Los Angeles Kings

Stoll Signing Confirmed

Reported again earlier today at Sportsnet.ca, looks like Jaret Stoll has indeed agreed to a 4 year deal worth $14.4 Million.

News of the signing is also up on the Kings’ homepage at http://www.lakings.com.

An official statement from the team should come later today.

-JS

Stoll Signed…Or Is He?

AM 1260 in Edmonton is reporting that the Kings have signed Center Jaret Stoll to a 4 year deal at 3.1-3.4 million a year.

Nobody from the Kings has made a statement about this yet, waiting on an official announcement from the team.

Stay Tuned
-JS

Waiting games for RFA’s

One thing most certainly on the minds of many King fans is the status of unsigned RFA’s Patrick O’Sullivan and Jaret Stoll. The long wait with little word has made a few people nervous, especially with the KHL lingering on the horizon in Russia and a lot of trade rumors, albeit unsubstantiated swirling around.

O’Sullivan, who scored 22 goals and had 31 assists in 82 games in 2007-08, is considered a part of the teams young core and at 23 is thought to have considerable upside and potential. He was acquired from Minnesota in the trade that sent Pavol Demitra to the Wild. It’s safe to assume that O’Sullivan’s agent is looking for a big payday for his client. It’s also safe to assume that the Kings are trying to avoid having to overpay for his services. As training camp nears it’ll be interesting to see what transpires.

Stoll, acquired this offseason along with defenseman Matt Greene in the Lubomir Visnovsky trade, had 14 goals and 22 assists in 81 games for Edmonton last season. He is expected to fill the second line center role that Michal Handzus failed to seize last season. Stoll plays a good two way game and is excellent on face offs. He’s already a Los Angeles resident and recently married model/actress Rachel Hunter.

I had a bit of an expectation that the Kings would be announcing the signings of these two players today after the Labor Day holiday in the States, but another day passed without comment on any negotiations with these players.

Should we worry? Most likely not. While missing out on UFA’s like Brad Stuart, Rob Blake (both retreads anyway) and Brooks Orpik; and the excruciating wait for O’Sullivan and Stoll to sign new contracts has prompted some fans and members of the press to claim that the sky is falling, I don’t believe it to be the case. Kings management knows the value of both of these players. GM Dean Lombardi gave up assets for both of them. Neither will leave LA unless there’s something of at least equal value coming back.

Expect to see both men signed and at training camp when the veterans arrive in El Segundo on the 22nd of this month, just less than three weeks away.

The only real news to report for today is the invitation of 20 year old Calgary Hitmen (WHL) goalie Marty Jones. This was reported both by the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun today.

Rich Hammond also reported in his Inside The Kings blog that former Kings associate coach Mike Johnston, who was considered a prime candidate for the Kings head coach job now occupied by Terry Murray, is about to be named the head coach and general manager of the WHL’s Portland Winter Hawks.

-JS

Goalies - The Race For Number One

In the minds of many hockey fans and observers, many analysts and columnist, the biggest question regarding the Los Angeles Kings is simple: Who’s going to be in goal?

Forty Years. That’s how long the Kings have been in existence without developing a number one goalie. The closest thing to a homegrown number one stopper the team has seen it it’s history was Mario Lessard, who’s career was short lived, spanning only from 1978-79 to 1983-84. General Manager Dean Lombardi made it one of his primary objectives upon taking over for the Kings to develop a number one goalie rather than sacrificing valuable assets to acquire one. As training camp approaches, the time nears for one of a handful of promising young goalies to emerge from the pack as a legitimate, number one guy.

In 2007-08 the lion’s share of work in the Kings net belonged to Jason LaBarbera. While LaBarbera had brilliant moments, it’s fair to say that his performance overall was less than awe inspiring, posting a 17-23-2 record with a goals against average of 3.00 and a save percentage of 91% over 45 games. 6 other goalies spent time in goal for LA as well: veterans Dan Cloutier (since bought out by the club) and Jean-Sebastien Aubin, and rookies Jonathan Bernier, Jon Quick, Erik Ersberg and Daniel Taylor.

Bernier, the team’s inaugural draft pick under Lombardi’s tenure, chosen 11th overall in 2006, took the team by storm in training camp and was the opening day starter, wining his debut over then defending champion Anaheim (still hurts to say that) in London, England with a 26 save performance that earned him first star of the game. Alas, after sustaining losses to St. Louis, Boston and Detroit at home, Bernier was returned to his junior team in Lewiston, Maine in effort to prevent his confidence from being scrapped behind a porous Kings defense.

The Kings then went with the tandem of LaBarbera and Aubin for a stretch, with rookie Jon Quick surfacing for a couple games while LaBarbera was out injured. Eventually LaBarbera returned, Quick was sent back to Manchester of the AHL as was Aubin in favor of the much maligned Cloutier. LaBarbera suffered a season ending sports hernia injury soon thereafter, making way for 2006-07 Swedish Elite league goalie of the year Erik Ersberg, who stole the reigns from Cloutier as he struggled yet again. When Cloutier went down with injury, Daniel Taylor got a chance to back up Ersberg and eventually appear in his first NHL game as well.

Of all the goalies used in the 2007-08 campaign, Ersberg was by far the most consistant and most impressive, stealing wins and posting a pair of shutouts in his 14 games played. He re-upped with the club for the upcoming season just a couple of months ago.

It’s expected that LaBarbera and Ersberg will be the Kings 1-2 punch for the 2008-09 season. The team is reportedly impressed with LaBarbera’s off season conditioning program (an area considered suspect previously) and feels he is ready to emerge. Ersberg is setting out to prove that his performance at season’s end last year was no fluke. But, don’t be surprised if one of more of the kids in the system places a difficult decision on Kings management.

Bernier is back with the experience of having played for Canada at the World Junior Championships and then joining Manchester of the AHL for their stretch run and playoffs. He has stated publically that his goal is to stay in LA all year. Being the most highly touted of the Kings prospects, one wouldn’t be surprised if Bernier is sent to Manchester to play a ton of games while the Kings’ young defense corps gets some on the job training, but he is certainly capable of stepping in and winning the job outright in camp just as he did last year, but with another year of experience behind him. He looked like a man among boys at the Kings’ prospect and development camp in July of this year, even more impressive when you consider that the other keepers there aren’t exactly slouches themselves.

Joining Bernier in the Kings system will be former NCAA Standout Jeff Zatkoff from Detroit, who had a banner year for Miami University of Ohio in 2007-08 and left school a year early to turn pro. Zatkoff, who was also a 2006 draft choice for the Kings, may be a rung down the development ladder from Bernier but is considered to have excellent potential and should see lot of playing time at either the AHL or ECHL level this season.

Jonathan Quick and Daniel Taylor also return, having split much of 2007-08 between Manchester of the AHL and Reading of the ECHL. Both were outstanding in stretches, with Quick helping to lead the Monarchs push to the AHL playoffs. This is the type of “learning to win” experience that Lombardi values in his young players and Quick could challenge for a spot on the big club with a great camp. Taylor is considered more of an organizational long shot but the native of England looked great as a minor pro last season. Young Linden Rowat, a 5th round choice of the Kings in 2007, will likely return to his junior team in Regina, Saskatchewan for another season.

With the type of organizational depth the Kings have in net, there is, for a change enthusiasm that one can emerge to lead the Kings to success in the near future. While the Vets may play this season to backstop a team that will largely be kids, the current stable of prospects brings hope that one will emerge as the rest of the team grows into it’s future potential. The only worry is how to get them all enough playing time!

If you’re the Kings, this is a quality problem.

-JS

(Photo taken by the author)

Do Not Be Fooled

This offseason has been one of restlessness for Kings fans. With no activity on the free agent market thus far (they did make a play to bring back Brad Stuart and made a big play for Brooks Orpik that both failed), many are speculating as to what the Kings are up to next. If you have a sense of humor, some of it is pure comedy. If you don’t (or even if you do) it can be maddenning wading through the mess of rumors.

Last offseason it was Andrew Raycroft. Even after GM Dean Lombardi had given a statement that the team had no interest in the goaltender, it seemed like many bloggers and columnists based on the east coast or in Canada were certain the wilted Leaf would land in LA.

This offseason the rumors are too many to count, and many of them border on asinine. Kopitar traded in a 3 way deal that accquires Martin Gerber for LA. Kopitar and O’ Sullivan to the Rangers for Gomez. O’ Sullivan to Minnesota or to Montreal, or to Atlanta for Kari Lehtonen.

Most fans who follow the team even casually know that none of these have a chance of happenning, but it doesn’t stop the madness. Message boards and blogsites everywhere are getting in on the hype. It’s a little but funny and a little bit annoying at the same time.

Anze Kopitar is not going anywhere. Patrick O’ Sullivan will get a deal from the Kings that will keep him in LA for awhile. These are things that, barring a miracle, you can be pretty confident of.

Deals that could happen realistically: I’ve seen St. Louis Defenseman Jay McKee’s name posted by a pretty reliable source, and I’ve heard substantiated rumors about Lombardi trying to pry Francois Beauchemin and/or Mathieu Schneider from Anaheim. All three fit the veteran Defenseman mold that the team is in need of at the present time. If a deal for any of the above players is made, don’t expect Lombardi to give up too much. The organization is deep enough in prospects and draft picks that they have some room to play, but Lombardi has also stated that these assets are better held onto for times when the team needs to fill a hole or two. That doesn’t sound like this season, does it?

The Khabibulin rumor is catching fire again due to tsn.ca’s Insider speculation. Here’s why it doesn’t make much sense though: The Kings goaltending depth is already a logjam. We know at the very least that Jonathan Bernier, Erik Ersberg, Jason LaBarbera, Jeff Zatkoff, Jonathan Quick and Daniel Taylor will be pros for the upcoming season. Two of the affore mentioned will be Kings, two more will be with the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL, and the remaining two likely with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign. If the Kings were to make a play to acquire Khabibulin, all of the sudden you’ve got a prospect with no place to play. Easy solution is to send either LaBarbera or Ersberg to Chicago in return…until you factor in that aside from salary cap issues, Chicago would like to move the “Bulin Wall” to make room for promising youngster Corey Crawford. That plus the fact that Lombardi has gone on record as saying he doesn’t believe that Khabibulin is much of an upgrade (debatable I know) over the current crop and this deal is unlikely to happen.

When reading rumors on the net, don’t be fooled. If it seems ridiculous, it probably is!

Speaking of the goalies, I’ll have some in depth thoughts and analysis on that touchy subject in my next post. Stay tuned.

-JS

Introduction

Hi All. Just wanted to give a quick introduction of myself. I’ve been a King fan since before the Gretzky days (I guess that makes me a glutton for punishment, right?). I’ve been as frustrated as anyone with the team’s recent lack of success, but I believe the team is finally doing things right.

Many thanks to David for allowing me to be a contributor here. Hope those of you who read will enjoy my work.

-Jeremy Smith

Coming Soon

We are currently looking for contributors to contribute to this and other team blogs. If you operate a blog focusing on this team and are interested in moving your blog to this location or if you are interested in becoming a contributor to this blog please send an e-mail to david (at) hockeyanalysis.com. Thank-you.