News Article: How the West Will Continue to be Won

[deeshamrock]

A good read on why the Hawks and Kings are the best of the West and will be for years to come. Breaks down every aspect,.

http://grantland.com/features/how-kings-blackhawks-continue-dominate/

From the lead para...

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: The Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks are locked in a battle for Western Conference supremacy, with the winner heading on to play for the Stanley Cup.

Oh, right — you have heard that one, because this year’s Western Conference final is a repeat of last year’s matchup. It’s also L.A.’s third straight trip to the final four, and Chicago’s fourth in six years. The two teams have combined to win the last two Stanley Cups, and three of the last four. And with all due respect to the Rangers and the Habs, the winner of this year’s series will likely be a solid favorite to take home the championship yet again next year.

There sure seems to be a pattern developing here — a two-headed Western monster that isn’t leaving much room for other contenders. That’s not good news for teams like the Blues, Sharks, and Ducks, who’d like to think of themselves as having legitimate Cup chances.

Click to read more...

 

[Homunculous]

Good read Dee, many thanks from a Colorado native that isn't ready to focus on football or baseball yet.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

Of course they'd talk down on our prospect pool.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

An excellent article, Dee. Something interesting we've discussed on this board:

While Los Angeles has its share of prospects who’ll contribute in the NHL someday — all teams do — the list isn’t especially intimidating. HockeysFuture.com calls their system “almost entirely devoid of top-end talent,†and the annual Hockey News future watch issue ranked them 26th in the league.

That’s not especially surprising, since the Kings’ aggressiveness on the trade front has left them with only one first-round pick in the last three years (the 30th overall choice in 2012). This year, the Kings didn’t place a single prospect in the Hockey News top 50 list.