Pre-Game Talk: PDSF: (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (3) Los Angeles Kings (Schedule in OP)

[kingscourt26]

I think the Kings may take another look at Ehrhoff in Buffalo. It wasn't going to be possible this year with the cap situation, but I am about 90% sure that Dean is going to get himself some significant cap space this summer. He is still in what should be his prime years, he has a good cap hit for what he brings, and a lot of the contract was front loaded.

He won't be cheap, but like you said the UFA alternatives don't look very good and the Kings championship window is firmly open right now, so expecting rookies to step in isn't the way to go.

Where is he going to dump cap space? Especially if he keeps Gabs.

 

[BigKing]

SJ stopped trying to hit in the 3rd so I am not excited about how the period went. My only thought was--and Herby already mentioned it--Niemi can't be allowed to walk away with a shutout. Mission accomplished on that front with the other positive being Sutter changing the lines and getting results. While I doubt it, he may have rolled out with the same lines if changing them did nothing as well.

Just really frustrating that fans on this message board saw the lines and knew it would be a problem, yet a SC-winning coach went ahead and rolled them out there anyways.

I love Quick. We all do. There is no controversy over who should start, obviously, but he has got to be much, much better. First goal was weak and a misplay on his part with the Torres goal being a joke as well. Can't let that wrister from Vlasic beat you from that far out.

Take away the collapse in the last minute (Brown and Toffoli were so terrible at the offensive blueline on the 2nd one) and those weak goals, and you have a classic Kings "bend but don't break" road game.

I think everyone will be better and that this series is going to really hinge on Game 5; however, this game should make those that were glad we got SJ over Anaheim really reflect on their knowledge of hockey.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Where is he going to dump cap space? Especially if he keeps Gabs.

as of today... with Gaborik's FULL ($7.5m) contract..i have LA sitting on a +/- $70m cap

cap is going up next year from $64.3m to $71.1m

Matt Greene is $2.9m UFA
Willie Mitchell is $3.5m UFA

and i doubt LA signs Gaborik at his current $7.5m contract

he should be more in the $5m range

that's $8.4m freed up + cap going up by $6m = that's approx $14.4m

 

[kingscourt26]

SJ stopped trying to hit in the 3rd so I am not excited about how the period went. My only thought was--and Herby already mentioned it--Niemi can't be allowed to walk away with a shutout. Mission accomplished on that front with the other positive being Sutter changing the lines and getting results. While I doubt it, he may have rolled out with the same lines if changing them did nothing as well.

This nails it. Fans shouldn't get excited about the 3rd because San Jose played to keep a lead and their health.

The on-ice leadership has to be better too. When Brown and Richards don't show up, there's a problem.

 

[Herby]

Where is he going to dump cap space? Especially if he keeps Gabs.

Despite what I am told by my buddies DMac and RP (although he is wavering) tell me, I am pretty sure, barring some kind of miracle turnaround this postseason or some significant injury being unreported that he has played through that Mike Richards will either be traded or bought out this summer.

The contract amount is awful, the contract length is even worse, the Kings have a replacement on the roster and the Kings have significant holes that need to be filled and likely not much cap space to do it.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

but for sure we're making moves on D this summer...

with Scuderi, Mitchell, and Greene gone

this area needs to be dealt with

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Despite what I am told by my buddies DMac and RP (although he is wavering) tell me, I am pretty sure, barring some kind of miracle turnaround this postseason or some significant injury being unreported that he has played through that Mike Richards will either be traded or bought out this summer.

The contract amount is awful, the contract length is even worse, the Kings have a replacement on the roster and the Kings have significant holes that need to be filled and likely not much cap space to do it.

that's also what i'm thinking...

i wouldn't be surprised if Richards gets traded/bought out

 

[KingPuckChoo]

and Brown is effective... but God he shouldn't be the Captain

Doughty is much more of a leader and vocal too

he needs to lead this team

 

[Reclamation Project]

Despite what I am told by my buddies DMac and RP (although he is wavering) tell me, I am pretty sure, barring some kind of miracle turnaround this postseason or some significant injury being unreported that he has played through that Mike Richards will either be traded or bought out this summer.

The contract amount is awful, the contract length is even worse, the Kings have a replacement on the roster and the Kings have significant holes that need to be filled and likely not much cap space to do it.

Come on man, I said I would be shocked if Dean traded him. I still would be. He loves the guy. I'm not blind to how poor he's playing this year and never said he was better than what the numbers indicate. I simply said all along, he played very poorly last year and was also one of the Kings best forwards in the playoffs. And I've always agreed his contract is rough. Even when the Kings acquired him. Now that is play has fallen off a cliff, it's become even more magnified. As it should.

 

[Reclamation Project]

and Brown is effective... but God he shouldn't be the Captain

Doughty is much more of a leader and vocal too

he needs to lead this team

Doughty is not captain material. Right now at least.

 

[kingscourt26]

Despite what I am told by my buddies DMac and RP (although he is wavering) tell me, I am pretty sure, barring some kind of miracle turnaround this postseason or some significant injury being unreported that he has played through that Mike Richards will either be traded or bought out this summer.

The contract amount is awful, the contract length is even worse, the Kings have a replacement on the roster and the Kings have significant holes that need to be filled and likely not much cap space to do it.

Well Dean is handing out life contracts like he's Oprah. The Quick and Brown contracts are horrible.

Brown's value is ok short term but he's screwing the pooch with an 8 year deal. Can anyone name a player like Brown that has got better into their 30s? Brown has peaked.

 

[BigKing]

There was a really good post by Big King from the other thread that unfortunately didn't get much love because the thread was locked a couple of posts later.

To touch on a few things here...



This was my biggest fear going into this series, that Sutter was going to ignore all the advanced stats and the awful memories from last year and put Richards and Carter in a position to get dominated by Thornton, and sure enough Sutter not only kept them together but put them out there for the opening faceoff, which to me was not only stupid but was the ultimate sign of stubbornness. And despite Sutter's post game comments and the third period adjustments I still have a fear that Sutter is going to go right back to that line on Sunday, and it will be just like Albert Einstein's definition of insanity.




Yup, when Sutter doesn't put Carter at center he also breaks up a solid 3rd line in King-Brown-Stoll or forces TT to play out of position, two of about 167586 reasons that Carter and Richards shouldn't be playing together. Hopefully we have seen the last of these two as linemates with the Kings, like you said earlier, they absolutely destroy Carter when they play him at wing because the team doesn't have a 2nd line center, they have Kopitar (and they don't want to load up Carter on line 1) and they have two third line centers in Stoll and Richards. Will be interesting to see what lines they run with at practice. The only logical choice appears to have Carter at C, but that was also the case going into the series and it didn't happen, so we'll see.



Age should have nothing to do with it, plenty of teams have guys in there early 20's playing key roles. The fact is, the Kings lineup last night didn't feature a 2nd line center or a 2nd line left wing and they had a guy in TT who is best in a top 6 role but can't find a place because they stupidly have Carter at RW. Again, slide Carter to C, put Pearson at LW and move Toffoli up to RW, it just makes the most sense.

And on Nolan I sadly agree 100%, was big on Nolan earlier in the year but right now he is contributing nothing to the team and having him and Clifford is redundant.




Got to disagree here. Greene is done and would be eaten alive in this series, especially in SJ where Mclellan would exploit him with the last line change. The Kings, IMO desperately need to add a good 2nd pair defender who can skate this summer, either by trade or UFA. I think it's right up there with adding another top 6 winger and second line center. Our D is just slow and has trouble moving the puck up the ice.



This is your best comment in this post. I think with what happened in 2012 many fans on this board believe the Kings can just flip a switch and turn it on, but the truth is, it's hard to win on the road in the playoffs. Since 2012 the Kings now stand at 1-9 on the road in the playoffs. But people still make ridiculous posts saying that the team or certain players are just saving it for the playoffs, which I find absolutely ludicrous and just a lame excuse, but it's mentioned so much it's almost taken as fact, even though the Kings awful record on the road shows that the team can't just flip a switch, and our chances of winning in the future would be much better if the team actually played well during the season and had home ice advantage in the playoffs.

There is definitely a 2012 hangover still permeating throughout a large portion of the fanbase. I can't blame them for it but, when you look at the facts, that run was absolutely insane. You don't break a playoff road winning streak record that stood for 20 years or whatever and then just expect that to continue. I appreciate you posting the playoff road record since 2012 since I think it is lost on a lot of people. The record is also 1-10 if you include Game 5 in NJ.

So the Kings pulled off 10 straight road wins on the way to the Cup. Road Warriors! They are now 1-10 on the road since that streak was broken. Road Losers! Which one is it? Add it up and you've got an 11-10 record on the road v. a home record of 14-4 starting with 2012 to present.

Home ice is very important to this and every team in the NHL. I'm not throwing in the towel by any stretch of the imagination, but many of us felt this season was lost in January. While it is true the Kings won the Cup from the 8 hole, it was also the only time it has ever happened for a reason. Hardest trophy to win in sports is even harder when you start each and every series at a disadvantage.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Well Dean is handing out life contracts like he's Oprah. The Quick and Brown contracts are horrible.

Brown's value is ok short term but he's screwing the pooch with an 8 year deal. Can anyone name a player like Brown that has got better into their 30s? Brown has peaked.

So he gave out two lifetime contracts to the Captain of a Stanley Cup winning team who is having a down year and the best goaltender in the NHL. Big deal. No need to be so dramatic.

I suggest you go look at Lundqvist's deal.

 

[kingscourt26]

So he gave out two lifetime contracts to the Captain of a Stanley Cup winning team who is having a down year and the best goaltender in the NHL. Big deal. No need to be so dramatic.

I suggest you go look at Lundqvist's deal.

Dramatic? You remove the incentive to improve with a contract like that. Those contracts will haunt this team for years to come.

 

[BigKing]

Dean still has capital to play with since he is coming off of a Cup, WCF and a 100-point season. If he goes to Uncle Phil and tells him that he needs to bite the bullet on a Richards buyout, he will probably get the green light.

We will all look back in horror if Dean does not use one of the two mulligans provided by the lockout. The lockout screwed this team with the Cap coming down and the only solace one could take with the lower limit was the ability to get two do-overs.

That being said, you could probably find a buyer for Richards; however, if they know he will be bought out, teams could just wait and try to sign him as a UFA coming off his worst season. While the NFL is different, I'm a Carolina Panthers fan and just saw the same thing happen with Steve Smith. There are 29 other teams that would love to have Mike Richards but not as many are going to want him on his current contract.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Buying out Richards would be a stupid move. Many teams would still give up pieces for him.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Kind of a side note but I re watched the first and my god Quick got rocked. I'm actually kind of worried he lost his focus because he got his bell rung. I don't want to say the c word but re watch the hit, it's brutal.

Also ugh same lines at practice.

I know folks are saying don't read too much into the third period but I'm actually gonna say the opposite, don't read too much into the first and second. It's very un-kings to go full Pejorative Slur with the turnovers bad coverage and bad goaltending and I expect a huge bounce back. Next game will be a one goal game book it.
Did the sharks stop hitting? Sure. I actuly am going to say they ran out of gas because the same thing happened last time we played them. They're not a soft team by any means, but they're also not the physical beasts they were pretending to be last night.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Dramatic? You remove the incentive to improve with a contract like that. Those contracts will haunt this team for years to come.

I'm sorry but that thought is a totally fallacy unless you believe every player in the NHL plays until they receive their big contract then they give up. And that's extra insulting to guys like brown and quick who obviously are workhorse competitors. You can hate the contracts for other reasons but that's absolutely not one.

 

[Little Psycho]

I think the Oilers might be intereted in Richie; he's a leader and an experienced vet.

 

[kingscourt26]

Kind of a side note but I re watched the first and my god Quick got rocked. I'm actually kind of worried he lost his focus because he got his bell rung. I don't want to say the c word but re watch the hit, it's brutal.

Also ugh same lines at practice.

I know folks are saying don't read too much into the third period but I'm actually gonna say the opposite, don't read too much into the first and second. It's very un-kings to go full Pejorative Slur with the turnovers bad coverage and bad goaltending and I expect a huge bounce back. Next game will be a one goal game book it.
Did the sharks stop hitting? Sure. I actuly am going to say they ran out of gas because the same thing happened last time we played them. They're not a soft team by any means, but they're also not the physical beasts they were pretending to be last night.

Normally I would agree with your assessment of the Kings in the 1st and 2nd but the problem is, they lost to the Sharks for the same reasons last week.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

I will always hate the quick contract. No goalie in the league should be signed that long since goaltenders are always so up and down.


Just talking about contracts. So no one get your jimmies rustled. I think a 4-5 year contract should be max for any goalie.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

What's the lines Brad?

 

[Little Psycho]

Kind of a side note but I re watched the first and my god Quick got rocked. I'm actually kind of worried he lost his focus because he got his bell rung. I don't want to say the c word but re watch the hit, it's brutal.

Also ugh same lines at practice.

I know folks are saying don't read too much into the third period but I'm actually gonna say the opposite, don't read too much into the first and second. It's very un-kings to go full Pejorative Slur with the turnovers bad coverage and bad goaltending and I expect a huge bounce back. Next game will be a one goal game book it.
Did the sharks stop hitting? Sure. I actuly am going to say they ran out of gas because the same thing happened last time we played them. They're not a soft team by any means, but they're also not the physical beasts they were pretending to be last night.

I agree with everything. If you don't count the third period, very little hope remains for the Kings and did the Kings really even try in the first and second.

 

[kingscourt26]

I'm sorry but that thought is a totally fallacy unless you believe every player in the NHL plays until they receive their big contract then they give up. And that's extra insulting to guys like brown and quick who obviously are workhorse competitors. You can hate the contracts for other reasons but that's absolutely not one.

I hate the contracts because I don't see Brown's value increasing in the next few years. This isn't a sport where physical 30+ year olds flourish.

The whole incentive thing isn't a fallacy either. Humans are hardwired for it. In sports, players are always doing their best to get to the next point in their career. Brown has a cup and a career contract. What's he got to lose?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

If they trade Richards, they should go after Paul Stastny as the #2 C. Him and Kopitar down the middle... droooool.