Jason Lewis: 5 Bold Predictions for the LA Kings Season

Nolan and Clifford dealt? Are they due big raises?

Set obtainable goals, try for no felonies this season

Set obtainable goals, try for no felonies this season
- claimdenied

didnt torres just commit one?

Erhoff getting 40 points is pretty optimistic to say the least .Lucic getting 60 in L.As system is highly unlikely as well .L.A makes the playoffs in around 6th to 7th place and you can't count them out from there for sure .

Set obtainable goals, try for no felonies this season


Or a Stanley Cup?

Erhoff getting 40 points is pretty optimistic to say the least .Lucic getting 60 in L.As system is highly unlikely as well .L.A makes the playoffs in around 6th to 7th place and you can't count them out from there for sure .
- Allforhim12

No one said likely, I said bold!

Are there cap penalties if Greene retires after this season? Maybe he gets traded. Brown will be moved before the year is up. I really hope the Kopi line finds some chemistry and fairly quickly at that. Lucic just looks like an outsider still. There were some shots of him standing by the bench during frozen fury and the kings on the bench were chatting it up while looch just looked off into space. And then after the goal by Gabo from behind the net on his knees, everyone was all hugs and smiles in the celebration and looch just seemed to be there but not apart of the comraderie. I know he's still new but I hope familiarity comes quickly.

Nolan and Clifford dealt? Are they due big raises?
- rugdnit

Nolan's under contract for 3 more years at $950k. Clifford has 5 more years at $1.6M. The only way they either gets traded is if Lombardi decides the Kings don't want to pay 7-figure contracts for 4th line players. Andreoff, Mersch, and Sabourin could all play on the 4th line, and their contracts are all in the $500-800k range. They're not as established as Clifford and Nolan, but there's not that much of a skill dropoff.

Erhoff getting 40 points is pretty optimistic to say the least .Lucic getting 60 in L.As system is highly unlikely as well .L.A makes the playoffs in around 6th to 7th place and you can't count them out from there for sure .
- Allforhim12

I mostly agree with this. Every year, people expect that this is the season that the Kings will breakout in scoring, and dominate the regular season, a la Anaheim and Chicago. It never seems to happen.

Here's my prediction. I predict the Kings will score around 220 goals, while only allowing ~180 goals against, narrowly missing out their 2nd Jennings trophy to an Eastern Conference team. They will finish just over 100 points, good enough for 2nd or 3rd in the Pacific behind Anaheim. Kopitar will lead the team in scoring again with 25g and 75 points. Gaborik gets 30g, while Carter and Toffoli get 35g. Lucic will net 20g and 45ish points. Doughty gets 15g and 50ish points, Ehrhoff gets in the low 30s, at least half of which come on the power play.

The Kings will handily beat whoever they face in the first round, then take the Ducks to game 7 in the second round. Whoever wins that series makes it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Most of the distractions are gone, which should bode well for the Kings. The only possible hiccup could be the Kopitar contract. Kinda hard to figure out what's going on, some of the so called "experts" say the term has been agreed to and they are discussing cash, others have said they are not that close.

5. One of the core is traded

Maybe it comes early, maybe it comes at the deadline, heck maybe it comes in the waining days of the 2015-16 season and before the draft. However, there is a definite feeling around the Kings right now that there are a lot of bodies for too few spots and too little money. With a pending contract coming to Anze Kopitar, a couple of key free agents this coming offseason (Lewis, Lucic, McNabb), and some big restricted free agents the following year (Toffoli, Shore, Pearson), the Kings have a transition to make. Does that mean getting rid of Brown? Maybe dealing Lewis or King? Are Nolan and Clifford safe even after the extension? What about an aging Gaborik and Carter? Or Matt Greene?
- Jason Lewis

I do think someone is headed out this season. I think it will be one or more of Dustin Brown, Dwight King, and/or Alex Martinez.

Dustin Brown put in considerable work in the offseason, even hiring a personal nutritionist to help give an extra boost. If the extra work pays off and he returns to form as the Dustin Brown of 2011-12, he stays put. If we get the Dustin Brown of 2013-14, then he's the first candidate to go.

The Dwight King experiment has gone on for a few years now with lackluster results. He has had flashes of brilliance, but has never really turned into the top-six forward that everyone hoped for. He's somewhat of a misfit on the third line as well, and at a $1.9M cap hit, he's very much an overpaid utility player. I think Michael Mersch gets called up during the season to cover an injury (probably to Gaborik), impresses the hell out of everyone, and sticks around as a mainstay on the third line. King gets traded at the deadline.

Darryl Sutter today referred to A-Mart as the "Trevor Lewis of the defense". In other words, you can slot him in wherever there's a hole and he does okay. The problem is that when everyone is healthy, his normal slot is on the third pairing, and $4M is a hell of a lot of money to pay for a 3rd pairing defenseman, especially with big contracts coming up. If Ehrhoff, McNabb, and Schultz all work out, I think Martinez gets shipped out for an upgraded rental defenseman, then replaced with a cheaper alternative next offseason.

Set obtainable goals, try for no felonies this season
- claimdenied

Kings should finish 2nd or 3rd in the pacific

Are there cap penalties if Greene retires after this season? Maybe he gets traded. Brown will be moved before the year is up. I really hope the Kopi line finds some chemistry and fairly quickly at that. Lucic just looks like an outsider still. There were some shots of him standing by the bench during frozen fury and the kings on the bench were chatting it up while looch just looked off into space. And then after the goal by Gabo from behind the net on his knees, everyone was all hugs and smiles in the celebration and looch just seemed to be there but not apart of the comraderie. I know he's still new but I hope familiarity comes quickly.
- Stu17

No. Cap recapture penalties only apply if the contract was front-loaded, allowing the Kings to get a lower cap hit than the actual salary paid to the player. Greene's salary is a consistent $2.5M for all four years, meaning he can retire at any time without penalty to the team.

No. Cap recapture penalties only apply if the contract was front-loaded, allowing the Kings to get a lower cap hit than the actual salary paid to the player. Greene's salary is a consistent $2.5M for all four years, meaning he can retire at any time without penalty to the team.
- tkecanuck341

Thanks

Typical Kings fans

Any news about Muzzin possibly suiting up for the first couple games? Last thing I read was that he was doubtful for at least the season opener.

Not sure about of the poop predicted but I can't see the Kings missing the playoffs again.

Lucic hitting 60 points? From someone who's watched his steady offensive decline over the past 4-5 years. . . good luck with that.

Rumor is Muzzin will be in the starting line up, Greene is still out injured.

those are bold predictions.

unlike the coilers who use the word 'bold' for show, you actually backed up the "bold" in your statement

didnt torres just commit one?
- masterhans

Not as bad as the NHL DoPS did....

Thanks JL,
Very entertaining read.
Do you know who will be taking Greene's spot on the third line?

Thanks JL,
Very entertaining read.
Do you know who will be taking Greene's spot on the third line?
- dprice818

My guess is Schultz...

Set obtainable goals, try for no felonies this season
- claimdenied

What an idiotic statement by an idi...... I'll just stop. I've wasted my time already