by Brandt Corbin
The LA Kings are on the upswing and there is no debating that. Terry Murray’s hockey club gave the Pacific division champion San Jose Sharks a run for their money. Most of the “experts” thought this series would be over in five games. In actuality the Sharks were fortunate not to be down 3-0 after game 3. But, of course we all know the Kings got beat in game six Monday night.
The impact that Anze Kopitar could have had will never be known, but there is absolutely no question he is the Kings best player offensively and defensively. He is so solid in both ends, he has to be considered one of the top ten overall players in the NHL.
Going into the off-season one can draw to the conclusion that Alexei Ponikarovsky has no chance in hell in coming back next year. Same question is being asked about Michael Handzus, does he want to return, and/or do the Kings want him back. The reason why the Kings could go without both veterans, are because of the Kings up and coming prospects. Andrei Loikionov, Brayden Schenn and Oscar Moller have to be given the chance to crack the team, and play top nine minutes as forwards. Loikinonov and Moller have the better chance to crack the top nine, both were given that chance this past season and played alright.
The emergence of the checking line of Brad Richardson, Kyle Clifford and Wayne Simmonds give the Kings a possible shut down line going forward into next year. During the first round, the “checking line” outscored the Sharks #1 line more than 2 to 1. Some experts thought Kevin Westgarth was a spare part going into the playoffs. In the regular season the enforcer had 3 assists in 57 games during the regular season, but in the playoffs he had 2 assists in 6 games. During the playoffs, Westgarth, was inserted in the line-up over Moller & Ponikarovsky and played an average of eight minutes a night. “He's been an important player” said Murray in regards to Westgarth’s play.
LA’s blueline will look very similar next year, of course led by Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson two blue chippers just heading into their prime. Rob Scuderi and Willie Mitchell are 3 & 4 going into next season, likely to be followed by Matt Greene and Alex Martinez. The Kings also have three prospects who might battle to get into the top six, with Vyacheslav Voynov being given the longest look (51 points in 76 games in AHL).
Number one netminder Jonathan Quick struggled badly in games 3-4, but was arguably the best player in games 1,2, 5 and 6. Allot of people are saying going into next year that backup Jonathan Bernier is going to challenge Quick for the #1 job. Having two potential number one goalies are a very nice option for the Kings, mainly because are very young and very cheap (less than 3 million per year). If one goalie were to standout it could lead down the line for one to be moved, and giving them a nice asset to strengthen the team elsewhere.
Are the Kings going to be the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks
When its all said and done, next years LA Kings are very similar to the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks in many ways. They’ve got plenty of depth up front, mixed in with skill, speed, size & toughness. Its the Kings have a solid top four defense and have solid goaltending. Also similar is the Kings have gotten into the playoffs the past two years and given San Jose & Vancouver a good run for there money.
This is what I mean. Kopitar is very much like Jonathan Toews, the Hawks had six 20 goal scorers, the Kings (including Dustin Penner) had the same amount of 20 goal scorers. The checking lines are very similar, both have skill but grit and toughness. Doughty and Johnson play very much like Seabrook & Keith, either or both of Bernier & Quick could be Niemi. The big advantage the Kings have that the Hawks did not, is cap space, the Kings likely will have 5-10 million in cap space for 2011.
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