitted that he didn't deal well, mentally, with going to the AHL. Are you confident that he will be OK with this move?

MURRAY: ``I was not in the meeting last year, but I'm very confident that he's going to go down with the right attitude and continue to build on his game. He indicated in the meeting that everything was good and that he understood where we were coming from. He indicated that it took a couple months for him to sort it out last year. That's wasted time, where he could have been pushing himself and getting better. He's more mature now. There's no question that he feels he's a player who can play in the NHL, and we agree with that. I agree with that. We feel he's going to be a very good goalie in the NHL, and it's not too far down the road. I told him this morning, `Don't ever begrudge your time in the trenches. Work hard, stay intense, and when the opportunity comes up, be ready to take advantage of it.''

Question: To the extent that preseason numbers matter, Ersberg's numbers weren't great. Are you confident that he can handle that backup role?

MURRAY: ``I look at the entire training camp for him. I also go back to last year. He was in the NHL last year for me. I thought that, with the decision we made to bring Quick up, and with Quick playing the majority of the games, there were situations that I put Ersberg in that were tough. Playing after sitting for a long time, and after late-night arrivals -- I remember one game in particular in Philadelphia -- he handled it all well, and played well. That's a big part of it too. Not a lot of goaltenders can step in and play after not playing for two, two and a half weeks. Ersberg has done it. The other side is with Jon Bernier, to work and continue to become a solid goaltender. The combination of those two helped in the decision.''

Question: To ask about the fourth line, I sort of have to back into it by asking about Rich Clune. Is it still the thought that he's going to be out a couple weeks?

MURRAY: ``I haven't had an update on that today. When I first asked about him, it was maybe three weeks. If that has changed, I don't know. He's out for a while. The groin has to be 100 percent, especially with that kind of game he plays.''

Question: Before the injury, had he made the team in your mind?

MURRAY: ``Yeah. I wanted him on the hockey club because of what he brought. I liked that middleweight attitude and the style of play.''

Question: So the thought would be that, when he's healthy, he will be on the NHL team?

MURRAY: ``I would say yes. But is there a possibility he might have to get restarted in Manchester for a couple games? There is that possibility, yes.''

Question: That leaves you with four forwards for three spots on the fourth line. What are you thoughts about what the fourth line will look like?

MURRAY: ``I'm still, quite honestly, looking at that. We've got Raitis, Richardson, Lewis, Harrold, and we have to make a decision on three of those. I like the way everyone has played throughout the camp.''

Question: How about Raitis in particular? There's a lot of debate about whether a player like him needs to be in the lineup every night. Do you want him in there every night?

MURRAY: ``A player like Raitis, every team in the league has a player like Raitis, pretty much. Coming out of the training camp and looking at our conference, he needs to be in our lineup and on our team. He gives confidence to your skill players, that nobody is going to be taken advantage of, that nobody is going to step out of line without having to deal with Raitis. It's a very comfortable feeling for our young players, especially with the decision we have made to go with a number of young players. He lost weight, which we asked him to do, he's much more flexible and he's getting up the ice very well. As you saw last night, we're even able to move him up into a different situation for a few shifts and he did well. The type of player he is, it's needed.''

Question: With Harrold, Lewis and Richardson, you have three guys who could center that line. Were you motivated by that flexibility there?

MURRAY: ``It's great flexibility. Lewis has played all three position. Richardson plays left wing and center. They're all contributing on the penalty kill. Lewis and Harrold can play on the power play and were used there during the training camp. That's a nice addition to our hockey club. I feel very confident with any one of them if they need to move up into a different role. We added speed, versatility and hunger.''

Take the second question first. When Sean O'Donnell returns from his two-game suspension, the Kings will have seven defensemen, plus Peter Harrold. Alec Martinez would probably be the seventh guy, and that takes us back to the usual young-player question: NHL vs. AHL? In Martinez's case, it's hard to see him just sitting on the NHL roster, so that probably means a move, and perhaps the return of a forward since Harrold can play defense. The wild card in all this is what might happen if the Kings were to pick up a veteran, left-shot defenseman to put in the mix. It wouldn't be shocking, but it's just a thought right now.

Fourth line? Ivanans and Lewis are most likely in, and then it's either Harrold or Richardson, at least until Clune's groin is healthy. Harrold vs. Richardson? I'm not sure you could convince me that one of them is a huge upgrade over the other at this point.

I'll try to get some comments ASAP.

Frankly, I'm not sure it matters a whole lot right now. Bernier can go to Manchester and come back up if the Kings decide Ersberg isn't cutting it (see: LaBarbara, Jason, circa 2008), or even if Quick isn't cutting it. It might give Bernier a mental boost to make the team, but what would be best for his development? Hard to say. Here's what Terry Murray said about the goalie choice:

MURRAY: ``Yeah, it will be a tough decision. No. 1 in clear in my mind. Quick is clearly, to me, the No. 1 goaltender. He played well throughout the camp. He earned the right to come into camp as the No. 1 guy, and now the decision is to be made on the No. 2.''

I asked Murray if, regardless of all the discussion about what Bernier can and can't do, Ersberg had done enough on his own to be the No. 2 goalie.

MURRAY: ``He has showed enough, yeah. That's the decision that we have to make, obviously. Bernier and he have played well in the training camp and their exhibition games. We just have a hard decision to make.''

So what do you think?

It's hard to know what, exactly, to make of this Kings third line. There's Michal Handzus, a 20-goal threat; Alexander Frolov, the Kings' leading goal scorer last season; and Simmonds, who scored only nine goals last season but would seem to have 20-goal potential. It's not a stretch to think that line could be a 75-goal line for the Kings, although things would have to break perfectly for them.

On the other hand, that line's first responsibility is on the defensive end, and Frolov and Simmonds, in particular, handled that responsibility well last season. It should be interesting to see how this line develops, particularly if the Purcell-Stoll-Brown line struggles to put goals on the board.

Here's what Terry Murray said about Simmonds' preseason/camp:

MURRAY: ``Simmonds played, right through the camp, very well. He was one of our better players at the end of (last) year, and he seemed to come in with that same attitude and played well in all situations. One of our top goal scorers at the end of the training camp, and he's going to be an important player for us.''

MURRAY: ``Not so much, not so much. I made a comment to everyone in the office, just before I came out, about how well he played (Sunday night). He steps into a situation where he hasn't been in the lineup for a couple days, and had a really hard workout yesterday because he was not scheduled to be in this game, and he played so well, the way he did in the first exhibition game. All the ingredients to show me that he's going to be a real important and good player in the National Hockey League.''

-- Anze Kopitar had two goals and one assist and finished with a game-high eight shots on goal. No other Kings player had more than four shots.

-- Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Bernier got an almost-entirely-equal split. Ersberg played the first 29:49 and allowed two goals on 14 shots. Bernier played the rest of the way and allowed three goals on 15 shots.

-- The Kings went 3 for 7 on the power play and 3 for 4 on the penalty kill.

-- Jack Johnson led the Kings in ice time, at 24:53. Anze Kopitar led forwards at 22:47.

-- The Kings lost 59 percent of faceoffs. Brad Richardson went 2 for 8.

Murray also indicated that Brayden Schenn will go back to juniors, so suddenly this whole roster situation is looking much less murky. Given the subtractions of Schenn and Clune (at least temporarily), it's basically Harrold, Hickey, Ivanans, Lewis, Martinez, Richardson and Westgarth...seven players for six spots.

With Sean O'Donnell out for the first two games, it's probably setting up a Martinez vs. Hickey choice.

As for the goalies, Murray wouldn't tip his hand at all, as he praised both Ersberg and Bernier. In response to my direct question, Murray did say that Ersberg had proved he could handle the No. 2 goalie responsibilities.

It seems as though the players will learn their fates Tuesday morning at the latest.