It's the night before the season. That was fast right? Something something short offseason.
Seems like just a few weeks ago the Kings were lifting Lord Stanley's Chalice and skating it around Staples Center ice for a second time. Yet here we stand less than 24 hours from the banner raising against the San Jose Sharks (Bettman you giant troll you).
And as we creep closer a question comes to mind. Which King players have the most to play for this year? The most to prove?
Because obviously all these players have something to play for. The Cup. Another championship. But I'm talking on a personal level. A level where pride comes into the picture, where a job comes into the picture. That's what I am talking about in terms of who has the most to play for. There are some fairly obvious candidates and then there are some not so obvious ones. I'll try to hit them all.
Mike Richards
I think this is the most obvious of choices. Ever. Hands down. In the town of "Prove it" Mike Richards is the mayor.
In most ways imaginable I think it's safe to say at this point that the Kings haven't got what they expected from Mike Richards. The deal that sent highly rated prospect Brayden Schenn and fan favorite turned 60-point scorer Wayne Simmonds to the Flyers has panned out in probably the most anti-climactic way possible. Mike Richards has floundered in his three seasons with the LA Kings. He has yet to crack 20 goals or 45 points, both which were common occurrences when he skated with the Bullies of Broad Street. He hasn't had the same jump, the same fire, or the same passion quite frankly. There are definitely flashes of it from time to time, and you can see what a great mind he has for the game when he is engaged. He's a natural playmaker and a heck of a worker.
However, the Kings and Dean Lombardi have seen far too little of that since they got him. It is concerning. So concerning in fact that Lombardi considered buying Richards out this summer, and then after deciding against it went up to visit Richards' Kenora, Ontario home to check in on his summer training. Yea, you don't do that with players you aren't concerned about.
Richards himself says he is not content being a 4th liner, and it definitely wounded his pride when he was relegated to such in the playoffs. Teams were cueing on No. 10, and the Kings were cutting his minutes down. A guy so formerly lauded for his tenacious two-way play and his ability to shutdown high skill players was being protected like a rookie. There is no question that Mike Richards has a ton to play for this year. Honestly, if he isn't back even close to resembling his old self by February then Dean Lombardi is going to have a huge decision to make regarding moving his huge contract. Especially when you consider all the young restricted free agents coming up and at least one franchise center up for extension...
You could end this list right here, because Mike Richards is the definitive player when asked this question.
Matt Greene
Greene has had a tumultuous couple of seasons now where his health may not have been at 100%, but being the warrior he is he soldiered on. While he was huge in the 2013-14 playoffs, Greene has played a whopping 42 of the last 130 regular season games. He has missed time with back troubles primarily, which can be an incredibly difficult injury to overcome for a hockey player. Is this finally the season where Matt Greene is back to full health? The Kings love his no-nonsense, heavy hitting game, but if he is out of the lineup more often than not then his utility is severely diminished. Don't get me wrong, he is a tremendous locker room guy and one of the most well respected guys in the room, but you can only ride on that so long when you are missing two-thirds of a season on a regular basis.
Greene has the security of a decently long contract at a manageable cap hit, but there is no guarantee he actually will be a roster mainstay. He was a healthy scratch at times in the past, and with Brayden McNabb being inserted into the fold it could press him even more. There is definitely an interesting roster battle going on between Regehr, McNabb, and Greene right now. Although McNabb and Greene seem to have the inside track on a guy like Regehr for numerous reasons, nothing is certain. Especially when it comes to an issue regarding longevity and health.
There are two major things Greene will be playing for this year: To prove he is 100% healthy again, and for playing time. They go hand in hand.
Jonathan Quick
"Best Goalie in the World"
"Vezina Favorite"
Lofty titles, grandiose descriptions, and in all honesty...sub-par numbers over the last two seasons. Yea, yea, I know I know. He has the numbers that matter: two cups. I get it. It seems like every time I bring up the nature of Quick's play I am bombarded with a number of points pertaining to achievement and accolades versus data.
The true fact of the matter is that Quick has been an average goaltender the last two years. With a .902 save percentage in 2012-13 and a .915 save percentage in 2013-14 those are not Vezina worthy numbers. Maybe back in the days of Grant Fuhr, but not nowadays when you have guys like Tuukka Rask posting .930 or close to it every year. Not to mention these numbers are in a Kings' system that is kind to goaltenders. I digress, Quick needs to play like the Quick of 2011-12, when he WAS that guy that was pushing the .930 envelope. The guy is definitely a competitor and capable of otherworldly saves, but let's see it more often shall we?
There is also a health aspect to Quick. We are now looking at back, wrist, and groin injuries all within a two year window. A full year of health and good numbers would probably ease the mind of myself and at least a few other people I know (*Cough JFTC FOLKS *Uncough*).
You can toss out all the excuses you want here, Cup rings, playoff series, Game XX performances, but the real talk is that Quick will be three years removed from a Vezina caliber year soon. Are we still going to be calling him "The greatest goalie in the world" if he has another year where he posts between a .915 and .900 save percentage? It's a question that gets answered this year.
I know it might be coming off as negative, but I do believe in the man from Milford if anyone is taking notes.
All them bottom line guys
Yea. All of them. Andreoff, Nolan, Clifford, and Lewis. There are two few spots for anyone to go missing for a long stretch of the season. This one is quite simple; they are playing for playing time. Also consider that Jordan Weal had a TREMENDOUS camp with the Kings and is chomping at the bits to get in the NHL. You also have big Scotty Sabourin who fits the mold of a solidly built bottom winger and has impressed a few here and there with his play. There are already rumblings that one of them could be moved by the deadline, and that also might come into play. If you like the California weather, the successful team, and the beaches then step your game up.
(but seriously why would you like the weather right now? 90+ degrees in October? This is just stupid...)
Jake Muzzin
Jake Muzzin was the Cinderella of hockey analytics people last season. He paired up with Drew Doughty, and after a somewhat rocky start the two became one of the most dominant possession pairings in the league. Although Doughty might think it's crap, Muzzin vaulted himself into the world of relevance in a single year.
Enter the world of expectation.
Now Muzzin isn't unknown anymore. He is a known commodity, he is a targeted player. No one will be watching film anymore and asking "Who the heck is this guy?". They know. Now the battle begins for Muzzin in adjusting to what comes at him. To me, this is why the sophomore slump is very real. You come into the league with zero expectations and a brief but pretty meager scouting report. After a year everyone knows your game and who you are. Forwards and coaches study your tendencies to try and get the upper hand. If you don't adjust to the adjustments they make, then you end up like Steve Mason. Calder winner to nearly losing his job in the NHL.
Muzzin has made his move in this game of chess, the league is going to make theirs, and he will be asked to respond. Are we going to be talking about Muzzin the same way this year that we did last? Is he going to continue to be the darling of analytics that no one saw coming? If he regresses was he a one-hit wonder? Does he stay on the top pairing all year? There can be a lot of pressure riding on a sophomore year, and Muzzin can put a lot of doubt and uncertainty to bed by having a second consecutive successful year.
Oh, and he's an RFA after this season to boot.
Jarret Stoll
You want the flat out, "Play for a contract" guy? Here he is. Stoll had a down year last season. Heck, he had a down season in 2011-12 also. From 2010-11 to now, Stoll has seen his production cut in half. What was previously an assured 20 goals or close to it a season, is now not even double digits.
He will be paid when his contract comes up at the end of this season, but it won't be the 3.25 he is making now and it might not even be the Kings signing the check. The team is extremely deep at center in the pipeline, with Weal, Shore, Andreoff, Prokhorkin, and newly drafted Adrian Kempe. With the 32 year-old Stoll creeping up on the twilight years and a significant lack of production haunting his total value, this may be a year where he has to earn his place. Yea, there are other guys like Brown and Richards who had down years, but none of them are UFA's at season end. His faceoffs are excellent, he is a well liked member of the team, and he is a great penalty killer.
With that in mind Stoll has to be mindful of his situation. Hopefully that spurs him on to a great year in other aspects of the game. To borrow a line from Billy Costigan in The Departed, "The question is, and this is the only question, who thinks that they can do what you do better than you?"
Got someone you think has a lot to play for? Throw it down in the comment section.
We got hockey folks, and more importantly IT MATTERS NOW.
Also for the love of God, check out this article by James Duthie of TSN on Darryl Sutter. It is amazing.
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