It’s the holiday break in the NHL. More importantly, it is the season of giving, loving, and goodwill towards men. Yes, even our friendly rival neighbors the Anaheim Ducks. Without them there wouldn’t be a rivalry to talk about, and hockey in Southern California would be a little less expansive. Both Los Angeles and Anaheim have had a storied history regarding the involvement and growth of Southern California hockey, and for that we can all be thankful. Myself and our friendly rival Ducks writer, Ed Stein, have put together a two part blog for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day which brings some holiday spirit and spin to our good old SoCal hockey rivalry.
The season of giving and sharing
You give gifts, you receive gifts. It is the basic concept we know in modern day Christmas tradition. So what would happen if it involved a few players? What if Anze Kopitar and Ryan Getzlaf swapped places?
First off, both players are truly world class players. As much as you may grit your teeth at the thought of Ryan Getzlaf and Anze Kopitar being swapped let’s consider it for a moment. Both play a similar style, with two-way hockey being of the utmost important. Both are pass first players, with great vision and hockey sense. Size, skill, skating. These dudes got it all. Would the swap make either player different? The answer is a solid yes in my book. Getzlaf would probably become the player that Kopitar is on the Kings, while Kopitar would be the player Getzlaf currently is.
Why? The Kings system would limit the point output of Getzlaf, and Kopitar would get the benefit of having Corey Perry on his wing. While Kopitar has had a lot of success between the likes of Jeff Carter and Marian Gaborik, Perry is a world class goal scorer in a wide open system. Take the reins off Kopitar a little bit and stick Perry at his wing and I think you are looking at a center pushing 90 points and 50 assists like Getzlaf does. Almost the same thing could be said in the converse for Getzlaf. A stifling offensive system, less power play points, fewer goals from the wing. However, the Ducks captain might excel in the physical system of the Kings. The good old days of Randy Carlyle molded Getzlaf into the player he is today.
These two are equals in a lot of ways, and if they swapped places I think you would be looking at pretty much the same players, except on different teams.
What about Carter and Perry? Muzzin and Fowler? Andersen and Quick? Would Freddy Andersen look even better in front of the Kings defense? Would that team have made a run had it been the Dane in net over the American? Probably not. However, it’s kind of fun to think about. Would Perry be a 40 goal scorer on the Kings with Kopitar at center?
Which brings us to the next topic…
The season of good will towards…Ducks
Let’s face it Kings fans. The Ducks have some GREAT players. Players who, even if you hate them, you would take them on your team in a heart beat.
Exhibit A? Corey freaking Perry. It’s easy to not like Corey Perry am I right? He scores huge goals, he agitates, he cheap shots, but man if you had the chance you’d put it all aside and embrace him as a member of the Kings. Don’t lie to yourself and say you wouldn’t! In today’s NHL you don’t find 40-plus goal scorers growing on trees. It takes a special kind of player and talent to be able to put up such fantastic numbers, and Perry has done that on so many occasions. He makes it easy to dislike him, ya know, cause of little stuff like this:
Another begrudging admiration has to go out to Teemu Selanne. Ya know, the guy who put up 52 goals and 119 points in 105 games against the LA Kings in his career. Every time Teemu Selanne stepped on the ice against the Kings he was sure to put up a point. He was a thorn in the side of Los Angeles for years and years, but you couldn’t help but be in awe of the speed and skill that The Finnish Flash brought to SoCal. When he joined the Ducks in 1995-96, it signaled a new era of Southern California hockey. He was the Pavel Bure, the Mats Sundin, the Mark Messier of Southern California. Even if you vaguely followed hockey, you knew Teemu Selanne played for the Ducks.
Even though he punished the Kings on numerous occasions, we are talking about a world class, first ballot hall of fame player. How can you not admire him? Even if he did drive a dagger into the hearts of Kings fans….52 times.
On his wing for many years was another player we can all admire for his hard-working and jovial attitude, and that’s Paul Kariya. A damn good scorer in his own right, Kariya was a seven time all-star for the Ducks and one of the teams marquee players for over a decade. He was also considered a very nice guy off the ice and a great teammate on the ice. It’s a shame he had to end his career due to post-concussion syndrome at a young age. Kariya is the definition of a player, no matter how heated a rival he was, you couldn’t not like.
There are plenty of other players you could begrudgingly admire. Chris Pronger. Scott Neidermeyer. J.S. Giguere. etc.
Throw some out in the comments section.
You better not shout, you better not cry…
What christmas is complete without a naughty and nice list from our storied rivalry? Let’s start with the nice.
Nice
- 2014 Stadium Series game at Dodgers Stadium - What a landmark game between the two franchises. Even though it was a lackluster game from a Kings perspective it truly was a historic moment.
- The 2014 Kings-Ducks Division Championship Series - It ended on a sour note for the Ducks and a high note for the Kings. However, it was a wonderful way for the two teams to lock into their first post-season meeting ever and officially commence a “Rivalry…. A solid seven-game series which is hopefully the first of many more heated contests.
- The Ducks 2006-07 Stanley Cup - I know, I know, you Kings fans just groaned. But think about what it did for Southern California, and more importantly what it did for the Kings. The motivation to equal or surpass what the younger franchise in Southern California had done was put in front of the LA Kings. It got the area buzzing with hockey madness which still hasn’t cooled.
- The Kings 2012 Stanley Cup - It was the first for the Kings, and it was an even up against the cross town rivals. With one cup apiece all bets and taunts were off.
The Ducks pipeline - Too many good players to name em all. Lindholm, Vatanen, Gibson, Fowler, Andersen, Kerdiles, Ritchie etc, etc
- The second Kings cup - bragging rights and all that jazz (hands)!
Naughty
- Corey Perry doing Corey Perry things (See above)
- Dustin Brown’s knees
- Those stadium series jerseys. Good god. Road cones versus greyscale.
“I think you might be dreaming a little bit.…- Brian Hayward on the Kings chances of winning the Stanley cup from 2012-15
- Bruce McNall almost going bankrupt while owning the Kings in '93
And finally…
Something that Ed and I put together for you guys. A series of gifts and pardons for the opposing team and opposing players brought to you by, you, the readers. We will keep them anonymous, as to not out anyone on their hatred and malice.
Pardons
“Pardon to Jon Quick because of his participation with USA hockey.…
“Cam Fowler for having a team related last name that rivals Dwight King…
“Frederik Andersen for being a halfway decent goalie.…
…Pardon to Jamie McBain because he just got to LA and because he isn't getting one from Kings fans.…
“Pardon to Tim Jackman for getting awarded the 2nd star of the game on 10/26 vs San Jose with less than 7 minutes of ice time and 21 penalty minutes.…
“DSP for having a hyphenated last name, it's not his fault and not as bad as Nugent-Hopkins"
“As much as I would like to Pardon Dustin Brown for his charity work and participation with Team USA, I can't bring myself to do it.…
“Ryan Kesler for leaving a team I hate to a team I hate more, now it just feels completely correct to hate him.…
“I'd pardon Kopi, just because he's so good, how can you possibly hate the guy?…
“Ryan Getzlaf for losing all your hair in your early 20s. Having to play in Anaheim would make me pull all my hair out too.…
“Pardon to John Gibson for being the best goaltender that Darryl Sutter has ever seen.…
“Pardon to Sami Vatanen for having the best fake twitter account. @Vatman_45 - "Hampus wants to hit up chip & dales"
Gifts
“I give Marion Gaborik a titanium hip (he'll need it when he's older) and a Blue jackets robe to wear during his recovery.…
“I give Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson autographed pictures of Ashton Kutcher.…
“I give Ilya Bryzgalov A bigger mattress to stuff all that sweet sweet buyout money into.…
“I give Mike Richards a trade out of LA. He's never been the same since coming to the Kings. He can revive his career someplace else (preferably in the Eastern Conference).…
“Beauchemin - a key to his retirement home in sunny FLA…
“I'll get Dustin Brown a hinge for his right leg. That way instead of taking knees out, he can just have his leg go around like an amusement park ride when he lines a guy up in open ice and misses.…
“I give the team's golfers, Stanley Cup replica golf tees.…
“I'd give Perry a squirt gun... We all know he likes to play with water……
Personally, I'll give the Ducks locker room a swear jar. What with the noted master of motivating words they now have at the helm.
**(Warning: Mature Language)**
Don’t forget to check out my good buddy Ed Stein’s blog tomorrow for the All-SoCal team and the Top 10 most influential SoCal hockey figures! And no, it won't be any of these guys:
(Although I think Charlie Conway and Gordon Bombay at least deserve an honorable mention.)
Happy holidays everyone and don't forget to don your ugly christmas sweaters tonight!
Be sure to check out part two of the feature right here!
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