Thumbs Up Thumps Down : LA Kings Edition

Do you know what time it is in the world? I’m asking DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW?!?! IT’S HOCKEY SEASON TIME!!!

Yes it’s true, it’s true. The 2017-18 NHL season is only 4 days away (as of this publication), and our Los Angeles Kings are about to enter ‘A New Dawn,” (hmm, that would make a great Star Wars title. I MUST CALL DISNEY!), with new head coach (and former Kings’ associate/assistant) coach John Stevens running the bench, along with new assistant coaches, former Stanley Cup Finalist Dave Lowry, former Spokane Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur, new ‘Offensive Coordinator’ Pierre Turgeon, plus new general manager and LA Kings’ LegendéHall of Famer Rob Blake, flanked by new assistant GM, long time Kings’ executive Mike Futa and legendary Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille, as the Kings’ president of all things Los Angeles Kings. (Man, that was a lot to write).

With both Darryl Sutter and Dean Lombardi being let go by the organization, the Kings are heading straight into unknown territory for the first time since the (not so) great collapse of 2006. Now with different personnel in various positions and a brand new game plan at play, it will be very interesting to see what Stevens and friends can bring to this team, that has been coasting rather lethargically since their 2014 Stanley Cup victory. But before the Kings even participate in a game that counts for the regular season, let’s see who gets a Thumbs Up or Down so far in this conquest of regaining glory. So without further ado, let`s do this!

THUMBS UP TO NEW GENERAL MANAGER ROB BLAKE FOR RE-SIGNING BOTH TANNER PEARSON AND TYLER TOFFOLI

 

After being spoon fed all last season that Lombardi was only going to be able to re-sign either Tanner Pearson OR Tyler Toffoli in the summer, due to the King’s struggles with the salary cap, most of us, myself included, had been preparing oursleves to say good-bye to one third of the famous “That ‘70’s Line,” and to curse the NHL and NHLPA for ever putting a salary cap in place to begin with! Then out of nowhere, with a classic real life ‘deus ex machina’ plot device, rookie GM Rob Blake easily and quickly re-signed BOTH players to cap friendly deals to save the day and actually provide us Kings’ fans with something we haven’t seen or heard for a few years, some good news! Toffoli got a 3 year deal with an AAV of $4.6 million while Tanner got a 3 year, $3.75 million AAV deal and you have to admit, that was one hell of a game winning goal by Blake there. Sure both Toffoli (who’s fiancé is from LA) and Pearson (who loves living in SoCal) wanted to stay with the Kings and were willing to ‘play puck’ during the negotiations to make that happen helps a whole lot, (yeah I’m looking at you Milan Lucic), but Blake was the one that got the deal done, so he gets a huge thumbs up. On top of that as a bonus, and due to some other roster moves and decisions Blake has made, the Kings actually now have some breathing room with the cap by having $8.4 million worth of space. I know right!?!? Job well done Blake… now just keep it up!

THUMBS UP TO THE KINGS BEING THE ONLY TEAM IN HOCKEY HISTORY TO BE UNDEFEATED IN CHINA

 

Okay, the beloved mascot of the LA Kings, Bailey came up with that line, which is both funny and true. To help build the sport of hockey in China, and help the organizers there practice setting games up well before the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics so they can be ready, the Kings and the Vancouver Canucks made the long flight to the cities of Shanghai and Beijing, to show everyone there what we already know. Hockey is the best damn sport in the world. I found following this trip a lot of fun, as we got to see the players and members of the organization go through an experience that they (or we) haven`t had before, (nothing beats good ‘ole Jim Fox plugging his own brand of wine on the Great Wall of China!), while defeating the Canucks in back to back games of 5-2 and 4-3 (in a shootout).

These games are only exhibition of course, and don’t count in the overall scheme of things, but this whole trip was a perfect bonding opportunity for our Kings’ players to share with each other, in hopes of rekindling some of that old magic and chemistry that has been missing for too long. Plus it makes the Canucks the only team in hockey history to have played in but never won a game in China and that’s fun to say.

THUMBS UP TO PLACING JORDAN NOLAN ON WAIVERS

 

This was only a matter of time. Nolan, has always been a divisive player in our eyes with one camp loving him for various reasons, (and there are many, from he’s such a nice guy, was a part of the 2012 & 2014 Stanley Cup winning Kings, did a lot for the greater Los Angeles community from Sick Children’s hospitals to those of the First Nation and more), to the other camp who have been on Nolan’s case since 2014, or even arguably 2013. I fall on the former camp. As nostalgic as we all can be with the romanticism of journeying back to the past, sometimes we need to kind of wake up and start seeing things for what they really are, and not what we wish them to be, or to be again, and that is that Jordan Nolan hasn’t really contributed anything of importance to the team, as a player on the ice for the Kings since 2013/14. He was just kind of there. I used to joke around (kind of) when I would say that I hoped that one of the trainers would place a piece of glass under Nolan`s nose just to see if it fogs up to indicate he is indeed breathing, and not some animated zombie.

I can already hear some of you say, But he sticks up for his teammates by fighting the enemy. Well, in all fairness, he only did that in spurts because he would pick his spots. And that’s fine, there is nothing wrong with that but let’s be real, he wasn’t the type of enforcer, say like Marty McSorley, who would get in someone’s face just for daring to skate beside Wayne Gretzky or Robitaille, let alone pick on them. Last year, opposing players were taking liberties at Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter throughout the season, forcing our star players to fend for themselves, (poor El Jefe tried but it was ugly and ugly and Jeff Carter is a rare mix of words), which increases the probability that they could get injured, (concussion, broken hand etc.), and what good is a star player if they are injured and can`t play because they had to fight? Both Andy Andreoff and Kyle Clifford would step in at times and give it a go, but where the heck was Nolan for most of the time? He was there and in those games, but was completely invisible. He probably didn’t even notice that Doughty and Carter needed some protection. Speaking of invisible, when was the last time that Nolan brought any energy on the ice while on our 4^th line? Isn’t that the one job that the 4^th line normally has, to bring some energy and spunk, and try to turn the tide of momentum whenever possible? To cause chaos for our opponents? Andreoff has serious problems in scoring goals at the NHL level, but his energy when playing makes it very hard for the opposing players to play properly against the Kings. He is always in their face and unrelenting. Colin Fraser was the same way. Nolan used to do that back in 2012 but that was a long time ago, and besides a few spurts of it last season, overall that fire has been long gone and it was time for a change. Even Sutter made mention of it last season, hinting that while Nolan was on injured reserve, he could get back in there and play if he wanted to. In other words, Nolan didn’t feel like playing.

No one, including myself can take away the fact that his contributions helped the Kings immensely to win that first Stanley Cup in 2012, as his youth, size and strength helped the Kings have a stronger presence along the wings. Nolan also has two Stanley Cup rings which will place and keep him in LA Kings’ history forever. Despite my criticisms, I am glad that the Buffalo Sabres claimed him from waivers, as one, it’s his father’s, the Jack Adams Trophy winning Ted Nolan’s old team that he used to coach (twice!), and two, Nolan is only about a 20 to 30 minute drive to his home of Garden River, Ontario, from Buffalo, NY, so that’s cool. He will also be playing with rising superstars like Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, as well as with Ryan O’Reilly. So Nolan will be more then fine. Like I said earlier, it was only a matter of time and that time has finally arrived to say good-bye. For those of you still sad that Nolan is gone, remember that him leaving now opens up a roster spot wide open for one of our Ontario Reign prospects to attain and have their opportunity, like Nolan did in 2012. You know, for someone like Michael Mersch!… no wait…. hmm, hold on now… wait a minute… oh dang it!!!

THUMBS DOWN TO PLACING FORWARD MICHAEL MERSCH ON WAIVERS

Well here we go again. Now is time to give this man a chance with the main team. And with Mersch now having to face waivers if the Kings choose to send him back to Ontario, I would have betted Sutter’s entire farm and more that this was FINALLY going to be the year that Mersch would earn a roster spot with LA, because who would want to risk putting a player like Mersch on waivers in September, where he would be easy pickings for any team that is still filling their roster to snatch up! And yet here we are, with Mersch being placed on waivers, which luckily for us, he cleared and is back with the Reign in Ontario. I honestly don’t get it. Why would Blake even take this risk when Jonny Brodzinski, (who for the record, I also like a lot and would like to see play regularly with the Kings as well), does NOT have to go through waivers when being sent down, meaning there is no risk of losing him, which is the exact unnecessary risk the Kings just put themselves in by placing Mersch on waivers. SMH.

Why not keep Mersch for 10 to 15 regular season games as his try out? If it works out, he stays. If it doesn’t, THEN you can put him on waivers at a time (like in late October or November), when most teams already have their rosters set and don’t need to add a Michael Mersch to their team. Then you could bring Brodzinski back up (no waivers) and give him a go. I feel this risk Blake and co. was a massive gamble, and it only worked because they got lucky.

So what keeps holding Mersch back? I understand that he isn’t the best skater, and moves a bit slow, but it isn’t like free agent signing (and former LA King) Mike Cammaleri is a speed demon out there either. But unlike Cammi, who is 35 years old, Mersch is only 24 years old, and has stalemated in his development in the AHL since he helped our Manchester Monarchs win the Calder Cup in 2015, (because he is hitting his head on their ceiling). In other words, Mersch has outgrown the AHL and now needs to move up to the highest step of the NHL to progress and improve to get to that next level as a player, but he just doesn’t get that chance. Sure last season, the Kings did finally call up some players from the Reign, such as Brodzinski, Adrian Kempe and defensemen Kevin Gravel and Paul LaDue and unfortunately, it was shortly after Mersch sustained a knee injury so he completely missed out on his call up, but there should not have been any excuses for him not making the King`s roster out of this year’s preseason camp.

Mersch is 6”2” and 200 pounds of a power forward who isn’t afraid to get into combat with opposing goaltenders and defenders when battling for space and the puck in front of the net. His whole strength is that he likes to screen the goalie by standing right in front of him without fear and likes to deflect shots into the net that are coming in from the point, or to tap in rebounds, or play in ‘Gretzky’s office”, (behind the net) for wraparound or playmaking opportunities. Which are strategic attributes that the Kings have not enjoyed in years. I do agree that Mersch needs to improve his skating, and also needs to add more muscle mass to his torso, so he doesn’t get shoved around and off the puck as easily as he has been this preseason. There is an obvious size and strength difference when you compare the AHL to the NHL, and what works perfectly in the AHL may not work as well at the NHL level. Honestly, if he hasn’t fixed that part of his game in all of these years he has been playing in the AHL, another trip to Ontario isn’t going to help him either. He needs to stay with the Kings so he can learn how to adapt and improve his game by playing every day at the NHL level, against NHL players, and I’m sorry, playing in preseason games are not a proper presentation, or testing ground for playing at the actual NHL level. At least when it comes to Mersch, and how far out he is in his development right now. He needs regular season games and he needs them now. So since Mersch luckily passed through waivers safely, which keeps him in the Kingdom, I am going to quote the legendary singer and song writer, John Lennon, when he sang, “All we are saying, is give Mersch a chance!” Well, that’s not how the song goes but YOU GET THE POINT! Let him play for a while and let`s see what happens!

MVP of the Week – Kurtis MacDermid

 

This 6’5’ beast is kicking ass and taking names, and probably just cost Kevin Gravel his roster spot on the Kings as the 7^th defensemen, and rightfully so. I am really looking forward to seeing what he can bring to Los Angeles. Think Matt Greene, but younger and as a giant!

Feel Good Story of the Week – Brooks Laich

There were a lot of candidates for F.G.S.o.f.t.W., but I felt Laich deserved the praise for this article after scoring the overtime game winner for Los Angeles against the Vegas Golden Knights. At 34 years old, and after 13 seasons in the NHL, the former Washington Capital and Toronto Maple Leaf, Brooks Laich isn’t going to have too many more opportunities to make something special happen in the big leagues. So it was so awesome to see him get the game winning goal in overtime, forever placing him in Las Vegas hockey history as the guy who scored the winning goal against them, that beat them in their first ever home game in Las Vegas, at the T-Mobile Arena, while wearing the armor of the Los Angeles Kings! Congrats and well done Laich!

Alright so there you have it! My first Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down article for the new season. Do you agree with my choices and points? Do you disagree? Who would get your Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down, or your MVP, or Feel Good Story of the Week? Let us know in the comments below.

Until next time Kings’ fans, I have been JD Stylz, and I am out of there!

GO KINGS GO!!!

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!

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