Jason Lewis: Going Over the Many Possibilities on the Los Angeles Kings Roster

I'm liking the roster more and more especially if Mersch Dowd and gravel play

sadly, I think Purcell is going to play with Kopi and Gabby, so thats your first line. Then I think its time for "That 70's line" to catch fire again. So thats your top six. Bottom six is hard to figure.. should keep mersch and dowd together, at least at the start of the season, and maybe thrown brown in with the kids so they can learn how NOT to play hockey. Last line maybe lewis, latta, King? I don't know. I still like cliffy, and I like what I saw with andreoff at the end of last year. I'm not sold on Nick Shore, and I am amazed we haven't traded Jordan Nolan yet. Line 4 is a toss up.

As for the D... I'm glad schenn is gone and I HOPE scuderi gets put on waivers, we need to get younger and faster, and he is the exact opposite of both. Thanks for getting your face smashed in, but don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Mcnabb and Doughty, Muzz and Jazz hands, Trotman and Paul Ladue or Gravel. Scuds is gone, greene is gone, gilbert is a healthy scratch. Trade forbort for picks.

Quick and Zatkoff

Just my 2 cents, I could be way off and I might be missing players

Still curious what kind of picks King and/or Forbort would net at this point.

Still curious what kind of picks King and/or Forbort would net at this point.
- hiway39

Too bad he's not RH probably can get a first lol

Despite some of the negative attitudes, disappointment of not landing a "Big fish" UFA, and frustration with signing a multitude of depth players, the Kings roster looks pretty solid. It was a good team last year, with not much turnover coming outside of losing Lucic, who had both his positive and negative effects.
- Jason Lewis

I don't think that you'd find many throughout the league who would concur that this roster is "pretty solid" compared to other teams' rosters and even past Kings teams. Perhaps they would consider it decent, considering the circumstances (particularly the cap), but I doubt that many would be impressed or fearful. That's not being "negative." That's just not being positive because it's in one's interest, as a fan, to be.

Downplaying the loss of Lucic because he had "both positive and negative effects" diminishes how much he contributed to making that a "very good team" (and, perhaps, to Kopitar's Selke). He was one of only a half dozen players who had a really good season and it was important for Kopitar to have that partner to make plays and put up points with, especially with Gaborik's down year. If Gaborik continues to struggle/decline and Purcell isn't a better fit with Kopitar than the last time that it was tried, Kopitar could experience a down year and that wouldn't bode well for the team.

"Depth was a bit of an issue that reared its ugly head late in the year, and now Darryl Sutter has almost too much of it." The problem there is that depth became an issue because what people originally considered depth turned out to not be good enough. Remember when the Kings broke camp in 2011 bursting with the "depth" of Trent Hunter, Ethan Moreau, Simon Gagne, Andrei Loktionov and Scott Parse... who got their coach fired and almost all of whom didn't last the season? More recently, guys like L. Schenn, Ehrhoff, Schultz, McBain, Gravel and Forbort were all considered solid depth until they were tried and the luster wore off. Now, there are some new guys, but, six months from now, Gilbert and Trotman could be receiving the ire that those got last season. Depth isn't just adding a bunch of players. It's also about having quality players that can do the job at a high-enough level when asked.

Now, the notion that the team is underwhelming on paper doesn't mean that they can't add up to more than the sum of their parts and be a very solid team. It's possible that many of these additions will work out very well and the Kings will end up getting great value on their meager salaries. I just think that it's more likely that they'll provide about what you'd expect for what they're being paid, and I don't see how that'll be enough. Lombardi may be very busy mid-season.

The question is whether they can win the western conference when it counts.

What's up with Schenn?

What's up with Schenn?
- Stu17

Gone from what I understand

Gone from what I understand
- Jason_Lewis

But unsigned? I wonder if he gets asked back on bargain basement deal?

Too bad he's not RH probably can get a first lol
- KINGS67

i maintain that lombardi has a better draft resume after the first round than in it. hickey, teubert and forbort were all stretches.

I don't think you can rightly discuss roster decisions to be made by Darryl Sutter without including the rules he himself uses.

Sutter has been very public about designing lines by having an on-going tandem, a center and a winger, that he keeps together while adding in different guys to fill the third spot. Someone fast for a slow line, someone big for a small line, etc., whatever he thinks is best against the particular opponent. (Oct. 10, 2015, LAKings Insider in two articles, one quotes Sutter and another stated by Rosen in affirmation)

The gold standard of roster use is 2011-12. The line tandems were Stoll and Lewis, Kopi and Brown, Richards and Carter. It's no accident that these were also the PK pairs.

The tandems killed penalties together and played together 5 on 5. They played together, got tired together and rested together. This is imperative according to another Sutter "rule." He wants to roll 4 lines, and he does, but he also does not match offensive lines. He rolls lines in an order and tries to keep to that, and having tandems that kill and play 5 on 5 together reduce the line scrambling coming out of a PK.

I get very tired of reading the putdowns of Rob Scuderi, most claiming age is getting to him. In the above article it is claimed that he had noticeably showed his age in the last third of the season. HUH?? Did anyone actually watch his play? The first three-quarters of the season he was with Pittsburgh and Chicago and had very little chance to play. When he finally came to the Kings he got his opportunity. His minutes went up to close to twenty and in 21 games he ended up a +9. He was used sometimes with Doughty and did a regular shift on the penalty kill. A +9 in 21 games is really quite exceptional for a guy who doesn't score much, although he did have six assists. Let's get this guy his due and quit parroting what other people in the League have to say. He gave the Kings great service last year.

I get very tired of reading the putdowns of Rob Scuderi, most claiming age is getting to him. In the above article it is claimed that he had noticeably showed his age in the last third of the season. HUH?? Did anyone actually watch his play? The first three-quarters of the season he was with Pittsburgh and Chicago and had very little chance to play. When he finally came to the Kings he got his opportunity. His minutes went up to close to twenty and in 21 games he ended up a +9. He was used sometimes with Doughty and did a regular shift on the penalty kill. A +9 in 21 games is really quite exceptional for a guy who doesn't score much, although he did have six assists. Let's get this guy his due and quit parroting what other people in the League have to say. He gave the Kings great service last year.
- Klaatu

My problem with Scuds was that he NEEDED to be paired with Drew or he was easily exposed on his speed and reaction time. Obviously he was playing more minutes than he should've been and if he was paired with anyone else he seemed to be a detriment.

My problem with Scuds was that he NEEDED to be paired with Drew or he was easily exposed on his speed and reaction time. Obviously he was playing more minutes than he should've been and if he was paired with anyone else he seemed to be a detriment.
- Stu17

So let me get this straight. Sutter used Scuderi on virtually every penalty kill and averaged him at nearly 20 minutes a game and Scuderi ended up +9 in spite of poor speed and reaction time? I believe it was Doughty who benefitted from Scuderi because he had a dependable partner backing him up and could roam more offensively. In my view, Scuderi's game is built on coverage. He has good reaction time, especially with stick coverage and is almost always in position. He is a welcome contrast to the wandering "hitters" Muzzin, Schenn and McNabb who constantly make positional mistakes and have to be covered for.

So let me get this straight. Sutter used Scuderi on virtually every penalty kill and averaged him at nearly 20 minutes a game and Scuderi ended up +9 in spite of poor speed and reaction time? I believe it was Doughty who benefitted from Scuderi because he had a dependable partner backing him up and could roam more offensively. In my view, Scuderi's game is built on coverage. He has good reaction time, especially with stick coverage and is almost always in position. He is a welcome contrast to the wandering "hitters" Muzzin, Schenn and McNabb who make positional mistakes and have to be covered for.
- Klaatu

You are absolutely right. He WAS used on very PK and how did that work out against SJ? he is old and semi-reliable. Sutter is in love with nostalgia and vets and it is a major fault of his. But if what you wrote is what you saw then so be it.

I get very tired of reading the putdowns of Rob Scuderi, most claiming age is getting to him. ... A +9 in 21 games is really quite exceptional for a guy who doesn't score much, although he did have six assists. Let's get this guy his due and quit parroting what other people in the League have to say. He gave the Kings great service last year.
- Klaatu

In my view, Scuderi's game is built on coverage. He has good reaction time, especially with stick coverage and is almost always in position. He is a welcome contrast to the wandering "hitters" Muzzin, Schenn and McNabb who constantly make positional mistakes and have to be covered for.
- Klaatu

I agree, and it's nice to see someone else who appreciates positional defensive play. There's such an interest in "mobile" defensemen these days, but that also means that they can get out of position easily. Defensive specialists who are not considered very mobile, like Scuderi, can't afford to go wandering around, looking for hits and creating offense. It forces them to be economical and smart in their decision making. You don't want to build a team entirely of immobile defensemen like that, but I think that you also don't want to rely almost entirely on risk-taking defensemen. You need to have a couple of guys that you can depend on, especially in certain situations, to not take risks. I don't think that it's a coincidence that the Kings won in '12 with Scuderi, Mitchell and Greene (3 "immobile" defensemen) and then won again, in '14, with Mitchell, Regehr and Greene. That's a good balance: 3 defensive specialists with 3 offensive specialists. These last two seasons, though, the balance has been heavily skewed toward offensive/Corsi specialists and the results (or lack thereof) may speak for themselves.

You are absolutely right. He WAS used on very PK and how did that work out against SJ?
- Stu17

It worked out pretty well, actually. SJ scored 5 total PP goals in the series, only 1 of which was against Scuderi. That's 1 goal against in 12:11 of PK time. Contrast that with Muzzin, who allowed a team-leading 4 of those 5 goals against in 18:47 of PK time.

Table at NHL.com here

Scuderi wasn't the problem. In fact, perhaps he should've been used more.

To me, the bigger issue is whether Lombardi is able to tell Sutter to give the younger players a little more leash in making a place on the team. Sutter has always had an extreme "you gotta earn it" policy with young players, and for the most part it's worked out well.....but the team also needs some fresh bodies out there, especially since we'll always play "heavy" under Sutter.

Was hoping some of the bottom 6 mainstays - Lewis, King, Nolan and Clifford - might be traded before the draft to replenish some of the traded picks, but either it wasn't considered or no reasonable offers came up. I have nothing against any of those guys but sometimes you need some new blood, and if a veteran is just slightly better than a young player and blocks him out, it helps in the short term but can hurt in the long term.

Thank you, nice article.
I agree with some of the other commenters though, this is not a roster you are scared of. We had an existing Voynov sized hole, and added a Lucic hole. We addressed depth players which we have and the system is teeming with. Hopefully Gilbert and Purcell help out, I'm skeptical we'll see much of the other guys.
I can't even think up good prospective line ups, but among the glut of depth players I hope Dowd, Shore, and Gravel at least start the season as full timers and if they end up scratched its because they deserved it. I don't see the purpose of not buying out Green, but I hope Scuderi doesn't see the NHL roster and Green is an emergency if the kids don't work. Also need to move probably 2 forwards and 1-2 dman, but none of those we will make available look likely to net much of anything.

Gotta go for balance and give brown a shot at top line minutes to see if his game comes around.
Brown-Kopi-Purcell
pearson-Carter-Toffoli
Mersch-Lewis-Gaborik
Andreoff-dowd-Latta

Gotta go for balance and give brown a shot at top line minutes to see if his game comes around.
Brown-Kopi-Purcell
pearson-Carter-Toffoli
Mersch-Lewis-Gaborik
Andreoff-dowd-Latta
- kings#7

This is something Darryl would seriously do.
But Brown should not sniff the top line, he drags players down around him, takes a ton of shots, and has a low shooting %. He takes shots away from players that deserve to be shooting more. We have to stop looking at his money and look at his production, he will be most effective in the bottom 6.
Lewis is not a very good center, he is so much more wing effective. That said, DS leaves him as a C alot. I'd hope to see him as a bottom 6 winger.
I just can't see Mersch up since he doesn't have to pass through waivers unless we move out 2-3 bodies.
I think Kings fans over rate his effectiveness, but I pencil Cliff in as 4 LW and feel good about his production in that role.
I could see us realistically rolling out (and given whats real its probably what I'd start with):
Gaborik-Kopitar-Purcell
Pearson-Carter-Toffoli
Lewis-Shore-Brown
Clifford-Dowd-Nolan/Latta/Andreoff
(King traded, Mersch in Ontario)

I'd prefer to try something experimental like:
Gabo-Kopi-Purcell
Lewis-Carts-Toff
Pearson-Dowd-Brown
King-Shore-Cliff

This is something Darryl would seriously do.
But Brown should not sniff the top line, he drags players down around him, takes a ton of shots, and has a low shooting %. He takes shots away from players that deserve to be shooting more. We have to stop looking at his money and look at his production, he will be most effective in the bottom 6.
Lewis is not a very good center, he is so much more wing effective. That said, DS leaves him as a C alot. I'd hope to see him as a bottom 6 winger.
I just can't see Mersch up since he doesn't have to pass through waivers unless we move out 2-3 bodies.
I think Kings fans over rate his effectiveness, but I pencil Cliff in as 4 LW and feel good about his production in that role.
I could see us realistically rolling out (and given whats real its probably what I'd start with):
Gaborik-Kopitar-Purcell
Pearson-Carter-Toffoli
Lewis-Shore-Brown
Clifford-Dowd-Nolan/Latta/Andreoff
(King traded, Mersch in Ontario)

I'd prefer to try something experimental like:
Gabo-Kopi-Purcell
Lewis-Carts-Toff
Pearson-Dowd-Brown
King-Shore-Cliff
- CrownedKing

Check out Browns Stats while playing in a top 6 role. Who has he dragged down? Who will get into the corners, use their body, and create space on your line of Purcell, Gaborik, and Kopitar? You have to give Brown a shot and cross your fingers that it clicks. He isn't more effective in a bottom 6 role. Less ice time = less hits.

Look at this: Brown was a 20+ goal scorer from 2007-2013 playing alongside Anze Kopitar. In 2012 when we won the Stanley Cup he had 20 points in 20 playoff games (I think he tied Kopitar for the league lead.)

Next year was the 2013 lockout. Dustin Brown scored 18 goals in 46 games. So he was on pace for over 30 again?

Next season opens and he is on the 3rd line.. only has some spot duty with Kopitar and all of his numbers have dropped since than. We hear quite often thru various bloggers and kings writers that theyre looking for an elite winger for Kopitar. Gaborik hasnt worked out all that great (post season is an exception). They gave up ALOT to bring in Lucic for a year and he was good, but if you compare Lucic career numbers to Browns, there isn't much difference. The only difference in their numbers is that Browns numbers drop off when he was pulled from the top 6. That hasn't happened to Lucic yet.

I'm not saying Brown is an amazing first line winger, but given the Kings situation, and the type of game that Brown brings, it's in the teams best interest to put him up there with Kopitar and hope that it clicks.

Next year was the 2013 lockout. Dustin Brown scored 18 goals in 46 games. So he was on pace for over 30 again?

Next season opens and he is on the 3rd line.. only has some spot duty with Kopitar and all of his numbers have dropped since than.
- kings#7

You skipped over the 2013 playoffs, when he totally disappeared and scored only 4 points in 18 games. Then, in the following preseason, he wasn't very good (which could've had to do with a nagging injury and another kid) and those two things (and King having a great preseason) were why Brown started opening night on the 3rd line. As noted in the postgame here, though, he was back up to the 1st line by the end of that game and he stayed there for the next 10 games. In those 10 games, he had only 2 EV points playing alongside Kopitar and Williams, so being demoted back down to the 3rd line was likely deserved.

You make it sound like Brown hasn't been given a chance with good players to re-find his game, but that's not been the case. From the 2013 playoffs to the first 11 games of 2013-14 to numerous other times since, he's been given chances and blown every single one of them. What's wrong with him is with him, not with how the coaches are using him.

We hear quite often thru various bloggers and kings writers that theyre looking for an elite winger for Kopitar. Gaborik hasnt worked out all that great (post season is an exception).
- kings#7

It seems like a lot of people forget that Gaborik scored 27 goals (in only 69 games) in 2014-15. In other words, he followed up his stellar 2014 playoffs with a very good full season. This past season was a big disappointment, but it was just one year. He could conceivably bounce back, especially if he's healthy. It's a bit strange that people are writing him off almost as much as Brown when Brown has had 3 poor seasons and Gaborik only 1 so far. I give Gaborik a much better chance of bouncing back to the player that he was for the Kings before than I give to Brown, and that's why I don't think that it makes any sense to put him on the 3rd line and Brown on the 1st. He needs to be given the benefit of the doubt and paired with Kopitar long before Brown gets the same again.

You skipped over the 2013 playoffs, when he totally disappeared and scored only 4 points in 18 games. Then, in the following preseason, he wasn't very good (which could've had to do with a nagging injury and another kid) and those two things (and King having a great preseason) were why Brown started opening night on the 3rd line. As noted in the postgame here, though, he was back up to the 1st line by the end of that game and he stayed there for the next 10 games. In those 10 games, he had only 2 EV points playing alongside Kopitar and Williams, so being demoted back down to the 3rd line was likely deserved.

You make it sound like Brown hasn't been given a chance with good players to re-find his game, but that's not been the case. From the 2013 playoffs to the first 11 games of 2013-14 to numerous other times since, he's been given chances and blown every single one of them. What's wrong with him is with him, not with how the coaches are using him.



It seems like a lot of people forget that Gaborik scored 27 goals (in only 69 games) in 2014-15. In other words, he followed up his stellar 2014 playoffs with a very good full season. This past season was a big disappointment, but it was just one year. He could conceivably bounce back, especially if he's healthy. It's a bit strange that people are writing him off almost as much as Brown when Brown has had 3 poor seasons and Gaborik only 1 so far. I give Gaborik a much better chance of bouncing back to the player that he was for the Kings before than I give to Brown, and that's why I don't think that it makes any sense to put him on the 3rd line and Brown on the 1st. He needs to be given the benefit of the doubt and paired with Kopitar long before Brown gets the same again.
- Osprey

I agree that Brown has been terrible. I'm only saying that given the personnel we currently have, it would be in the teams best interest if he was given a shot there and was able to gain his form back. We're stuck with him. If we have any hopes of trading that contract, he's gonna have to put up some numbers. It's simply not gonna happen if he is in a depth role. Assuming that he is going to show up to camp with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, there's a chance that things may work out and he will either raise his value and be traded OR become a steady contributor again.

I agree, and it's nice to see someone else who appreciates positional defensive play. There's such an interest in "mobile" defensemen these days, but that also means that they can get out of position easily. Defensive specialists who are not considered very mobile, like Scuderi, can't afford to go wandering around, looking for hits and creating offense. It forces them to be economical and smart in their decision making. You don't want to build a team entirely of immobile defensemen like that, but I think that you also don't want to rely almost entirely on risk-taking defensemen. You need to have a couple of guys that you can depend on, especially in certain situations, to not take risks. I don't think that it's a coincidence that the Kings won in '12 with Scuderi, Mitchell and Greene (3 "immobile" defensemen) and then won again, in '14, with Mitchell, Regehr and Greene. That's a good balance: 3 defensive specialists with 3 offensive specialists. These last two seasons, though, the balance has been heavily skewed toward offensive/Corsi specialists and the results (or lack thereof) may speak for themselves.



It worked out pretty well, actually. SJ scored 5 total PP goals in the series, only 1 of which was against Scuderi. That's 1 goal against in 12:11 of PK time. Contrast that with Muzzin, who allowed a team-leading 4 of those 5 goals against in 18:47 of PK time.

Table at NHL.com here

Scuderi wasn't the problem. In fact, perhaps he should've been used more.
- Osprey

I agree with every word you wrote above. And I echo you in saying that it's great to see another fan who appreciates positional defense. Like you, I appreciate defensive balance, but now it seems that "puck movers" dominate everyone's mindset. A great example of the fallacy in that is Brent Burns. The so-called "experts" were singing his praises throughout the playoffs. Yet it was him and his out-of-position" wandering and shotgun, no-look passing that was as much responsible as anything for the Sharks' failure in the Cup Finals. It reflected in his regular season, too, when he scored 78 points yet still ended up a -5. That means he was on the ice for 78 of his team's goals as well as for 83 of the opponents'. I don't think it says that much for his value. He could've used a Scuderi as a partner to help cover for his messes.