Jason Lewis: Schultz, Forbort, or McBain?

Schultz was a good defenseman on an offensive first Capital's team. He would make a good replacement for the retiring Regehr.

This will give Forbot more time to get ready and then he can take over for Schultz.

I honestly don't know why we resigned McBain because he's not very responsible in his own end.

I would like to see forbort, but I'd go with Schultz of Forbort isn't ready yet.

Any update on Mike Richards?

Has he filed a grievance as of yet? If so, what's the status?

- Ryan_Wilson

I'm coming for you, Mendoza.

I think it will be between Schultz (who looks a lot like Beaky Buzzard) and McBain, only because of Forberts waiver-exempt status.

The real issue is who will play with Greene? Amart? If so, we're looking at plugging in one of the above to play with McNabb?
DD-JM
BM-JS
MG-AM

never mind the sides, just looking at the pairings...

realizing full well I am going to get flamed for this... (but that never stopped me in the past) I don't like Jeff Schultz in our line up, didn't think much of his play and certainly don't see what the rest of yall see in him... carry on

realizing full well I am going to get flamed for this... (but that never stopped me in the past) I don't like Jeff Schultz in our line up, didn't think much of his play and certainly don't see what the rest of yall see in him... carry on
- MikeOxbyg

I think people see a servicable 6/7 dman on the cheap. Not a Norris candidate.

I think people see a servicable 6/7 dman on the cheap. Not a Norris candidate.
- Stu17

I see a guy who is slow moving and slow thinking with sub par hands and does not use his frame the way it should be used. No shot, bad moving the puck through the neutral zone and even worse under pressure.

he has an ok stick and stays in decent position in the D zone when he doesn't have to move or think much. that's just what my eyes see though and I get your point about the inexpensive factor and that he has NHL experience

I'm rooting for schultz........every since we picked him up I've been thinking about how his game could fit here. He hasn't been that bad. I think he could get the job done nicely on a lower pairing

I see a guy who is slow moving and slow thinking with sub par hands and does not use his frame the way it should be used. No shot, bad moving the puck through the neutral zone and even worse under pressure.
- MikeOxbyg

Aside from the frame part, you might have been describing Matt Greene

Forbort, I think will do OK, actually. Mcbain is like Voynov insurance. Schultz is Forbort insurance. Kinda jacked one of our better D-men is in jail, LOL. I guess we make the most of things til then. Does Voynov get out before the season starts?

Forbort, I think will do OK, actually. Mcbain is like Voynov insurance. Schultz is Forbort insurance. Kinda jacked one of our better D-men is in jail, LOL. I guess we make the most of things til then. Does Voynov get out before the season starts?
- Gretz2Kurri

I think he'll be out but his achilles wont be ready.

Lo Verde getting a shot would be awesome.....He was picked up by Ontario from another ECHL team a few years ago just to fill in a few games, and they never got him out of the lineup.....then he was one of the few ECHL call ups that earned a job and a contract in the AHL. Not flashy or spectacular but one of those defenseman that you just feel comfortable with on the ice (sort of the anti Jack Johnson). Very unlikely to happen but who knows, Mike Weaver keeps finding a job.

Lo Verde getting a shot would be awesome.....He was picked up by Ontario from another ECHL team a few years ago just to fill in a few games, and they never got him out of the lineup.....then he was one of the few ECHL call ups that earned a job and a contract in the AHL. Not flashy or spectacular but one of those defenseman that you just feel comfortable with on the ice (sort of the anti Jack Johnson). Very unlikely to happen but who knows, Mike Weaver keeps finding a job.
- jkaflagg

He wasn't called heart-attack Jack for nothing.

He wasn't called heart-attack Jack for nothing.
- Stu17

I still think we got the better end of that deal for Carter

The Kings do have some depth at the bottom 2 defensive spots, but I still think they are one solid, experienced guy away from ensuring another trip to the finals. If Johnny Oduya had ultimately decided winning another Cup was more important than being selfish and going for more money instead of winning, he would have waited out the Hawks a bit longer and signed a 1 year deal or taking the Kings one year deal as well. I am pretty sure not being an insider that both Chicago and LA had 1-year offers on the table just south of $2 million, both able to squeeze in under the cap, albeit the Hawks still needed to move another player which they really didn't want to do.

I am not sure why the Kings have not been linked to Christian Erhoff much or not at all. He is probably still holding out hope for a 2-3 year deal instead of one, but in the end he is most likely going to get a one year deal like Cody Franson will. I would rather have the Kings sign Erhoff to a one year deal before their arch rival Blackhawks snatch him up for a similar 1 year deal and same amount of dough on the table given their cap issues too. Franson is not a guy I'd like in LA. He is complaining about signing one year deals all the time, but the bottom line with him (watching him in Toronto recent seasons) is that he is a very weak minded and soft defenseman, who is not accountable and unreliable in defensive situations, does not make the tough plays necessary to win games and only plays hard when he wants to score)...Gee, I wonder why he doesn't get the multi year deals. He has the tools and talent to be a 1-2 defenseman but refuses to work hard enough in his own end. Some of the stupid miscues and lazy mistakes and careless, mind boggling give aways with Toronto have led to his own demise as far as not getting the "security" he wants with an NHL contract. Another defenseman who just likes to score goals and is only valuable on the power play. The Kings should stay far away from him in my opinion and I hope the Leafs do too.

In response to you mentioning the Kings have been solidly packed on the blue line in recent years, I beg to differ, especially last season. When Slava Voynov decided to become NHL's most wanted thug in October, it forced everyone into much more ice time, which made things a lot worse for Drew Doughty because Jake Muzzin was not ready to go as he should have been early on. The Kings then scrambled for help in signing Jamie McBain which I was very impressed with due to cap problems and Voynov/Muzzin not being reliable early and often. Alec Martinez' injury later then put pressure on Muzzin and the rest which led to the Kings being pretty desperate for the services of Andrej Sekera.

But the bottom line here with Derek Forbort not playing in an NHL game yet from the 2010 draft class is again the fault of Mr. Darryl Sutter. The Kings were DESPERATE for blue line help in every sense of the word last season but Sutter still refuses to put any trust into young, developing players. He treated Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, Linden Vey and Alec Martinez to name a few the same way before he simply had no choice but to give them the ice time they deserved (with the exception of Vey who was traded to Vancouver) and each were tremendous pieces to the puzzle of winning the cup in 2014. Without any of them, the Kings do not get to the Cup, neither do they even come close to getting past Chicago. Sutter MUST be able to trust in the system and the prospects they have. If he and perhaps Dean Lombardi do not give him a hell of a shot this season (especially after so much success, more success than any other of those 2010 draft kids have had at the AHL level with a Calder Cup under his belt) then Sutter at least needs to be let go despite the success of the club with him behind the bench. The organization is sitting in a gold mine so to speak when it comes to success and development of very strong, championship caliber players and it is a matter of retooling and winning on the fly under a very minimal cap space. Chicago has done this very well, despite their AHL club in Rockford not being nearly as strong or stockpiled with talent like Manchester has been for the last ten years at least. The Kings have the luxury of being recent Cup champs twice with their top minor league or developmental team also winning their league championship and being dominant from start to finish last season, they better start putting some faith into them. Let's not give guys like Forbort the same treatment the organization gave to guys like Brian Boyle and Matt Mouslon, who are both having some very good NHL careers and are go-to guys on their respective teams (Moulson more than Boyle, but still pretty damn good players who were both simply LET GO by the Kings)...

The Kings do have some depth at the bottom 2 defensive spots, but I still think they are one solid, experienced guy away from ensuring another trip to the finals. If Johnny Oduya had decided winning another Cup was more important than being selfish and going for more money instead of winning, he would have waited out the Hawks a bit longer and signed a 1 year deal or taking the Kings one year deal as well. I am pretty sure not being an insider that both Chicago and LA had 1-year offers on the table just south of $2 million, both able to squeeze in under the cap, albeit the Hawks still needed to move another player which they really didn't want to do.

I am not sure why the Kings have not been linked to Christian Erhoff much or not at all. He is probably still holding out hope for a 2-3 year deal instead of one, but in the end he is most likely going to get a one year deal like Cody Franson will. I would rather have the Kings sign Erhoff to a one year deal before their arch rival Blackhawks snatch him up for a similar 1 year deal and same amount of dough on the table given their cap issues too. Franson is not a guy I'd like in LA. He is complaining about signing one year deals all the time, but the bottom line with him (watching him in Toronto recent seasons) is that he is a very weak minded and soft defenseman, who is not accountable and unreliable in defensive situations, does not make the tough plays necessary to win games and only plays hard when he wants to score)...Gee, I wonder why he doesn't get the multi year deals. He has the tools and talent to be a 1-2 defenseman but refuses to work hard enough in his own end. Some of the stupid miscues and lazy mistakes and careless, mind boggling give aways with Toronto have led to his own demise as far as not getting the "security" he wants with an NHL contract. Another defenseman who just likes to score goals and is only valuable on the power play. The Kings should stay far away from him in my opinion and I hope the Leafs do too.

In response to you mentioning the Kings have been solidly packed on the blue line in recent years, I beg to differ, especially last season. When Voynov went down, it forced everyone into much more ice time, which made things a lot worse for Drew Doughty because Jake Muzzin was not ready to go as he should have been early on. The Kings then scrambled for help in signing Jamie McBain which I was very impressed with due to cap problems and Voynov/Muzzin not being reliable early and often. Martinez' injury later then put pressure on Muzzin and the rest which led to the Kings being pretty desperate for the services of Andrej Sekera.

But the bottom line here with Derek Forbort not playing in an NHL game yet from the 2010 draft class is again the fault of Mr. Darryl Sutter. The Kings were DESPERATE in every sense of the word last season but Sutter still refuses to put any trust into young, developing players. He treated Toffoli, Pearson, Vey, Martinez to name a few the same way before he simply had no choice but to give them the ice time they deserved, and without them (with the exception of Vey who was traded to Vancouver) were tremendous pieces to the puzzle of winning the cup in 2014. Without any of them, the Kings do not get to the Cup, neither do they even come close to getting past Chicago. Sutter MUST be able to trust in the system and the prospects they have. If he and perhaps Lombardi do not give him a hell of a shot this season (especially after so much success, more success than any other of those 2010 draft kids at the AHL level with a Calder Cup under his belt) then Sutter needs to be let go despite the success of the club with him behind the bench. The Kings have the luxury of being recent Cup champs twice with their top minor league or developmental team also winning their league championship and being dominant from start to finish last season, they better start putting some faith into them. Let's not give guys like Forbort the same treatment the organization gave to guys like Brian Boyle and Matt Mouslon, who are both having some very good NHL careers and are go-to guys on their respective teams (Moulson more than Boyle, but still pretty damn good players who were both simply LET GO by the Kings)...
- royalgardens

good read but in response to your disagreeing on kings D depth comments I'd say you explained why the Kings depth has not looked to deep. The current Dmen had to play so many minutes because Sutter didn't want to pull the prospects up. Maybe now we aren't so deep with miller gone and Mckeown gone but Two years ago Kings weren't too worried about their D core. This year with a couple spots to be earned we need to have one of the 3 or maybe even one of the lesser known guys step up and show that they can replace a Sekera or Regher type. I do agree on your view that Kings are short that one experienced mid level Dman. Sekera was not the guy and I'm glad Kings didn't give him the over the top $ he wanted and got. With out Voynov we have a void. The AHL guys that want their shot earned it and have the Calder cup to prove that. Lets hope the diamond in the rough is within our group because it doesn't look like DL is going to do anything outside the organization.

good read but in response to your disagreeing on kings D depth comments I'd say you explained why the Kings depth looked not so deep. The current Dmen had to play so many minutes because Sutter didn't want to pull the prospects up. Maybe now we aren't so deep with miller gone and Mckeown gone but Two years ago Kings weren't too worried about their D core. This year with a couple spots to be earned we need to have one of the 3 or maybe even one of the lesser known guys step up and show that they can replace a Sekera or Regher type. I do agree on your view that Kings are short that one experienced mid level Dman. Sekera was not the guy and I'm glad Kings didn't give him the over the top $ he wanted and got. With out Voynov we have a void. The AHL guys that want their shot earned it and have the Calder cup to prove that. Lets hope the diamond in the rough is within our group because it doesn't look like DL is going to do anything outside the organization.
- dprice818

That is exactly right...Sutter must be able to trust what he has and also trust in just a couple guys from the Manchester level. There is no reason why Sutter is so afraid to give some ice time to them. Despite the problems on and off the ice last season, Sutter also made life much harder on guys like Doughty, Greene and Muzzin when he returned. If the team is not going to rely on a least a couple guys from Manchester here and there as they should have been all along, then move them and actually get something for them. The team simply let Brian Boyle and Matt Moulson walk for nothing! This time, either give Forbort, Weal and maybe one or two others a chance to battle for the bottom six or bottom D pairings or move them with another cap hit for an experienced defenseman who will slide in perfectly in that 5-6 slot and help the team get back to the Cup. It can very easily be done, but right now, I am not happy at all with the indecisiveness or lack of progress with addressing this one final need. This final hole to fill here is the last brick to be laid figuratively speaking in getting the Kings back to the Finals and knocking off either the Rangers again or perhaps Justin Williams and the Washington Caps in June...

Schultz is good for an injury call-up, nothing more. He's not good for a full season with the big club. Give Forbort a chance to start. If he can't cut it yet, then let McBain start.

It's going to be a RHD competition between McBain and LoVerde until Voynov gets back. It's so obvious you could drive a truck right through it.