The Kings broke the Sharks

[Tadite]

Tad you bring up some good points, but the biggest issue is the extensions given to Thornton and Marleau that included full NTC's. That was some awful team management by Wilson.

It's a good point. Both contracts are more emotional then practical but to an extent both guys did take a bit of a pay cut to stay so the NMC was a little bit of a thanks. Or at least that's what I thought.

In all honesty I don't think that NMC are worth all that much. Teams have a lot of options to push players into a trade. I can only think of them as a influence when it's in the last year of a contract and a guy doesn't want to move before he retires or if he uses it to pick the new team. Either of those two guys on Tampa Bay/Leafs/Caps and you have a good deep playoff team in the EC.

 

[etherialone]

Now the Sharks are going to do their very best to BE L.A.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Looks like they're about to break the Ducks as well, and the greatest goalie of all-time.

 

[Bandit]

There was also the Coyotes who haven't been back to the playoffs since 2012. Didn't break them but certainly the Kings began the slow crumble to oblivion.

The Canucks the Kings didn't really break. That began when Boston beat them in 2011, the Kings definitely put the final couple of cracks in them before they became unglued against the Sharks and then this past season.

Also lets not forget the credit the Kings can take for making sure the Oilers stay at the bottom of the NHL. Trade Vis for Greene and Stoll who become key parts here for a few years? Sure. Acquire Penner who scores a couple of huge goals on the Kings route to the cup? Why not. Trade whining Ryan Smyth's big dumb face back there, for Fraser who was instrumental in solidifying the Kings 4th line, and make cap space for Carter? Yeah.

The Kings have mistreated almost every team in their division in one way or another and I love it!

The Coyotes were never anything more that pretenders.

 

[tigermask48]

The Coyotes were never anything more that pretenders.

Still LA was the team to send them tumbling back to Earth pretenders or not.