For a team that predicated itself on defensive consistency and normalcy, the 2011-12 defensive corps that catapulted the team to a Stanley Cup went through bumps, bruises and struggles last year in 2012-13.
With injuries and inconsistencies the defensive group went through what you could consider a gut check and some growing pains. The team lost veterans Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene early on in the year which set the tone for what was a very young and sometimes inexperienced looking group of defenseman. Jake Muzzin was staking his first real claim into NHL hockey and Alec Martinez came into the season with a frightening facial injury fresh on his mind. Faces both new and old were added with former first-rounder Keaton Ellerby making way from the Panthers, and veteran Sabre and Flame Robyn Regehr landing in L.A. with his former coach.
It was a revolving door of pairings and playing time that never really got settled in. Part of this was due to the injuries, and part of this was due to the shortened season which had everybody slamming on the gas pedal from start to finish. Despite all the struggles the team still made it to the Conference Finals and were commended by most pundits and news outlets for their fight and determination. The shake up has continued into this offseason, as the team will now have to deal with the departure of the rock solid Rob Scuderi, the cryptic and questionable health status of Willie Mitchell, and the addition of free agent Jeff Schultz.
With nine defenseman currently signed, the Kings are in all likelihood in pursuit of some sort of normalcy on the blue line. At the end of the year the King pairings were the following:
Robyn Regehr - Drew Doughty
Rob Scuderi - Slava Voynov
Jake Muzzin - Matt Greene
The pairings to start the year should be just about the same sans Rob Scuderi. However, it isn’t as simple as that. There are a ton of outside factors that could arise like the ones that took the Kings by surprise last year.
Mitchell is the elephant in the room so to speak. His return would make the Scuderi replacement almost seamless. One problem: Mitchell has not played competitive hockey in over a year. How ready is he really going to be, if at all? We all love the warrior mentality of Mitchell, but he’s 36 and hasn’t played a competitive hockey game since June 11th of 2012. Enter Keaton Ellerby and Jeff Schultz. Both are left shooting defenseman with a defense first mindset. Both players at age 27 (Schultz) and age 24 (Ellerby) are young enough that if Mitchell is done or just not the same, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see one of them signed as a stop gap. A year or two more and Derek Forbort, another lefty, might be ready to go. Not only is Mitchell a question mark health wise, his contract will be up at the end of the season and the Kings seemingly have no immediate replacement for him in the future as it currently stands. While Ellerby and Schultz may not be the best of projected replacements, it’s not horrible by any means. Ellerby by all accounts is a decent young defenseman, and while he does nothing spectacularly, he does very little terribly as well. He’s a middle of the road defensive minded defenseman who is still unlearning some of the bad habits he picked up while being rushed into the NHL by the Florida Panther organization. At 21 years old Ellerby was playing up at the NHL with the Panthers and seeing very little ice time and only a few games here and there. To me defensive d-men prospects are like a fine wine, you have to let them age in a way where failure isn’t something they are readily presented with. I’m convinced that Ellerby still has the potential to be a solid NHL D-man. Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.
So what about Jake Muzzin? Is his roster spot really secure? It seems like the sophomore slump is a common occurrence in sports, and next season the 24-year old doesn’t just get 48 games, he gets 82. A long and trying grind for any NHL defenseman of any age and experience. Heating up competition and hopefully raising the playing level of Muzzin will be 25-year old Alec Martinez, who fell out of the good graces this past season.
Then you have other question marks like the health of Matt Greene or the consistency and effectiveness of Robyn Regehr who is no spring chicken at 33 either.
But despite the multitude of question marks, it seems pretty simple. Schultz and Ellerby are replacements and insurance policies on Willie Mitchell while simultaneously being policies on each other. Martinez and Muzzin are going to compete for the 5/6 spot for probably half the year until one of them loses out and gets traded.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least two current King defenseman not be with the team by the end of the season. Who that is really depends on what transpires during the season.
My prediction?
Regehr - Doughty
Ellerby - Voynov
Muzzin - Greene
It makes the most sense given the Kings drifting towards pairing a stay-at-home with a a puck mover. It was an effective strategy in 2011-12 and it still should be today. Ellerby and Schultz are literally a coin flip though and it’s also plausible to see him suit up across from Voynov given his experience. Sutter may feel more comfortable with that. Martinez and Muzzin is going to be a dog fight, and both still have a lot of growing pains to go through. That roster spot battle in particular is going to be one I keep my eye on all season. But who knows, maybe by December we are looking at this:
Schultz - Doughty
Mitchell - Voynov
Martinez - Greene
Time will tell, as will injuries and performances.
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