I was excited to get the green light to pull a little double duty and contribute some blogs, on top of my Panthers duties, for another favorite of mine: The Los Angeles Kings.
Here we go...
Don’t Call it a Rebuild
We already know it, but the Kings had a rough season, going 31-42-19 (71 points), and grabbing 30th place in the league – just above the lowly Senators at 31. Like most teams that lift Lord Stanley, they’re paying the price for leveraging their future in order to get the pieces they needed to win two cups at the time.
There’s no doubt that some (major) retooling is in order and it feels like most folks know a rebuild is on the horizon (or at least necessary) – especially when you look at the ages of guys like Brown, Carter, Doughty, Kopitar, Kovalchuk, Lewis, Phaneuf and Quick. But the Kings brass feel otherwise, which is typically par for the course for any team when faced with the dreaded “rebuild” word. But when you look at some of the trades made this year and the combo of young players and picks the Kings scooped up in return (see below), it certainly feels like they’re setting up for the future.
Trades (involving picks):
CHI – Dominik Kubalik
LA - AZ’s 5th Round 2019
TOR – Jake Muzzin
LA - 1st Round, Sean Druzi, Carl Grandstrom
MTL – Nate Thompson, AZ 5th Round 2019
LA - CGY’s 4th 2019
WAS – Carl Hagelin
LA - 3rd Round 2019, Conditional 6th Round 2020
CGY – Oscar Fantenberg
LA - 4th Round 2020
Personally, one of the things that has drawn me to LA throughout my hockey fandom (besides being a kid and admiring Gretzky) is their style of play. There’s usually a mix of heavy frames, skill and toughness in the lineup that can be very dangerous. I think I like it because it reminds me of teams from the past and it sort of pushes against the changing NHL landscape – which has organizations moving towards smaller, speedier/skilled and less physical guys.
But maybe it’s time to change up the philosophy a bit. While a knucklehead like me may like the old school feel of big/slower guys patrolling the ice, it’s important to evolve and not devolve - at least too much. Size and snarl are still vital in the game, but we’re seeing the old adage of “speed kills” really at work in the modern game. I believe the Kings have some of these “new age” guys in Tyler Toffoli, Adrian Kempe, etc…and will continue to blend more like that into the lineup through the draft and free agency.
McLellan at the Helm
When the Kings announced that Todd McLellan would be the new bench boss, I was kind of indifferent. I really don’t know much about him outside of him being Edmonton’s coach for the past few years. I thought he was never quite able to get that Oiler’s machine churning the way their front office and fans expected. But that wasn’t fair on my end, since I had never really took the time to watch the Oilers and what McLellan was doing there. Actually, it has to be one of the more difficult coaching jobs in hockey, I would think, strictly based on Edmonton’s history and the expectations that come with it. But outside of that, I really had no “feel” for him or his coaching.
Then I watched his press conference with Rod Blake and it got me pretty pumped. I was really impressed with how he carried himself and spoke with the media. It seemed clear to me that him and Blake are on the same page and have a plan of where this team needs to go and the types of players needed to get them there.
McLellan mentioned on a couple of occasions the importance of youth and speed, but also, the veterans being leaders, buying in on new ideas and the significance of “old dogs learning new tricks.”
There’s no doubt that Drew Doughty’s comments about this team lacking emotion were heard loud and clear by McLellan - as he remarked a couple times that he wants to restore this team’s identity of toughness and drive – even commenting that their cup runs were great examples of when a team, that might not be the most talented, comes together to find success through sheer will and determination.
I’m looking forward to seeing the moves they make this summer and how McLellan gets these guys on board with his philosophy and system.
What Do You Guys Want to See?
As we come into the home stretch before the draft and the awesomeness of the Free Agent Frenzy (less than a month to go), what do you guys think the Kings will do? What moves would you want to see?
I thought the rumor that broke a few days ago about LA and TOR potentially working on a deal involving Patrick Marleau was interesting…”Interesting” in a sense that a move like that would seem to go against some of the things McLellan was stressing in his presser. Marleau is a tremendous player, don’t get me wrong, but he’s 39 and had a pretty down year with the Leafs.
Initially the rumor was between the Kings and Leafs, but there have since been two other teams that have now entered the picture.
From Sportnet’s Nick Kypreos:
"It sounds like Marleau and the Leafs are set to part ways. The family is going to move back to San Jose. Patrick Marleau has made it clear to the Toronto Maple Leafs that he would like to get closer to his family once again, which means moving to the West Coast area. Some of the teams that are in the mix, I'm told, are Arizona, Colorado, the Los Angeles Kings."
Perhaps the idea is to reunite McLellan and Marleau, as they’re familiar with each other from their SJ days, and have Marleau mentor and teach the younger guys McLellan’s system?
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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