Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down : LA Kings Edition

By Jeff Duarte
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Updated: March 12, 2016

Guess who’s back with a long overdue attack? That’s right, it’s me and by popular demand I have brought back the LA Kings’ edition of my THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN column. So without making you wait any further (unlike the Star Wars sequels), let’s get right to it!

THUMBS UP TO JEFF CARTER FOR ACHIEVING 300 CAREER GOALS (AND FOR DOING IT WITH STYLE!)

(Photo credit to the Los Angeles Kings)

With his goal production being in a slump, Coach Darryl Sutter decided to bump up his “second line” Center Jeff Carter up to the “first” line to play on Anze Kopitar‘s right-wing. The result was instant magic. Playing against the division rival Vancouver Canucks and losing the long-held first place spot in the Pacific Division to the Anaheim Ducks (more on that later), Carter led the way for a 2 goal performance that helped lead the Kings to victory in a 5-1 win. The two goals by Carter were the 299th and 300th of his successful career. Not done with being a superhero, Carter also scored the game winning goal in overtime against the NHL points leading (and very dangerous) Washington Capitals. Carter was also selected (along with Drew Doughty) to the Canadian National Team for the upcoming “Best on Best” World Cup of Hockey so it has really been one super productive week for “Carts.” Word has it that Team Canada and Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock (along with Team Canada and LA Kings’ assistant general manager Rob Blake) were very adamant in bringing back Carter to the national team after his strong performance during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. On behalf of CaliSports News, we would like to congratulate “El Jefe” on his (always) impressive accomplishments! Whether it is playing Center, Right Wing, Left Wing or Defense (as in penalty killing or back checking) there isn’t anything this guy can’t do!

THUMBS UP TO TRADING FOR KRIS VERSTEEG AND ROB SCUDERI

(Photo credit to Geddy Images)

Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman pulled off an amazing move last season by taking full advantage of a loophole in the current CBA agreement involving the salary cap. This was a move that ended up improving the team’s depth and helping the Hawks win the Stanley Cup for the third time in six seasons. What he did was so simple yet completely brilliant that I found it mind-boggling that no one really took full advantage of this loophole before him. What he did was put his injured star Patrick Kane on long-term injured reserve for the rest of the season. Now completely shutting down an important player that is believed to have recovered from their initial injury for the rest of the season for any team is mostly unheard of, but you see a player’s contract, no matter how large and expensive it is, is no longer officially counted on the salary cap against the team when that player is placed on LTIR. That means some such much-needed cap space just opened right up and this allowed Bowman to add players at the trade deadline to strengthen his team. “Well how about when Kane returns in the playoffs? Won’t his annual cap hit go back on the cap, and then wouldn’t the extra players put the Hawks illegally over the salary cap ceiling,” you may ask? The answer is no because the salary cap only counts during the regular season! (BOOM!) It has no bearing at all during the playoffs, so Chicago was able to bring Kane back from the LTIR for game 1 of the playoffs AND keep the new players they added at the trade deadline! Like I said, it was brilliant!

One person who was definitely paying attention to what Bowman was doing was no other than LA Kings’ GM and student of the game, Dean Lombardi. When forward Marian Gaborik went down (painfully) to injury against the New York Rangers, this opened an opportunity for Lombardi to add some depth to his salary cap strapped team. Gaborik was shut down for the rest of the season and placed on LTIR and with the newly freed cap space, Lombardi traded for 2 time Stanley Cup Champion (and 2 time former Chicago Blackhawk) Kris Versteeg from the Carolina Hurricanes and brought back home to LA, the beloved and gutsy veteran defenseman (and also a 2 time Stanlcy Cup Champion) Rob Scuderi! (Yes, “Scuds” is back or as I love to call him, “Scudinator 2 : Judgment Day! Get it? As in the great film and the unstoppable characters from Terminator 2 : Judgement Day but definitely not as in the horrible sequel Terminator : Genisys or the disappointing Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines! YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!)

Now I have to admit that bringing “Scuds” back to LA surprised me and almost caught me off guard as much as finding out that the LA Kings were doing business with their “potential” Conference Final opponent the Chicago Blackhawks, but after talking to my colleagues and thinking deeply about this topic, the more I’m started to reallllllly love this move. My initial concerns were due to Scuderi’s (advanced hockey) age of 37 years old, and the fact that he couldn’t cut it with both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Hawks this season due to what seemed to be the wear and tear of playing a tough and physical style of a “stay at home” defenseman that he has been for his entire career and it had finally caught up to him. But if I had learned anything from Lombardi bringing the so-called (according to the Philadelphia press and fan base)”over the hill, useless, bum,” Vincent Lecavalier, a move to Los Angeles and to the style of system that the team plays under Coach Sutter may have just been what the doctor has ordered for “Scuds.” Add the fact that with Scuderi, the Kings knew exactly what they were getting and vice-versa, this match seemed like a perfect fit, (and let’s be honest here, Brayden McNabb just wasn’t cutting it for some time and Christian Ehrhoff sadly wasn’t the right fit for this team (or the Ontario Reign).

With 6 games with the Kings already under his belt (as of this writing), Scuderi already has 2 assists, (and trust me, that’s Jaromir Jagr like numbers if you’re familiar with how many points Scuderi normally gets in that time frame), while also helping the Kings re-stabilize their defense and has brought back a much-needed boost of old school (as in 2012 is now considered old school LA Kings) leadership and experience to the locker room after the departures of Willie Mitchell, Jarret Stoll, Justin Williams and Mike Richards, (more on “Stick” and “Rick” later).

Versteeg is a versatile and reliable player that helps add more depth and experience to the forward lines, which will only get stronger with the eventual return of Gaborik (hopefully) by playoff time. He hasn’t scored a goal yet as a King but he has been impressive with his overall game play and fantastic attitude, (plus huge props to him for getting involved in the brawl against the Ducks! There is probably no greater way to bond with your new teammates than with going to war along side them against a hated enemy!)

The Kings are all in this season to make another play at winning the Stanley Cup before their salary cap issues rears its ugly head again on July 1st. Of course it won’t be easy, (well duh) but the added depth and experience of proven winners like Scuderi and Versteeg to the team can only help the cause and the mission in the end.

THUMBS DOWN TO THE ANAHEIM DUCKS CATCHING UP WITH THE KINGS AND OVERTAKING FIRST PLACE IN THE PACIFIC DIVISION

(Photo credit to @PR_NHL)

I had said this in a couple of articles here for CaliSports News, as well as a guest on certain podcasts that the Ducks were too good of a team to be playing as bad as they were playing during the first half of this season. With the Pacific Division no longer being the murderer’s row that it had been for the last few years, as poorly as the Ducks had been, they were only a winning streak away from reaching and securing a playoff position. What I didn’t see coming was an 11 game winning streak which included two victories over the Kings (which the last one ruined my Oscar night) and a 18-1 1 record since the beginning of the new calendar year before the Ducks overtook the Kings for first place. Ouch. The Kings were ahead by as much as 16 points of the Ducks back in January but a slump and inconsistent scoring issues (what else is new?) pushed the Kings into a tailspin while the Ducks went on a serious tear through the NHL. With the end of the regular season schedule looking the way it does, the Kings seem to have the harder path (WHAT ELSE IS ALSO NEW?) than the Ducks do so don’t be surprised if the Ducks take the Pacific Division title once again … but don’t fret Kings’ fans, this may not be a bad thing.

First of all, the Ducks were one game away from making the Stanley Cup Final last year and were the heavy favorites to win the division before the season started. The fact they collapsed so fast and hard during the first half was only a bonus to the Kingdom and a shock to the rest of the league. Eventually the Ducks were going to bounce back and they did.

Second, the goal of the Kings this season wasn’t to win a division title. It was to make it back into the playoffs after the bizarro season they suffered last year so they could have another chance at winning the Stanley Cup. That is the only goal. Division titles are nice but they mean nothing, (just ask any San Jose Sharks fan!). The Kings have only won one division title in their almost 50 year playing history and that was way back in 1991 in the old Smythe Division of the old Clearance Campbell Conference with some dudes by the name of Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake playing for the team.

Captain Dustin Brown said it best in an interview in 2014 (and I’m paraphrasing) that it isn’t about how many banners that you have, what’s important is WHICH banners you have!

I believe the Kings are better off finishing the season in second place. Let the Ducks take on the new murderer’s row of the Central Division in the first round because I really like the Kings’ chances against the more familiar San Jose Sharks to start things off in the first round of a seven game series. Plus second place gets you home ice advantage for the first round series and “IF” the Kings do happen to face the Ducks in the second round, home ice wouldn’t factor at all anyway.

So Thumbs Down to the Kings losing some major ground to the Ducks and losing first place (though the Kings right now as of this writing have regained the top spot). Winning the division would be nice, but it’s not the mission and never was.

THUMBS UP TO THE RETURN HOME OF JUSTIN WILLIAMS AND MIKE RICHARDS, THE KINGS AND THEIR FANS

(Photo credit to Kings.NHL.com)

Last Wednesday, the Washington Capitals came to town and brought with them some well-known faces in “Mr. Game 7/Stick/Clutch” Justin Williams and “Richie/Rick” Mike Richards. Both players of course were major factors in the Kings winning the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup but both left under very different but sad circumstances.

Williams, the 2014 Conn Smythe trophy winner, started out as a King in 2009 after being traded from the Hurricanes (who he won the Stanley Cup with in 2006). His first few years with the Kings were tough and disappointing as he was constantly injured and dubbed as “injury prone” within the Kingdom. In time, Williams finally got healthy and turned his reputation around by providing one “clutch” playoff performance after another, solid leadership and inspiration to his teammates and by showing kindness with a mighty touch of class off of the ice. Williams then became beloved and adored by the Kings’ faithful while reaching the well deserved upper echelon of a LA Kings’ LEGEND. Due to the salary cap issues that the Kings were (and still are) suffering from, Williams left as an unrestricted free agent last summer and (inexpensively) signed on with the “Caps.”

Richards on the other hand, was traded to the Kings in a controversial blockbuster trade in 2011 from Philadelphia and was instantly loved and respected by those in the Kingdom. A winner at every level (by winning the 2003 Memorial Cup, 2005 World Junior Gold Medal, 2006 Calder Cup and 2010 Olympic Gold Medal), Richards instantly changed the culture of the Kings’ locker room from a “if we just make the playoffs we were successful” mindset to the more important and ambitious “winning the Stanley Cup is the only thing that matters” mindset. Evidence of his influence was evident during the first few games of the 2012 playoffs against the Presidents Trophy winning Canucks when Richards showed off his fierce competitive nature by scoring goals, smashing any opponent that dared move in his direction and never giving up on any play he was involved with. Without Richards coming to LA, I truly believe the Kings would never have won that first Stanley Cup in 2012, therefore they would never have won the second one either in 2014.

As we all know, the good times didn’t last. By 2014, Richards’ play had dropped so dramatically that he was brought down to be the “4th” line Center. By 2015, he was being waved to play in the minors and by July his contract was being terminated (not Terminator 2 : Judgment Day) by Lombardi after he found out that Richards had been arrested at the Canadian border after smuggling the illegal painkiller Oxycodin. We all know how that played out.

My THUMBS UP goes to not only the return visit home by Williams and Richards and everything they did to help the Kings become a 2 time Stanley Cup Champion and one of the elite organizations of the NHL, but also to the Kings’ organization for the beautiful video tributes that they created for them (as they did for “Stolly” when he returned earlier this season) and to also the Kings’ fans in attendance for that game at the Staples Center that gave both players an amazing standing ovation!

The ovation and response to “Mr. Game 7” was expected of course but I was curious to see what the response to Richards would be after all that had happened with his divorce from the team. I was so relieved and proud that Richards was praised immediately when he took his first shift in that game. Regardless of how things ended with both of these players as LA Kings, the contributions they provided, along with the blood, sweat and tears that both of these warriors spilled out on that ice and on their own Kings’ armor for the sake of the team and for us, should always be respected, praised and forever remembered. After this game, I happily realized that I had nothing to worry about (and should have known better) because they will. I salute you fellow Kings’ fans!

MVP

Who else but Jeff Carter!

(Photo credit to NHL.com)

Okay Kings’ fans, what did you think of my THUMBS UP and THUMB DOWN selections? Who would you have picked for your own THUMBS UP and THUMBS DOWN and who would you pick as your MVP? Let us know in the comments below! GO KINGS GO!!!

*Props to Lindsey Jones of LAJ93 Productions for the awesome featured picture she created.

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time!