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Where's Your Crown King Nothing? |
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How the once mighty Kings have fallen.
The LA Kings are a hurting unit right now.
Figuratively and literally.
The Kings find themselves mired in fifth place in the Pacific Division standings with 44 points after 41 games played.
With their current roster construct, I find it very improbable that the Kings have the ingredients to compete with the Sharks, Ducks, Oilers, Flames and Canucks in the second half of the season.
At this 88 point pace, the Kings risk missing the playoffs entirely if they don't make a trade now to add goal scoring to their punch less, once mighty offense.
Their inability to score at even strength is killing the Kings.
The Kings have scored 101 total goals this season. However, only 65 of their goals have been scored at 5v5. They are averaging 1.5 GPG while at even strength and that just ain't good enough in the super-competitive Western Conference.
In a nutshell, LA's top six forwards are whiffing at even strength scoring. Dean Lombardi and Darryl Sutter have been patient to a fault with their core players. For years, Lombardi and Sutter have gotten away with pulling up kids from the AHL to kick start their sluggish Kings offense. Sutter would use the draft-develop model while teh Kings were making deep play runs and winning Stanley Cups. Today they can't do that today because their AHL cupboards are bare at the scoring forward position.
Carter is doing all he can to carry the Kings on his broad shoulders. What if he gets cold or injured. Then the Kings will be screwed.
Carter has 22 goals with 7 coming on the PP. Tanner Pearson has 11 goals (1 PPG). The injured Tyler Toffoli has 8 goals (2 PPG). Drew Doughty has 7 goals (3 PPG).
Alec Martinez has 6 goals (1 PPG). Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis and Dwight King-- all their d and fourth liners-- have scored 5 goals apiece (3 PPG).
Anze Kopitar is missing in action with his 4 goals (on 76 shots on goal; 5.3% shooting percentage), all at even strength. He also has 16 assists. Is Kopitar injured? No. He's played in 36 games.
Kopitar has been hiding in plain sight and his lack of goal scoring has never been more conspicuous. He's currently sixth in scoring on his team.
The Kings need to make a trade now if they plan on playing in the postseason. The clock is ticking on Dean Lombardi's season. Prospect Adrian Kempe is not ready for prime time. The aging core cannot get the Kings out of this jam. Playing Briwn, Lewis and King in the top six is not the answer either.
Jonathon Quick has been sidelined since October with his groin injury. Tyler Toffoli has been on IR since December 20 with his undisclosed lower body injury. Tofoli's loss from "That 70s Line" and has created a glaring hole in the LA top six forward group and on the power play.
The Kings have $3 million in available salary cap space today. They will have approximately $8.7 million when you factor in LTIR relief.
I'm at Sabres-Flyers tonight.
The LA Kings have dispatched not one, but two of their pro scouts to Buffalo to watch this game. In fact, the Kings scouts have been frequent flyers to Buffalo in the past two months.
They are watching Evander Kane.
Kane will earn $5.25 million this and and next season.
Kane is trending upward and now has 10 goals and 5 assists and is averaging 18:39 TOI per game. Nine of Kane's ten goals scored this season have come at even strength.
Kane has 10 goals in his pat 17 games played.
The ideal time to trade a player is when he is performing at a high level.
You sell a stock at it's highest value, right?
Kane's value is rising on a game by game basis. Tim Murray isn't going to give Kane away. Murray has been listening to phone calls from NHL GMs who are looking for scoring. Murray wants a veteran top four, left shot defender.
Dane Lombardi and Tim Murray have done deals before. They just might make another trade in the near future that will benefit both teams.
The loss of Toffoli for an extended period of time will put a dent in LA top six forward ranks. Kane would add the three things that the Kings so desperately need more of from their forwards:
Scoring, speed and physicality.
Kane has 49 hits this season and is not shy about will getting his nose nor knuckles dirty along the walls. Kane goes to teh areas on teh ice where angels fear to tread. He lives in the dirty areas around the next. It took Kane a dozen games to get his bearings back after missing 11 games due cracked ribs that he suffered in a collision with the end wall boards on opening night against Montreal. Now that he's healthy Kane is throwing his body around with his trademark reckless abandon.
If Lombardi is wise, he will make a serious play for Kane.
At what price though?
Tim Murray is still desperately seeking a left shot D who can play top four minutes and contribute on the PP. The Sabres need another lefty who can retrieve pucks quickly, turn, and feed tape to tape darts to Jack Eichel and the streaking forwards. Jake McCabe is the only lefty on the Buffalo blue line that can move the puck north at a high rate of speed with consistency. Dmitry Kulikov and Josh Gorges are currently injured and even when healthy fall prey to aggressive fore check pressure.
Jake Muzzin, 26, fits Dan Bylsma's needs to a tee. The 6'3" 220 lb. Woodstock, Ontario native has played a key leadership role in LA's success for the past six seasons.
Sabres D coach Terry Murray helped shape Muzzin into the defender he has become. Muzzin has three and a half seasons remaining on his current contract at $4M AAV.
The Kings can ill afford a prolonged scoring outage from its top six forward group, 4-4-2 in their past 10 games.
Kings GM Dean Lombardi may want to make a trade to add scoring and speed to his lineup now rather than wait until the trade deadline. Waiting that long could force the Kings fall out of wild card contention.
Why would Tim Murray trade Kane now when he is scoring consistently?
With the Las Vegas expansion draft coming in the next five months, I don''t see the Sabres protecting Kane. Move him now to get something of value, namely, a top four defenseman for him.
Unlike Los Angeles GM Dean Lombardi, Tim Murrary can reach down into the minors for scoring help at any given time.
Murray has Tyler Ennis, a left winger, ready to return later this week from groin surgery that has forced him to miss 26 games this season. World Juniors scoring star Alex Nylander will be in the NHL later this season for his nine game NHL tryout. Plus, Murray AHL sniper Nick Baptisite on the deck awaiting orders take to Buffalo. Scoring winger prospect Justin Bailey can also fill the void if and when Kane is moved out.
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Robin Lehner has the flu and will not play tonight.
The Sabres have recalled Linus Ullmark from the Rochester Americans to sit behind Anders Nilsson.
Ullmark (6’4”, 221 lbs., 7/31/1993) joins the team for his third recall of 2016-17 but has yet to appear in an NHL game this season. With 28 appearances for the Americans this season, the Lugnvik, Sweden native has already matched the total from his rookie AHL season in 2015-16. He has posted a 14-13-1 record and .906 save percentage so far in his second North American season.
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Speaking of Western Conference teams who are looking to add a top six forward.....
The Minnesota Wild are one such team who are looking high and low for another dynamic goal scorer.
Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has eyes that are bigger than his GM stomach. Fletcher wants to ad another scoring forward but he doesn't want to give up one of his young bell cow blue liners.
Good luck, Chuck.
You won't get an Evander Kane without trading one of Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin, or Marco Scandella.
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Kyle Okposo is a 2017 NHL All-Star.
Make sit all the more ridiculous that Team USA left Okposo off their below average World Cup of Hockey roster last summer, eight?
Okposo has been a breath of fresh air in his first three and a half months in Buffalo. The former NY Islander power forward has scored 12 and 27 points in his first season in Buffalo.
His 15 assists rank third on the club behind Rasmus Ristolainen (23) and Samson Reinhart (16). It'll mark his first All-Star Game appearance.
"I'm excited. It's something I've always wanted to be a part of," Okposo said. "You throw it on the TV when you're growing up or even now and the All-Star Game is a pretty cool event. I'm thrilled to be participating this year and I'm very honored to be selected."
The 28-year-old forward signed a lucrative free agent contract of seven years and $42 million with Buffalo on July 1, 2017.
Congrats, Booker.
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The Buffalo Sabres today announced the team has recalled goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Rochester Americans (AHL).
Ullmark (6’4”, 221 lbs., 7/31/1993) joins the team for his third recall of 2016-17 but has yet to appear in an NHL game this season. With 28 appearances for the Americans this season, the Lugnvik, Sweden native has already matched the total from his rookie AHL season in 2015-16. He has posted a 14-13-1 record and .906 save percentage so far in his second North American season.
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