LA Times: "Coach Wants More From Kings Top Line"

Well, here's MY headline:

FAN WANTS MORE FROM KINGS COACH...

More than ELEVEN SECONDS....

Eleven seconds is what I got last night, from Patrick O'Sullivan on the Kings powerplay. And, to make matters worse, I had to endure those eleven seconds with him sharing the ice with Wayne Simmonds... COME ON ASSHOLE, what the hell is wrong with you? Are you SERIOUSLY trying to win a hockey game that was clearly within your grasp? Granted, J.S. Giguere was lights out and terrific the entire game, but you had Kyle Calder bumbling his way through over three minutes of power play time that could have been better spent with O'Sullivan's occasional flair for the offensive (and I mean that in a GOOD way.) While Calder had the puck a good 3 inches from the goal line and still couldn't figure out how to tap it into the net, O'Sullivan sat nailed to the bench while his even strength linemate Brian Boyle got just a shade under two minutes of time with the man advantage, and newly installed right wing (DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS NONSENSE) Peter Harrold spent almost four minutes at the point on whatever "second unit," Murray threw out there. Hell, Michal Handzus, who I swear will spend 25 consecutive pointless games (literally and figuratively) got over four and a half minutes on the PP.

I'm beating the O'Sullivan drum, and I don't believe he's playing the role of malcontent. I think Murray is just making BAD decisions.

And, in the dead horse department: Parros and May were both injured... did we really need to see Raitis Ivanans in a uniform? Doesn't he have a suit he needs to model for the press box? You want a guy who will "bang bodies" for 7 or 8 meaningless shifts that MIGHT know what to do with the puck if it accidentally lands on his stick? I'm voting for Derek Armstrong, who, as useless as he's been in so many more important situations over the last umpteen years (so it seems) --- the guy has channeled Don Kozak this year, and has been willing to skate from east to west, north to south and hit anyone. That would have done just fine last night. Instead we saw Ivanans out there with FIVE minutes left in a scoreless game... and then again with TWO minutes left in a scoreless game. Poll the other 29 coaches in the NHL... How many of them would put this deep freezer on skates on the ice in those two situations? Poll the other 29 coaches in the NHL... How many of them would let a gifted and intuitive forward like Patrick O'Sullivan rot on the bench during the myriad of power play time the Kings accumulated last night?

Falling short of saying I miss Marc Crawford, I still say that even he wouldn't have callously screwed the fans out of some potential entertainment in lieu of the mysterious lump of crap that he went back to the well with time and time again last night.

after reading Hammond's blog about today's practice...

It's wearing thin, honestly. This daily game of mix and match... and really, it all doesn't much matter because the team isn't very good... certainly not as good as most of the teams they have played, regardless of line matchups, shots on goal, shots against, etc.

The goaltender is a below average NHL netminder, who can't handle the puck, period. The rebounds are juicy, his stick handling is absurdly pathetic, and honestly, if there wasn't a Doughty, or an O'Donnell, or a Quincey back there to swoop away rebounds, he'd look every bit as exposed as he did when it was Stuart, Modry, Dallman and the like.

This constant juggling of the forwards in some pseudo-reward system is just boring. I like Terry Murray, mainly because I loathed Marc Crawford, and had worn tired of Andy Murray and was embarrassed to say I was a season ticket holder for a team coached by John Torchetti. But this crap is goofy... all this "I never saw O'Sullivan play, so I don't know what he can do..." or some of his other stock answers are just ridiculous. You don't set people up to fail. That's all I've seen him do with O'Sullivan at even strength all season. Boyle doesn't hit... yeah, I get that. Boyle is 7 feet tall and weighs 630 pounds, yeah, I get that... so what is it about Boyle's game that you DO like enough to put him on the team and not put him in Manchester? OK then, Coach... live with it, and work him in within that framework. Richardson has won 61% of his draws... That might seem boring and useless to you, but I've been watching a Kings team that hasn't won 50% of their draws in a decade. He has value. Armstrong sucked when he was relied on for 16 minutes a game. You figured out a way to make him less offensive (in more ways than one) in 7 minutes a game, and then you bench him. Ivanans seems to have naked pictures of you, because he plays constantly, doesn't fight, barely hits, and skates and stick handles like he belongs on the Food Network, not the NHL Network. Why do we need to see him constantly? Simmonds is way overmatched, game in and game out. He doesn't win battles, shoots from the perimeter, and adds nothing to the "magic" that is the 3-6-1 LA Kings... Oh, he's black... You and I both know that's not why he's here, so let him go play in Manchester and learn the pro game. Manchester is sucking worse than the Kings so it's not like there's much down there to ravage.

And DO NOT get me started on Peter Harrold playing right wing. That was worst than last year when Crawford put Kevin Dallman at CENTER!!!!! Oh, and by the way, Dallman is the Mike Green of the KHL... 22 games, 12 goals, 8 assists... maybe not the litmus test for all NHL 7th defenseman rejects, but he's doing it... and doing it as well as he could have done here if Crawford had not screwed with his head so much.

I'd MUCH rather have Dallman than Harrold... I'd much rather have Maude, than Harrold.

I'd much rather post this to MY blog than this one :) But then NO ONE would read it :)

Don't expect a win vs. the Ducks on Tuesday, so please start LaBarbera. I don't want you to set Ersberg up to fail the way you so eloquently have done with Moulson, O'Sullivan, Calder, and just about every other forward over the first 10 games of the season (Moller being an exception.)

Proof? Just go back and read this blog. Every friggin practice it's something new, and some dumb comment attached to it that supposedly justifies this reward/punish system. You're not God... you're a hockey coach, coaching players that are just good enough to be bad enough to lose in the NHL. Get over it.

I know, I know, I have forwards to write about

but I've been travelling, and my soujourn began and ended in Nashville, TN. --- a beautiful city that is akin to time travel in many ways.

Last night I had the opportunity to attend the non-televised Kings v. Preds game at the Sommet Center. The crowd was loud and actually very into the game, and well they should have been --- at least for the first 15 minutes, and the last 15 minutes. That middle section was (for a Preds fan) akin to listening to an Enya CD...

So, first I want to say that I really like the arena. Very bright, great sightlines, lots of energy, a far better jumbotron than Staples, and free programs that actually have useful information!

It was apparent from the opening faceoff that the Kings were flat. Nashville just swarmed and by the time they scored their first goal, I was pretty sure they should have had three... and soon they did. So, while Labarbara exited for Ersberg, and Terry Murray thought that just maybe that third goal could have been stopped, there was no way I was faulting the guy I always fault in goal for the Kings. He was swarmed, beleagured and ransacked, and left to the mercy of non-household names like Hornqvist, Ward and Jones...

As the shot clock read 15-2, I was pretty sure it was going to be a tough comeback for a team that had played a perfect road game the night before. Three goals in a little more than three minutes, and two power play goals against a Kings team that had reigned supreme in their previous 28 attempts to start the season.

By mid-second period, as the shot tide had turned, the Kings found the Preds on their heels and Patrick O'Sullivan took matters into his own hands and fed Jarret Stoll for a shot Ellis initially stopped but left a nice juicy rebound for him to bang home and get the Kings motivated and back in the game. Sully started the play that led to Stoll's second goal, and as we headed to the concourse after two, it was clear we had a game. I know, the scoreboard dictates the obvious, but this new-look Kings team has the kind of tenacity that really does make you believe comebacks can happen.

Meanwhile, Ersberg might as well have been a cardboard standup for much of his time in the nets to that point. The Preds mustered just two shots in the second period, and I believe Ersberg saw only two in the final seven minutes of the first, so once again, we had no idea if he was going to be a saviour (save-iour) or not...

A double minor to Legwand towards the end of the second period gave the Kings ample opportunity to tie the score, but Ellis stood strong. A few good chances, but no goals through the first half of the third, and then with a little more than a blink of an eye, it was offensive popguns Jerred Smithson, the baby-faced assassin that played a couple dozen completely invistible games for the Kings back when he was a fetus, and Jordin Tootoo, who thanks to a train whistle that is sold on the concourse, creates a frenzy every time he touches the puck (toot toooooot) --- the Kings and Ersberg found themselves down by 3 with just about seven minutes to go.

I should point out that while I was cheering for the Kings and shouting the occasional encouragement to them, it was not without reservation that I refrained from yelling "KOPI --- you're face is on milk cartons all over LA ---" because aside from the occasional neutral zone to blue line carry of the puck through two defenders, he really did a whole lotta nothing --- despite two assists on the scoresheet. Granted, neither Moulson nor Calder has done much to deflect the attention away from Kopitar, but it's not been easy to watch our new 7 million dollar manchild do a whole lotta Handzus.

Speaking of Handzus... so much has been said about his resurgence this season, but I'm placing even money on waking up one day and saying "Holy crap, that slug has 4 points in his last 25 games" at SOME point in the season...

Finally, this is the second arena I have gone to where I have come to the conclusion that BLACK netting is SO MUCH BETTER when you are sitting in the arena between the blue lines. I can't say for sure that it's SO MUCH WORSE if you are looking through it, but in both this instance, and an instance last season in Philly, I was amazed to realize at some point that there WAS netting... With the white, it's immediately obtrusive. (and I sit in 210 at Staples, so I look through white netting for the most part.)

Five games in the books

and what have we learned from the 2-3-0 Kings?

That this is a team that will not quit.

That this is a team that will not win, because of below NHL standard goaltending.

That this is a team that will play in front of sparse crowds.

That this is a team that is perhaps the most likeable Kings team in at least 5 years.

Yes, I'm turning towards cheering for the Kings for the first time in many years. There's something about most of these guys I find compelling. They work hard. They have upside. They don't seem to care that no one (myself included)gives them a chance to win games. Results have been mixed so far. Four home games, two wins, two losses, and an opening night road loss. Let's just zip down the roster and discuss the five game pole:

DEFENSE:

Matt Greene has looked good for the most part. There was one shift where I wasn't sure if he was auditioning for a ballet troupe, or just skating on butter, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and cheer his efforts through the first five games. The Kings gave him a nice five year extension, which felt a tad premature, and a tad rich, but unlike contracts that had the names Cloutier, MacCauley, Willsie, Nagy, Bure and the like on them, this one is at least attached to a young, strong body that seems to really care about his play on the defensive side of the ice.

Jack Johnson is hurt. Three month hurt. Shoulder hurt. I'm not hurt. While I have no doubt he's going to be a good player in the league, I'm not wow-ed, and I'm not ready to annoint him as the second coming of James Norris. I've seen more from a couple of the other young King defensemen in a handful of games than I have in a year of JJ (Insert other letters with thought and care.) He'll be back, and he'll be welcome, but he's just one piece of the team, and it's the team that comes first.

Sean O'Donnell is the stopgap guy. 37 years old, and a veteran of many battles, Odie is glue, and we can overlook limitations put on him by age and agility, and thank the heavens that he's here to teach, and to eat up some minutes while the kids learn the drill. So far he's been terrific, and based on his play in Anaheim for the past couple of seasons, he's smart enough to overcome his limitations and provide the Kings with quality play in PK and ES situations.

Drew Doughty has been a revelation. Oh to be 18 and that talented. I'm a big believer that the Kings screwed up royally by not staying the course and finishing in a position to get Stamkos, and I'd still rather have Stamkos over the long haul, but accepting the things I can not change means allowing Doughty to stake his place on this team, and when he's on the ice it's hard not to notice how good he is. I have no doubt that between now and April there will be enough Doughty highlight clips to make a nice afternoon of YouTube viewing.

Denis Gauthier is probably a candidate for waivers or a trade prior to the end of the season, but while he's here, he will dish out the occasional punishing hit, as well as be the guy you see turning his back and banging his stick in disgust while a prone LaBarbera lay on the ice with the puck being fished out of the back of the Kings net. Personally, I could do without him more often than not, but until Johnson is healthy, it is doubtful he goes anywhere. His minutes are usually going to be watched carefully by the coaching staff, as he can be the biggest liability the team has on the blueline.

Kyle Quincey has only been on the scene for two games, but he's been terrific at both ends of the ice. I knew that he could hit, and stay fundamentally sound on the defensive side of the puck, but his ability to jump into the play and move the puck towards the net has been excellent in the limited time I have seen him with the Kings. I can already say that this no-risk pickup was a steal for Lombardi, but of course, over the course of time deficiencies could pop up, and I reserve the right to don my Maxim Kuznetsov game worn, and say "oops..." once again. I'm pretty sure that's not gonna be the case.

Tom Preissing was a big ol' minus three last night, and the bloom came off the rose after four games that made me feel like he'd escape whipping boy status in the early going. I like Preissing's game, and would like to think he's going to have less nights like last night as the season progresses, but since I think the Kings will eventually land in suckitude, then SOMEONE has to be shouldering the blame on the blueline, and if Johnson is injured, and Harrold is in a suit... well, it might just be TP.

Peter Harrold is the spare. There's a zillion kids on the blue line in Manchester, and at some point that needs to shake out, so for that reason alone I don't expect to see Harrold sent down soon, but you gotta feel for a guy who needs some ice to keep any part of his game in shape. The upside for Harrold? His paycheck.


Forwards and Goaltenders will be up next.

I've scoured box scores for years... decades even...

but this is a first...

It's 4-0 mid second period, Ottawa leading Phoenix... and EVERY SINGLE SKATER on the Coyotes has a minus.

That's amazing.

Tonight

The Kings play a rarely seen team from the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes.

This team features Tim Gleason, who was a King prior to the deal that sent Jack Johnson to LA. Most Kings fans herald this deal as the kind of steal that ranks up there with Amos Otis for Joe Foy, Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi (can you tell I'm a Mets fan?) or in hockey terms, Dennis Wideman for Brad Boyes. I'm not sold.

Gleason will have a solid career, barring debilitating injury, and should be the kind of grizzled veteran leader that was synonymous with names like Langway, Wesley, Daneyko, Howell, etc.

Johnson, so far, high risk, and eventually, hopefully, high reward. Personally, he's done nothing to warrant superstar accolades, but he's a skill guy and should cut down on his glaring errors and provide stability on the blueline for years to come.

So, on to the show...

I also want to pay homage

to Gil Stratton, who passed away on Saturday morning at the age of 86. I had only met Gil over the past couple of years, and we both shared a love of sports, and intersected at Bob Miller, who we had both known for many years (Sidebar: Happy Birthday, Bob.)

Gil was an amazing character, and his obituary ran in the LA Times, and is worth reading. Talk about enjoying life!!!

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-stratton13-2008oct13,0,2934388.story

I was asked if I'm going to blog about the Kings this season...

and the answer is "Yes" --- but today is probably not the day to start. I'm reeling from lack of sleep, reeling from financial insecurity, reeling from having the pilot light on my home's heater being out and The Gas Company scheduling me for Friday, reeling from a mouse that's been eating its way through my house, causing me to wake up every hour or so... which brings me back to the lack of sleep part... and, of course, very upset at the news out of Russia that 19 year old Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov has died.

People die. I'll be there at some point, like my mom, my dad, so many of my friends in the 80s and 90s... but a 19 year old kid, playing hockey? Seems so random. I'm not a believer in "Punishing God" vs. "Rewarding God," but I have a hard time trying to figure out the "reason" someone is here one minute and gone the next.

So, "Yes" --- the Kings, but "No" --- not today.

Boil, not Brian... then Simmer...

You would honestly think SOMEONE affiliated with the Kings would have thought to check the spelling of his name before they posted that story...

On November 4, 2007 - I dubbed thee FLUBOMIR

11-04-2007, 12:30 PM #14
HawkeyeKnight*


Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 381

Originally Posted by KINGS17
Visnovsky was bad, don't know who in the media picked him as the game's #3 star.
1. Are you kidding???? There was a whistle with about 11 seconds to go, and I invoked the "never leave a hockey game before the game is over, UNLESS it's friggin' pointless and you've had more than you can stand in one night" rule, and so I missed the three stars. Obviously picked by a blind person because Flubomir was just awful.


***

I mention this because last night I got to call a few "die-hard" Kings fans to break the news that Flubomir Craptastic had moved on to Alberta... in a peach of a deal.

The Visnovsky trade is an excellent one for the Kings, and here's why...

1. Jarret Stoll is the first real dependable faceoff man the Kings have had in eons. As good as Eric Belanger might have been for a nano-second, he never compiled the kind of numbers that Stoll has amassed over the past three NHL seasons (all over 55%) - THIS is a positive. The Kings have been dreadful in the circles for this decade and beyond.

2. Jarret Stoll is not terribly expensive, and is a UFA at season's end. This means, (a) he becomes incentivised to perform for his new team this year, and though others have failed in this mission in the past, there's a good chance he will succeed because he is going to be playing with legitimate top 6 forwards over the course of this season --- something the Kings DO have. (b) if he fails, and as the Kings should fail, he becomes a pretty reasonable trade deadline acquisition for a good team that will be quick to point out that Stoll's poor performance comes from being on a dreadful team. (c) Tavares or Hedman... :-)

3. Matt Greene is a big kid, and can hit, and can be a legitimate stay at home defenseman who will not be as undersized as Weaver, or as overrated as Aaron Miller, and will be plugged into situations that will enable him to establish himself as a punishment to undersized opposing forwards who would normally take extreme liberties around the Kings crease.

4. If we believe the hype, Doughty, Hickey, Teubert and Johnson will all be patrolling the Kings blueline in a couple of years, and Visnovsky would have been old, overpaid and expendable. We're seeing loss-cutting in advance of what would have been some major albatross accessorizing.

5. The money saved will absolutely go a long way to satisfying players that need to be signed to much longer term deals. As we hear of 6 (Olesz) and 7 (Malone) year deals, the names O'Sullivan and Kopitar pop into our respective heads and flexible spending goes a long way towards keeping these two offensive talents in King uniforms for quite some time.

6. That annoying little pissant Jacob Kings Visnovsky has to go to some HF admin to get his username changed :-)

We Now Pause For This Brief Announcement

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=362128&page=NewsPage&service=page

Sorry, Deano... I don't buy Hickey-mania...

The Night Andy Murray And I Compared Johnsons...

How can I pass up that opportunity? While in the Verizon Arena during game three, I saw a number of people I had either previously met or emailed over the years. Fans, Friends and Monarchs employees - I had the chance to see my friend Dan, known as Dano to some, Bill, Katie, Paul, Noelle, Gerry, and MJ, who are all friends of mine on Facebook, and active members of the Monarchs Booster Club, Jason Bergeron, who provided my seats, and Jason LaBossiere, who has sold me a few Monarchs game worns over the years, as well as Cheryl Abbott, SVP of the Monarchs, who once sold me some Ryan Flinn bobbleheads. Anyway, it was great to see so many people I have met over the years visiting Manchester, but the big surprise was running into someone I knew from Los Angeles... Andy Murray was in the house, watching his son's playoff performance. Andy and I had met on a few occasions, both in LA where I had interviewed him once, and in Nashville, where I attended the 2003 draft that brought the younger Murray to the Kings organization. I re-introduced myself as we stood in the concourse between periods, and while it was easy for him to justify his being there, he did wonder what I was doing there, and I had to admit, it was pretty odd to say that I was there to watch playoff hockey because living in LA, I knew it was virtually impossible to get any post season love as a Kings fan. (I didn't go into the fact that I had only missed one Duck post season game in the past three post season runs...) "Well," he said, "You're probably going to see some playoff hockey in LA pretty soon with that group of kids." Now Andy, come on... pretty soon? How about the fact that among the 14 other teams in the conference, you have Chicago, Edmonton, St. Louis, and Vancouver among the teams that called it quits after 82, and all have reasonable optimism for the future based on their young talent as well. Then we can talk Columbus, who I always seem to have a love-fest for in the pre-season. In fact, I don't see too many of the 8 teams that DID make the playoffs in the West falling that far out of position, so unless the NHL decides EVERYONE makes the playoffs come next April, pretty soon doesn't mean 12 months from now to me! While Andy didn't disagree with me, I also moved the topic over to rookie defensemen named Johnson, and stated that I thought he had the best rookie Johnson in the league. "Well, your Johnson is pretty good too, you know," he replied. Personally I would have preferred my Gleason to my Johnson, but I know that the story hasn't been written in its entirety yet. My Johnson might turn out to be rock solid. Andy's Johnson however is already quite the stud. He knows it, and anyone who watched Blues hockey this season knows it.

We shook hands and got ready for overtime, and I went back to my seat thinking about our respective Johnsons. If Andy is correct, and Jack can truly shoulder the load, I might not have to fly almost 3000 miles to watch post season hockey, but if I have to fly anywhere, New England is a beautiful place to be.

A group of about 15 of us went out for a post-game meal and a splendid time was had by all. Bill drove me back to my car, and I headed back to the hotel, where I crashed immediately upon impact with my pillow. Driving to Portland in the morning.

Things I Would Have Written About If I Had Cared About Writing About Them

It has been a week since I've returned from my brief 5 day excursion to Portland, ME and Manchester, NH. Because of the "great fire" at the corner of Hollywood and Vine, our offices (Capitol Records) are closed today, and I have a few spare moments (hours) to reflect on my journey and the things I had planned to blog about.

I had a wonderful time. New England is so different from Southern California, and it was particularly flawless during my travels. I arrived just past midnight on the morning of Friday the 19th. I had flown Jet Blue out of Burbank to JFK (and the horror on that flight was that both the DirecTV and the XM was not working at my seat) and then switched planes and went on from New York up to Portland. I hopped a cab to a local airport hotel, and slept 5 hours. Woke up semi-refreshed (technically it was 3AM for me...) and went to one of my "recovery" meetings (that I attend daily while remaining anonymous.) Headed back to the hotel, checked out and grabbed my rental vehicle and drove a couple of hours north to a town called Camden, ME, where I was to spend the day/night with my dear friends Marc and Kim and their 2 year old son Ethan. They had relocated from the San Fernando Valley late last year, and this was my first time seeing them since the move. Marc and I have been friends since 1972, and we've had our professional lives intersect time and time again so this was the one day of no hockey I allowed myself on this whirlwind excursion.

Saturday morning I was up at the crack of dawn again, and ambled downstairs, threw my luggage into the car and headed to Manchester, a good 3.5 hour drive south. This was my fourth trip to Manchvegas, and I actually have a pretty good feel for the area, so my arrival was not complicated in the least. I arranged dinner plans with my friend Marlene, and drove to the hotel. Checked in, and found one of my "meetings," and headed downtown for some spirituality prior to my meal and Monarchs.

The Monarchs were down two games to none to a Providence Bruins team that dominated the Eastern portion of the AHL all season long. Finnish goaltender Tuukka Rask has been the real deal since being acquired from the Maple Leafs, who drafted him in the first round in 2005, and then dealt him for Raycroft prior to his arrival in North America. Personally, I always seem to have a love affair with Finnish goaltenders, believing that Niittymaki, Toivonen and Rask are all blue chip prospects, with star potential. Of course, having watched Kings goaltending for over 30 years, I could be wowed by Score-O...

Anyway, great to see Marlene, great to see so many Monarchs fans I have met over the years, and great to be back in the Verizon Wireless Arena, where my cell phone coverage is spotty despite my service provider of the same name.

The fans are already aggravated as the ref is the hated Francois St. Laurent, who, as legend has it, has been screwing the Monarchs out of wins for as long as the team has been in operation. Personally, I'm not sure of this fact, but I do know that watching a game that has one ref is a major adjustment after watching games with two for the better part of the last few seasons. Just one goal is scored in the first two periods, and it's from the Bruins T.J. Trevalyan, but at one point in the first period, Kanko blisters a shot that from where I was sitting (to the left of the Bruins net) sure looked like it had gone under the crossbar, but it flew out quickly and play continued. The team celebrated, the crowd celebrated, the red light went on, but the goal judge offered a shrug when questioned, and without video review in the AHL, St. Laurent waved off the tally and the Monarchs were without a goal. Later the Monarchs put one behind Rask, but a goaltender interference call that may or may not have been justified was all that stood behind the "1" going up on the Monarchs portion of the scoreboard. Oh well. Life goes on. Midway through the third, the baby B's Wacey Rabbit (how can you not LOVE a guy named Wacey Rabbit... that Wascal) scored to make it 2-0 and then the fun began. Eight seconds after the goal, coincidental minors made it a 4 on 4 skating situation, and then five seconds after that, Bruins defenseman Jonathan Sigalet got called for interference and the Monarchs were on the power play. On the ice were Teddy Purcell and Matt Moulson (already both minus 2) and defensemen Troy Milam and Peter Harrold (already both minus 1) - and it was Milam scoring from Purcell and Harrold to get the 'Narchs on the board less than a half minute later. While it was the third puck to get by Rask, it was the first that counted, and the lead was cut in half. A couple minutes later, Bruins rookie winger Byron Bitz (no player with the last name Kibbles listed in the Hockey DB... shame) was flagged for tripping, and less than a minute later the Monarchs tied the game on a Moulson goal from Purcell and Milam. As you all know, overtime ensued and while the parent Bruins were engaged in a real goalfest against Montreal just a short drive down the freeway from Manchester, the baby B's pulled out an overtime victory themselves, with Jeff Hoggan scoring one of those improbable goals, banking the puck from behind the net off goaltender Bernier's rear. Bernier never moved, never flinched... the puck was in seemingly harmless position and then a split second later it was dribbling behind the goal line and the celebration began. Oh, and yes, Purcell, Milam, Harrold and Moulson were on the ice at the time, so despite the two power play tallies, that was a nifty minus TEN between the four of them. It was hard to say any Monarch was particularly impressive in this game, aside from Bernier, who really did match Rask's performance virtually shot for shot. Rask had 33 saves, Bernier had 31 and the highlights for me were:

* Oscar Moller's first pro game. A good first period and some very strong work with Zeiler and Murray. Periods two and three he was less visible, but he made an early impression.

* Kanko's determination. I've never been a huge believer in the guy, but after Bernier, he was clearly the most interested party in a Monarchs uniform.

* Playing the part of Carmen Sandiego, please welcome Lauri Tukonen... has he fallen that far down the depth chart as to be a healthy scratch for a home playoff game while Moller, Westgarth, Cliche, Murray, Ryan, Kanko and company get the call?

One game down, two games to go, and one more thing about this night that I can write about, but it gets its own entry, just so I can title it properly.

Here I Go...

Getting on the plane to Portland, ME in a couple of hours. Will be visiting friends on Friday night, and then waking up Saturday to begin my brief three day hockey sojourn.

SATURDAY: Providence at Manchester

SUNDAY: Hartford at Portland

MONDAY: Providence at Manchester

...and then home on Tuesday.

I'll have something to say, I'm sure. I know I've been kinda quiet for the past couple of weeks, but I had some stress as it related to the IRS, the mudslide that has dogged my property for 3 years and change, and my shoulder, which was injured in a fall I took last November.

See you from the right coast :)

To The Playoffs I Go...

AHL, baby.... flying out on Thursday the 18th, returning on Tuesday the 22nd...

with any luck, I will see games 3 and 4 of the Manchester series, but if that falls apart, there's always Hartford/Portland.

I'm flying into Portland, ME late Thurs night, back on Tuesday morning...

Just a reminder

for those of you with the NHL Network, the Monarchs game being played tonight will air tomorrow as the AHL Game Of The Week (4p Pacific Time) - Channel 215 for those of you with DirecTV.

You can say you saw Josh Kidd's first pro game!

Manchester's Big Game, and a new brute in town...

At the end of one period, the Monarchs are trailing Springfield 2-0, due in part to two power play goals... due to two penalties to Brady "The Brute" Murray. Murray went off for tripping early in the game, and Viacheslav Trukhno scored just seconds before the man advantage had expired. Later in the period, Murray received five for kneeing and a game misconduct, and the Falcons converted just one more time as Stephen Werner beat Jonathan Quick. The Monarchs were outshot 18-10 and will need to regroup going into period two.

As you know, Springfield leads Manchester by just one point in the race for the final playoff spot in their division.

You can log in at: http://www.monarchshockey.com for the live radio feed.

Yeah, he'll remember his first NHL game...

Atlanta Thrashers rookie defenseman, BORIS VALABIK, playing in his first NHL period, is a nifty MINUS 3 as Carolina leads Atlanta 3-0.

Ouch! Valabik, 10th overall pick in the 2004 draft, has shared the wealth with two defensive partners, Joel Kwiatkowski (-2) and Niclas Havelid (-1)

The real playoff chase (or, how I have no idea if I'm flying East in April...)

While the Kings will be on the golf course immediately following the regular season, it's a real coin toss as to whether the Manchester Monarchs can grab one of the last playoff spots in the American League.

If you haven't been following the race, here's a quick update on how the standings look on Monday morning:

The top 4 teams in each division make the playoffs. The Monarchs are in the ATLANTIC Division. The Atlantic standings ---

1. PROVIDENCE (Bruins)(98 points, 67 games played)
2. HARTFORD (Rangers) (88 pts, 67 GP)
3. PORTLAND (Ducks) (88 pts, 69 GP)
4. SPRINGFIELD (Oilers) (70 pts, 67 GP)
5. MANCHESTER (Kings) (69 pts, 67 GP)
6. WORCESTER (Sharks) (62 pts, 66 GP)
7. LOWELL (Devils) (53 pts, 66 GP)

So, with Lowell looking like the AHL version of the Kings, and Worcester's hopes probably fading fast, it's really going to come down to the battle between Springfield and Manchester for that fourth and final spot.

The AHL plays an 80 game schedule, so the Monarchs have 13 games remaining.
3/19 @ Springfield
3/22 @ Portland
3/23 H Springfield
3/26 H Portland NOTE: THE NHL NETWORK is playing this game on 3/27 as an AHL Game of the Week!!!! (a day late?!?)
3/28 @ Norfolk (7th place - East Division - 55 pts, 68 GP)
3/29 @ Norfolk
3/30 @ Hershey (4th place - East Division - 74 pts, 67 GP)
4/2 H Bridgeport (6th place - East Division - 71 pts, 66 GP)
4/4 @ Lowell
4/5 H Worcester
4/6 @ Providence
4/11 @ Providence
4/12 H Providence

So, Hershey and Bridgeport, along with Binghampton (5th pl - 73 pts, 66 GP) are in a real dogfight in the East.

Manchester vs. Springfield this season (Home Team BOLD:
10/7 Springfield 3, Manchester 2 (OT)
10/13 Manchester 4, Springfield 3
11/3 Manchester 5, Springfield 3
11/17 Manchester 4, Springfield 3 (OT)
11/21 Springfield 4, Manchester 1
2/18 Manchester 2, Springfield 1 (OT)
3/2 Manchester 5, Springfield 2
3/12 Manchester 3, Springfield 1

'Til The Cows Come Home...

Incoming GM Dean Lombardi polled all the players, coaches, and scouts in the organization when he arrived. His question was pretty simple. "Can the two guys we have (Garon and LaBarbera) do the job?" I have it on EXTREMELY reliable source that without exception EACH player, coach and scout still involved with the team answered affirmatively. Not a perfect goaltending tandem, but the players actually had confidence in both guys and with Cammalleri, Brown, Frolov, Norstrom, Visnovsky, Armstrong and the like all having said their peace, Lombardi went out just FOUR days later and acquired Dan Cloutier for a second round draft choice. This befuddled numerous people within the organization that, while not wanting to second guess their new General Manager, had to wonder why he bothered asking in the first place.

So here we are almost two full seasons later and now the war cry is loud over Cloutier's piece in the Vancouver Sun today. He's crying mistreatment, abuse, and neglect. I'm thinking he's offbase on a number of fronts, but as I pointed out in my comments in Rich Hammond's blog, as a member of the NHLPA, and with a valid signed contract, he has rights, and there are clauses and while there may be two sides to every story, Cloutier is entitled to what the players and management negotiated throughout the league when the CBA was amended and the work stoppage ended.

Goaltending is an issue. Defense is an issue. Faceoffs and puck possession are issues. Watching this team gut out a 2-1 OT loss last night, I was acutely aware for the umpteenth time this seas... er, decade, just how poorly the Kings are in the faceoff circle. How brutally overmatched they are behind their own net. How much weight Lindsay Ridgeway has gained and lost over the past few years (and thank GOD in the heavens that she decided on a single note for the word "Free" for the first time in forever.)

Peter Harrold is earning the nickname "Charmin" because he's so squeezably soft. His giveaway gave the Canucks the open door to a comeback last night. Now personally, I was grateful because honestly, I'm no fan of Tampa Bay at this point in the season, and they're a terrible team. The thought of those lottery balls having more Lightning logos on them than Kings logos... well, it makes me sick. Five teams make it into this lottery. At the moment the Kings and Tampa each have 60 points. Atlanta and St. Louis each have 68 points. Toronto has 70 points. Think on this... there are SEVEN more teams within 3 points of that fifth spot. That's 10 teams competing to finish 26th, 27th and 28th. And you thought the playoff race was tight!

Breakfast with the GM

Up front. I didn't go. I didn't really want to go, and then I thought, "OK, I'll go." Then I woke up, went to my 7am meeting, and when it was over, I completely forgot that I was supposed to go, and when I was pulling into my driveway from breakfast, I thought, "oops, I guess I didn't go."

No big deal. I heard first hand details from three friends who told the same story about 90% of the time, and I had the benefit of reading transcript, which was about 75% in line with what a couple of the people had told me.

Fact is, and it's not my ego, I knew the answers before the questions, and I knew the questions that would not get answered.

Dean Lombardi is a smart guy. He sizes up the crowd and plays to it accordingly. He has a job to do that requires a small portion of audience participation a couple of times a year, and he trots out his game face, flow charts, and some piping hot breakfast and expects you to go home nourished. Soon you will find out that you've barely scratched the surface of the minimum daily requirement, but by then Dean is safely back in his comfort zone, knowing that he's safe until draft day.

Steven Stamkos. It's ALL about Steven Stamkos and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Sure the Kings need defensemen. Sure the Kings need a goaltender. Sure the Kings need a better system on the PK. Sure the Kings need a coach that can roll four consistent lines, not fourteen a period. But, in reality, if the Kings draft first overall this year, put it all on the back burner and make way for a marquee player that will help overcome a myriad of deficiencies. No, he's not going to make a blocker save, or deliver a bonecrushing check in front of the Kings crease, but he is going to be a dynamic part of an offense that should wreak havoc on Western Conference defenders. Steven Stamkos is a player you dream about on your fantasy team, and you hope is on the team you've shelled out thousands for in season tickets, food, parking and merchandise.

And, finally, over on the Kings website there's some horrible bracket game where you get to choose your all time favorite Kings. Well we have a little March Madness too.

16 infuriating things about Dean Lombardi's Kings:

1. Dan Cloutier's contract extension before he stopped his first puck (which actually didn't come until he missed a couple.)

2. Alyn McCauley's 3 year contract, which was 3 more than the number of healthy limbs he had when he signed it. Oh wait. I think his writing hand was ok.

3. Flubomir Craptastic's 5 year, 28M dollar bonanza, which was then followed by one of the worst seasons a "good" Kings player has ever had.

4. Rob Blake... 'nuff said on that one!

5. Michal Handzus' 4 year deal

6. John Zeiler's 4 year deal (FOUR YEAR DEAL?????... LOL... photos of cats on the internet make more sense.)

7. Brian Willsie

8. Scott Thornton

9. Ladislav Nagy

10. Kyle Calder

11. Taking Thomas Hickey with the 4th pick in the '07 draft, when you bitch and moan about defensive size on the blueline.

12. Believing that Jack Johnson "filled a hole," when Tim Gleason was occupying it.

13. Yutaka Fukufuji, Barry Brust, Sean Burke, Erik Ersberg, Johnathan Quick, Jean-Sebastian Aubin, Dan Cloutier, Jason LaBarbera, Mathieu Garon, and any other option that has proven time and time again that the Kings haven't had a reliable goaltender for any length of time in the past 30 years.

14. Alledging that Ilya Bryzgalov is not a "character" guy

15. Not finding a guy that can help the center-ice men learn how to win a faceoff.

16. Allowing the team's mascot to be named after a dead scout.

Was Stevie Wonder at the game today?

Because only a blind man could have possibly named ROB BLAKE the turd (that's "Third" with a Canadian accent) star in this afternoon's game between the Kings and the Canadiens. Blake was a nifty -3, and on the ice for four of Montreal's five goals today, and was credited with three giveaways as well. Spared only Montreal's third goal of the game, by Guillaume Latendresse, Blake managed to flaunt his healthy ankle and no-trade clause to the sellout crowd of 18,118... over half of them in Habs jerseys.

Colorado continues to win with Adam Foote in the lineup, and I'm sure they're all breathing a collective sigh of relief that they didn't have to ask John-Michael Liles to relinquish his uniform number for the final six weeks of the season.

Random Notes for a Friday Afternoon (3-7-08)

The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Darren McCarty from Grand Rapids (AHL) where he had 5 goals and 5 assists in 13 games. McCary was pointless (literally and figuratively) in 32 games with the Calgary Flames in 06-07.

P.J. Atherton, defenseman, has been recalled to Manchester (AHL) from the Reading Royals (ECHL) where he led all ECHL defensemen with 13 goals. Funny... Atherton was a defensive defenseman on his U. Of Minnesota teams, where he played with Phil Kessel, Ryan Potulny, Alex Goligoski, Thomas Vanek and Keith Ballard among others.

Mark-Andre Cliche has two goals in period #1 as the Monarchs lead Hershey 2-1. Cliche is on a line with Matt Ryan and Brady Murray, and Murray has assisted on both tallies.

Silliness abounds as close to 250 people have clicked on "Erik Ersberg" in a poll asking who deserves to be the starting goaltender for the 2008-09 Los Angeles Kings. While Ersberg has played well in his first 3.5 NHL games, he's hardly done more than prove that his pads are not made of the same rubber (read: Flubber) that Jason LaBarbera's are. Ersberg claims that the NHL has been easier than the AHL to this point, as what happens on the ice appears more "logical." Having seen Ersberg play live for the Monarchs earlier this season, I can find some semblance of truth to that statement, as AHL players never seem to be where the puck is. Recently I watched four NHL games in six nights, and then went to an AHL game and was shocked at the level of play (and Hartford is a damn good AHL team...) I don't base my opinions on a single game, but this is an observation that has continually been reinforced year after year. I have been watching AHL games since 1983, and have seen at least one or two every year for the past 24 seasons.

Teams I cheer for have had some injuries recently that has me a bit sad. David Steckel, former King draft choice, and current Washington Capitals center has a broken finger and will miss a couple of weeks of action. While Steckel only has 12 points (5G, 7A) he has an excellent face off percentage (56.3%) that ranks him among the league's elite (Steckel currently ranks 6th among players who have taken the pre-requisite amount of draws to be included in the league leaders.) Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks forward, has suffered a severe laceration above the knee and underwent surgery today to repair tendons in his leg. He is expected to miss six weeks, which should put him out through the first round of the playoffs.

Making his NHL debut tonight: Theo Peckham, defenseman, Edmonton Oilers (3rd round, 2006) played with Wayne Simmonds, Bobby Ryan (recalled to Anaheim to replace Perry) and Trevor Lewis in Owen Sound. Peckham, who racked up over 600 PIM in his 3 years in the OHL has his first NHL penalty tonight (2 minutes for interference.)

Bruce Boudreau - January, 2004

Bruce Boudreau stands at about 5’10, which by today’s NHL standards has to be considered “small.” His playing days ended a dozen years ago, but when he laced them up, he was not “too small” to be a scorer in any league he played in. While his NHL career (Toronto, Chicago) spanned just 150 games, his minor league statistics were impressive at any height. In a professional career that began in 1975 (Johnstown – ECHL), the Toronto native tallied over 100 points in six different seasons. His most productive year came shortly after the majority of his NHL playing was done, in 1982-83, when he tallied 50 goals and added 72 assists for the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate in St. Catherines, ON. Boudreau was rewarded with a four game playoff stint for the Leafs that season, and added another seven NHL games to his credit when he suited up for the Chicago Blackhawks a few years later, but after a lengthy minor league playing career, he began his minor league coaching career in the early 90’s. In 1992, Boudreau was named Head Coach of the Muskegon Fury in the Colonial Hockey League, and after a year there, he moved on to the legendary Fort Wayne Komets of the International League, where he had finished his playing career a couple of years earlier. Two seasons in Fort Wayne led to three seasons in Mississippi, where Boudreau coached the ECHL Sea Wolves, a team that had a minor affiliation with the Los Angeles Kings. In three years, a record of 109-75-26 prepared Bruce for his move up to the American League, and the Kings primary affiliate (then shared with the New York Islanders,) the Lowell Lock Monsters. Bringing Mississippi goaltender Travis Scott with him to Lowell (where he shared time with first year pro, Roberto Luongo), Boudreau’s first season coaching the Monsters was dotted with sporadic success. The team finished a shade under .500, but made the playoffs, and actually staged an upset in the first round before bowing out. Among the players on that team were Kings center Eric Belanger, and long time Monarchs defenseman Richard Seeley. The following season, familiar names like Chartrand, Corvo, Brennan (Kip) and Lilja were in the mix, and set the stage for the Kings purchase of their own AHL franchise in Manchester, NH. The Monarchs are currently in their third season, and Boudreau remains the only coach in team history. With the Kings stockpiling draft picks and prospects, times have changed since the days of the shared franchise, and the dearth of up and coming prospects within the Kings organization. While injuries to the parent club have kept the Monarchs revolving door spinning at an almost dizzying pace, Boudreau goes about his business as the Kings conduit to the future. He states that his number one job is to “make guys ready for the NHL.”

I caught up with Bruce on Tuesday, January 6th, by phone, in his office at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. A few weeks ago, with the Monarchs playing back-to-back games in Salt Lake City, against Dallas’ Utah Grizzlies AHL team, I took a road trip to get a first hand look at the team, and see a bunch of guys that frankly, I had already been seeing on and off for the better part of the last two injury riddled Kings’ seasons.

In the two games I watched, the Monarchs had some emotional highs and some deadening lows. Game One of the series saw Milan Hnilicka give up two goals on two shots, and within the first 90 seconds of the game, Manchester fell behind 2-0, and did not recover from that point on. Adam Hauser took over, and gave up two more quick goals. Halfway through period one, the team was down 4-0 and I was not sure I had made a wise decision to spend a weekend in cold and snowy Salt Lake City. Dallas took the Friday game 6-0, but the stage was set for the Saturday rematch. Boudreau went back to Hnilicka, and was rewarded with a far more consistent performance. Battling through two virtually concurrent five-minute major penalties called against Monarch players, the team stayed tough on defense, and took the game into overtime tied at 2. While skating four a side, the Grizzlies were called for a rare overtime penalty, and Pavel Rosa netted the power play game winner, sending the handful (literally) of Monarchs fans out of the arena with smiles on their faces, and the team had two hard fought/well earned points in the standings.

My first question to the coach was about the decisions that are made to recall a particular player from the Monarchs. Often fans will look at the stats, or the box scores, and come to conclusions that the Kings organization doesn’t always seem to come up with. How do players like Steve Kelly consistently get the nod, over players like Scott Barney, who seems to have found a goal-scoring groove in Manchester this season? “It’s a fine line,” says Boudreau. “When the Kings make the call, they want our best player because they have to win. So, Andy (Murray), Kevin (Gilmore) or Dave (Taylor) will call and ask who the best player is, and honestly, we give them the best player. LA has to be as competitive as they possibly can. When a guy is playing his heart out here, and has earned his shot to go up, he goes up. We have to be very careful not to send a bad message to our team if someone else gets recalled that may not be as deserving. We want a guy to earn his spot in the NHL.”

Specifically on Scott Barney, Boudreau was very positive about the young forward’s development. “His progress has been so much better than anticipated,” he said. “He’s gotten stronger, down low, in the corners… he’s become a force. Last year he got pushed off the puck a lot. You have to remember that he had missed three years of hockey. I just had him in my office a few minutes ago, and we had a great talk. Our goal is for Scott to become a really good AHL player this year, so next year he is pushing for an NHL job. To bring up a guy for two or three games… is that a positive or a negative when he goes back down? We want Scott to maintain a consistent level of play, and at this point we think he should be down here working on that game in and game out. He’s maintained a very positive attitude, and he understands the situation. Everyone here wants to play in the NHL, and they see the guys’ movement between here and LA, but in Scott’s case he has to be realistic. He has come a long way in a short period of time.”

Goaltending has been an issue for the Monarchs from the start of the season to the present. Hnilicka arrived having been dealt from Atlanta to Los Angeles at the beginning of training camp, and was sent down to Manchester to be the number one guy, and to help ease Kings prospect Mathieu Chouinard into a regular role. First Hnilicka got hurt, then Chouinard got hurt. Adam Hauser (playing for Reading of the ECHL) came into the picture and delivered a shutout, and then another one. A couple of one-goal games followed and suddenly Boudreau had a hot goalie. Hnilicka returned, and Chouinard returned, but both went down to injury a second time. Meanwhile, Hauser’s play hit a slight dry patch. “Can adrenaline take you so far?” was what Coach Boudreau was thinking. After a sit-down talk with Hauser, he responded with two excellent one-goal efforts, and appears to be back on track. “The Kings people have seen him. Andy Nowicki (Kings goaltending consultant) has spent time with him. Andy Murray may have seen him back in the collegiate days (Hauser spent four years at the University of Minnesota, and was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1999 draft by Edmonton.) He has a great work ethic.” When asked if this was a goaltender the Kings might be interested in for their organization, Boudreau says, “I think that’s a legitimate question. This is the first time he’s had success at the AHL level, and Adam has to realize he can’t let the ball drop (ed. note: or the puck go in the net…) He’s only played 15 games in the AHL, so to fairly assess his talents, let’s see how he is after 35 games.” As for Chouinard, who is currently in Los Angeles as the backup to Cristobal Huet, Boudreau hasn’t really seen enough of his play to make a proper assessment. “He’s shown really great courage, I will tell you that. We had a game where he was clearly not able to play because of a pulled groin muscle, but because we had no choice we had to dress him as the back up. After the first period, Hnilicka was injured, and Mathieu went in, despite being barely able to move. He allowed just one goal vs. Hartford the rest of the way. Recently he shut out Hartford (who are currently one of the top teams in the AHL), but then the next night he lost to Lowell 5-1. What I am looking for is consistency. Management wants to see consistency.” Knowing that without watching a game, you can often misread a goaltenders statistics, I asked the coach if he had occasion to see the Kings game vs. Phoenix, where Hnilicka got the call, and was perhaps the best player on the ice for either team, despite giving up 4 goals in a loss. Boudreau said he had seen the game, and thought Milan’s play was “super” and had only great things to say about the goaltender, citing his “great attitude” and his being a “super guy around the arena,” and that he makes some “terrific saves.”

It was at that point I thought it right to segue into a question I was dying to ask him, and it related to his playing days, specifically his great 50-goal season in St. Catherines. You see, that was the season the Saints, and professional hockey participated in a rarity. With regular goaltenders Bob Parent and Vincent Tremblay on the squad, and long time Leaf farmhand Bruce Dowie in the wings, the team had pretty solid goaltending. But, on a night in Glens Falls, NY, hockey fans were treated to a most unusual occurrence. Boudreau recalls, “We were playing the Adirondack Red Wings, and for some reason we only brought one goalie on the trip. Late in the first period he goes down, and we are forced into a situation. Normie Aubin ( a forward, who had played for the Leafs the season prior, and part of that season as well) had played some goal for us in practices and he volunteered to take over. He went into the dressing room, grabbed some pads, and came out to finish the game for us. We actually kept it close for a while. I think it was 3-3 at one point, and you know, when he came in; we were all thinking… oh jeez, let’s not lose 20-2 here. I remember Tom Rowe of the Wings rifled a shot about 120 miles an hour from behind his blue line that hit the back of the net and came out before Aubin even moved. They got a couple of quick goals and went on to win 6 or 7 to 3, but it certainly was a game I will never forget.” The records show that Aubin played in 49 games for the Saints that season, and netted 31 goals and 26 assists, but he also played 47 minutes IN goal and having let five get by him. He closed out his professional goaltending career with a GAG of 6.38. He is probably the only player in modern times that can claim he played both center and goaltender in a single professional game.

We closed our conversation touching on some of the Monarchs defensemen. I asked about the progress of Denis Grebeshkov, up to the time of his injury. “He was coming along fine,” said Boudreau. “Of course there is a period of adjustment, both for any rookie, or any player coming to North America for the first time, but you could see the things he does so well, he did SO WELL. His passing, his moving the puck, his intelligence were all excellent. We are hoping to have him back in 4-6 weeks.” When I asked how he took the demotion at the start of the season, Boudreau said, “He was probably a little bit down, because when you are so highly touted, you want to believe you can excel at the highest level, but he had been injured for most of camp, and knew he needed to get plenty of ice time, which he could do here. He’s a very pleasant kid, who is working hard on his English, and is always nice at the arena.” While Grebeshkov is clearly in the Kings plans, there are a couple of AHL veterans who have put in a lot of time within the Kings organization. Richard Seeley (6th round, 1997) and Joe Rullier (5th round, 1998) have been together for the past four seasons, starting in Lowell and moving on to Manchester. Both have appeared in Kings training camps, and both have been shuttled east without a sniff of the action in LA. I asked about their games, and the prospects for the future. “Richard Seeley is our captain this season, and is having a breakout year. Both he and Joe still want a chance at the NHL, and their competitiveness is so great. Seeley’s leadership, and Rullier’s toughness clearly make it so the Monarchs come to play every night.”

Manchester currently sits in 3rd place in the Atlantic Conference of the AHL with a record of 18-14-2-3. They are one point behind Providence, and four points behind conference leading Hartford. The Monarchs will face off against Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday night, and as with all of their games, you can hear them on the internet, by clicking the link provided on the Monarchs website (www.monarchshockey.com) In the lineup for Manchester will be center Esa Pirnes, who was recently activated off Injured Reserve by the Kings, and sent down to get some playing time. Boudreau is happy to have the 26-year-old Finn, and said that he’s just practiced, and is happy to be back on the ice. He will get the time to show what he can do. With the infusion of Pirnes, Cammalleri, Muir and hopefully another healthy body or two over the next couple of weeks, Manchester should be right in the thick of things as the AHL season moves into its second half.

I thank Coach Boudreau for his time, and Monarchs Public Relations Director Mike Kalinowski, for graciously setting up the interview. Many people within the Monarchs organization look at LetsGoKings.com on a regular basis, and we have some great fans from that area that have become regular posters as well. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be able to continue to bring the working relationship between the team(s) and the website together.

One final note: Bruce Boudreau turns 49 on Friday (January 9th) --- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COACH.

Marc Nathan – 1/6/04


Repost from a file found on my hard drive, dated January, 2004

Dustin Brown - Al Murray - Kevin Gilmore: Summer, 2003

I’m here with Dustin Brown, the Kings first selection, 13th overall in this year’s NHL Entry draft, and first off, congratulations on your selection.

DB: Thank you.

You were obviously interviewed by many NHL clubs heading towards this draft day. Did anything stand out in your mind about the Kings organization from your interview with them?

DB: You know, I thought that they were one of the teams that were more interested. They showed more interest in me than others. So, there were maybe three or four teams that showed more interest in me and the Kings were one of them so I knew I had a pretty good shot at getting selected by LA if I fell back and was available.

Have you ever been to Los Angeles?

DB: No.

Looking forward to it this summer?

DB: Yeah, a little bit (big smile)

John Stanton and Al Murray both told me that you will be given every opportunity to make the Kings this coming season. What are your expectations coming into your first NHL training camp?

DB: I’m just gonna try to go in there and prove that I can play. I haven’t really looked at the team and who they have. I’m really excited about the opportunity and think I have a good shot.

It should be a pretty interesting and competitive situation for you.

Have you ever scored a goal against (Kings 3rd round selection) Ryan Munce?

DB: Uh, yeah, actually I had a three goal game against him in the playoffs this past year.

Did you get a chance to joke with him about that yet?

DB: Uh, no, we haven’t really had much of a chance to talk much yet, but I’m sure we will though (more big smiles.)

I heard you and the families of all of yesterday’s Kings draft picks had a really nice dinner last night.

DB: Yeah, it was really good. All of the draft picks, the families and the Kings organization were there. It was a really good night. Good food. Got to mingle with everyone a little bit, and start to know each other a little bit, so it was really good.

Give us your first impressions on the other two first round selections by the Kings, Brian Boyle and Jeff Tambellini.

DB: Well, I knew both of them before hand, not personally but I’d played against a few of them so I had a little bit of idea who they were. They seem like nice kids off the ice and they’re obviously pretty good players on the ice!

And now the three of you have each other’s backs (my turn to smile.)

DB: Yeah!

Thanks for taking a minute to chat with me. We’re at www.letsgokings.com and we are one of the most rabid fan sites you’re going to find in all of hockey, so check it out some time… but don’t take anything too personally!

DB: All right, thank you!


We began our final chat with Al Murray by asking… “Is it over? Or, has it just begun?”

AM: It’s really just one step and now let’s see what happens.

Can you tell me something about Esa Pirnes, the Finnish player you drafted in the 6th round, trading both 7th round picks to get that slot? I know he was born in 1977.

AM: Yeah, he was a guy that has continued to improve. He’s at the point now where he was on the Finnish national team this year. Dave (Taylor) and Robbie (Laird - Director of Pro Scouting and European Evaluation) scouted him at the World Championships, as well as Andy (Murray) and he really has a chance to come in and play for our team next year.

Has he expressed intentions of coming to North America this season?

AM: We called him right before we made the pick, and he’s interested now. It’s one thing to be interested, but I think for his agent to let him sign… well, we have a start on it and we will see how it all works out.

Is that why you specifically made the deal with Nashville to get the pick in the 6th round?

AM: Yes.

Do you feel someone else may have actually been planning on picking Pirnes?

AM: The way our list went… some years your list lasts for a long time and we thought we had a really good list of players coming into today (*day two… rounds 4-9) and we thought we would get a couple of real good guys, and then we just got wiped right out in the fourth round. Like everybody we liked, everybody else liked too! It was unbelievable, it was going Bang, Bang, Bang…

You had mentioned last night there were two guys that you had your eye on to start today, and obviously they weren’t there for you…

AM: (Laughs) So, you know, we… at that point decided that this was the guy (Pirnes) we wanted to get. We didn’t want to let him get away, so we went at him and Dave and Robbie made that decision. Hopefully he can come in and contribute right away, or after a short time in the minors, come up and play.

As I was sitting here right before the Brady Murray pick, it became apparent that the team was going to make the pick because of all the jocular expressions, smiles, handshakes and pats on Coach Murray’s back immediately preceding the announcement. Did you get him at the right time?

AM: We never moved Brady one spot up the list. We had him exactly at the right place. We never considered moving up to get him because we had other people ahead of him, and we took him where we felt he merited being selected, so it was great for everybody. It doesn’t always work that way. Andy’s coached other kids that he’s had a very strong affinity to… Ben Eaves (Pittsburgh’s 4th selection, 2001 draft) … Andy was very high on Ben, but we had two players ahead of Ben on our lists and we never jumped him over those two to select him. We stayed true to our list, as we did today. It’s nice when it works out this way, because that’s the way he earns it. He’s got to be in the right spot or it cheapens the whole process. Right from the minute we talked about this last summer, does he want to be involved in this with us, and they (Brady/Andy) said “yes, wherever you think he belongs,” and both Brady and Andy were very clear on that. So, Andy was nervous last night, he was interested as to where we had him, and how many guys were still ahead of him. You know, he’s a dad so he was working us a little bit, but in a fun way. Never put any immediate pressure on us, and we took him where he deserved to go!

How about these late round King selections that we don’t know much about?

AM: They’re players that on our list, we mesh who we feel are the best players, and this year that list stopped at 69 players. So after we mesh those 69 there was a cutoff, then there we have all of our scouts, on one page, a list of the players our Quebec scout likes, our Ontario scout, our Western scout, our College scouts and our European scouts. Then last night we had a meeting where we had each of these scouts identify two to four key players that they would like to acquire out of their particular area. And then, as the players are getting selected, we took the highest ranked player that all of our guys liked, and every player we took was somebody that one of our guys had highlighted. Somebody from our staff really likes every player that we took. Most of them are long term projects and most of them are going to colleges and we’ll see how they turn out, but we’re happy to get them all.

I was going to ask you, do scouts get frustrated sometimes when you don’t select a particular player they may be high on?

AM: Absolutely!

You’re in charge of a number of people and have to manage their individual personalities as well as their work ethic…

AM: …and they work VERY HARD for us, and they spend a lot of nights… There are several guys at this table that wound up with no one selected from all their hard work, but they are a part of the LA Kings, and they just hope that we got the best players, and they trust that we did. We have a great staff, there’s probably one player left on our list that we would have liked to have picked, but he wasn’t a highlighted guy last night so now somebody else might pick him up as the draft closes out. We got the highlighted guys from last night, and that’s the way we wanted to do it, so it worked out terrific for us!

So, giving up the two picks for the one, you didn’t feel like you were losing out on a player, because you got the guy you wanted.

AM: Exactly.

Well, I had a great time and I have thank you again for all of the valuable insight you’ve shared with the letsgokings.com readers.

AM: It’s nice to have met and spoken with you.

Now I know I have to start thinking about Raleigh (2004 Draft site.)

AM: Absolutely. Raleigh is another place I’ve never been to, so I don’t know what it’s like but hopefully we will see you there, or at Staples this coming season.

I think you can be sure you will see me at Staples this coming season. Thanks, Al.


Kevin Gilmore is the Assistant General Manager for the Los Angeles Kings. Watching the Kings draft table, you immediately recognize Kevin as hard working, and fast thinking. As the draft wound down, I called to him from the “cheap seats” (actually I was in the first row, but it sounds better to say “cheap seats”) and introduced myself as a season seat holder and a representative of LGK. Kevin was pleased to hear I was the former, and was most familiar with the latter, saying that he does check the site out from time to time. One of his most recent experiences with LGK was signing on from Toronto on the day the Kings acquired goaltender Roman Cechmanek, to see how the fan reaction was. For the most part, he was pleased.

The first question I asked Kevin was if he had any insight regarding Finnish draftee, Esa Pirnes.

KG: I know about this situation, and I can talk about him. He’s a kid that you can call a late bloomer in the sense that he’s been in Finland for a while, and this year was really his breakthrough year. He had a pretty good regular season and then led his team in scoring in the playoffs. It was also his first time on the Finnish World Championship team, and he also played in the Sweden Games. So he’s a kid that we think can come in and challenge for a spot.

And, his intentions are to come to North America this coming season?

KG: We’ve talked to him already. We called him from the draft table and all he wants is a chance. He said he’d like to come over here, and is willing to spend some time in Manchester if he has to, but he feels he’s ready at this point in his career to come over to the NHL and prove he can play.

He’s 26, he’s about 6 feet tall, and in the moments after you drafted him, I was able to get via the internet a lot of information about him. Does the internet make your job that much easier, and how does it help or hurt to know that the fans can put you and this information under the microscope within minutes of it becoming available? (Give me 10 minutes and I can probably tell you what Esa Pirnes had for breakfast this morning.)

KG: (Laughs.) ABSOLUTELY! It’s great for us in the sense that it gives us so much more information, and, of course it’s great for the fans they can immediately access the information. Years ago you’d sit and go “who is this guy?” and you really wouldn’t know until he showed up at training camp and you got his bio. Now you can go on the internet, see his face probably, read all his stats, get to know a lot about him, and that’s great for the fans.

Well, you know, back in the mid 70s when the Kings drafted some kid out of Clarkson College, the most ardent LA hockey fans didn’t have much information about a late round pick who ended up making quite a splash in the National Hockey League (and still does to this day!)

KG: Yeah (laughs) no one knew who he was… Who is this guy? Dave Taylor? (Lots of laughs)

I know that a lot of the letsgokings.com readers had a chance to come to the prospect camp last summer and get a first hand look at Brady Murray. Aside from being the coach’s son, people are raving about this kid’s real talent.

KG: We’re definitely excited about that too. It’s tough because you come into the draft and you want to be very objective about the way you’re perceived at the draft, and while the temptation’s there once in a while to say “Oh, maybe we can trade up,” but we got him where we thought we could get him, and we’re real pleased with that. He’s a great kid. People have seen him and he’s going to get better. He’s going to a great program in North Dakota.

So, we have Brady going to North Dakota, Big Brian Boyle going to Boston College…

KG: Yes, and our late round pick Marty Guerin is going to Miami-Ohio…

I didn’t know too much about him or the kid, Mike Sullivan…

KG: Sullivan is going to Clarkson, Dave Taylor’s alma mater and will be coached by Greg Dreschel (Dreschel is leaving the Kings organization for the coaching slot this season.) And, actually, we just found out that the Guerin kid was born in Manchester, NH, so that’s an interesting twist we didn’t know.

Kevin, thanks very much. I know you want to get out of here and I appreciate getting to meet you and having a chance to chat with you. Congratulations on a successful 2003 draft.

KG: You’re very welcome!


Repost from a file found on my hard drive dated June, 2003

Andy Murray - January, 2004

As someone who tries to pay attention to the Los Angeles Kings and the press that surrounds them, I think one of the worst things about paying attention too closely is that you get the feeling you are being pandered to. Listening to any Kings representative through the media, you begin to think you are being treated like a 2 year old putting together a jigsaw puzzle… a jigsaw puzzle that has only 4 pieces! Between the newspaper articles, the radio and television interviews, and the soundbytes and quotes that appear on the internet, you can pretty much guess what is going to be said by a player, a coach, a General Manager without even bothering to listen to the actual answer. I know it’s not just the Kings, it’s all of professional sports, but today I choose to focus on the Kings because I have spent the week listening to Andy Murray and Derek Armstrong on the radio, and this morning had the opportunity to sit in on an NHL Media-led conference call with Coach Murray. The fact is, there is a positive spin here. Murray has guided the Kings for close to five seasons, and despite the adversity of injury to star players, he finds himself leading a team that competes on a nightly basis, and is actually still in the playoff hunt, without the marquee names that, if available, any hockey analyst would agree, would make this a serious cup-contending club.

Murray is scheduled to pass Bob Pulford as the Kings leader in games coached on March 10th at Phoenix. His 168 victories are just ten shy of the team record, also set by Pulford. He coached Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2003 World Championships, and has a talented son, Brady, a Kings draftee who was part of the US 2004 World Junior team that garnered gold as well. He speaks eloquently about his team, and will not lead himself down a path of distraction or dissention.

Today there were some basic questions about his team, and his role, and what is in store for the future:

QUESTION: Given your success in the world championships, which do you enjoy more? International play or the NHL.

Both jobs are an outstanding opportunity. Representing your country is very special, very unique.

QUESTION: Because of the Kings injury depleted roster, who, in your opinion, has stepped up in the locker room as a leader?

I don’t look at the locker room, I look at performance on the ice. Mattias Norstrom… we are so happy he’s an All Star. He is the unquestionable leader (practice, weight room, ice) and has been very solid. Prior to his injury, you have to look at Ziggy Palffy (on ice, competitiveness.) One of the smallest defensemen in the NHL, Lubomir Visnovsky… we are disappointed he didn’t make AS team. Has played very well.

QUESTION: Update us on all of the injured players:

That would take the whole conference call (chuckle.) We’re not expecting Palffy, Deadmarsh, or Allison back. If Straka returns in late March-early April, it’s because we are in the playoff hunt, and he will be a big help to us. Aaron Miller is doubtful right now. He is taking longer than we thought. Jared Aulin is not coming back this year. Within the next month we hope to get Miller back. Dustin Brown could play tomorrow vs. the Ducks.

QUESTION: How do you keep the team winning, and in a potential playoff position?

The league doesn’t allow the team to cancel the games, so if we’re gonna play we have to feel good about the effort. Go out, play hard. Look at what management has done to assemble young talent. We have guys able to step up. Teaching begins in our development camp, our rookie camp, our training camp. Players feel comfortable learning our system.

QUESTION: In December through January the team suffered through a 14 game winless streak, yet with 9 ties and 2 OTL you remained competitive – is that bizarre?

It was a real good indication that we are competing on a nightly basis. We had only 2 regulation losses in that period of time. It’s a good indication of depth, so we try to look at the positives.

QUESTION: Who has impressed you the most (of the Manchester call ups?)

Most of the guys have been here both this year and last year, so we have gone through this before. Most recently, Scott Barney has stepped up. Mike Cammalleri had a streak of games where he was effective. Esa Pirnes, we sent down, and has come back with a few strong games. Tim Gleason has been up and down and has been able to contribute as well. There are a lot of players getting opportunities. We would not hesitate bringing up another player. There is constant communication with (Manchester Head Coach, Bruce) Boudreau. 100% of the time we bring up the player Bruce thinks should come up. This gives us credibility with the players throughout the organization.

QUESTION: Dave Taylor helped you out with the Straka trade. Are there any other moves to be made?

Dave has done a great job with the drafting of young players. The Straka trade, at the time, looked like it would help us, and did, prior to his injury. But, Dave is constantly on the phone. If he can make a move to help our team, and it is in the budget structure, he will do it. I coach the players he puts in front of me. If we are going to make the playoffs, we have to do it with what we’ve got.

QUESTION: Have you had any discussions regarding coaching Team Canada?

I have not. There are a lot of quality coaches. If they need me, I will help in any way I can. (Ken) Hitchcock, (Pat) Quinn, (Jacques) Martin… all have to be frontrunners. There are a lot of deserving guys. I’ve seen my name in the media, but that’s been it.

QUESTION: Because of the recent rash of eye injuries, do you think the NHL needs to address the visor issue?

Most of the players come up through college/junior – where items like this are mandatory… Personally I see no reason why the league can’t say it should be mandatory. The players that engage in fisticuffs, they know to remove the gear before they “go.” The Kings may discuss it within the organization about making it team mandatory. Doesn’t take away from the toughness, doesn’t bring the sticks up any higher. If it prevents injury, they should be mandatory.

***

Repost from an old file on my hard drive, dated January, 2004

Al Murray - December, 2003

It’s a partly cloudy but reasonably mild day in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Kings Director of Amateur Scouting Al Murray has just returned the night before from another exhaustive sweep through Ontario, checking out some of the up and coming players that will be congregating in Raleigh this summer at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. I didn’t call Al to get into detail about some of the kids he’s looking at, but I thought it would be good to check in with him on the burning debate over the Kings trade of highly touted prospect Sergei Anshakov, and whether he felt the Kings had possibly mortgaged a valuable chip in return for a player that may or may not be a vital cog in this season’s playoff quest. Al and I spent a good 30 minutes on the phone, and without the use of a tape recorder, I was left scratching some barely legible notes, but taking some writer’s license, I offer to you some of the highlights of our conversation. Knowing that Al starts EACH DAY logging onto LGK and browsing the board, I am sure he’ll remind me the next time we speak if I horribly butcher his words.

One of the first things I notice within our conversation is how Al punctuates a lot of his statements with “One thing the people on the board may not understand is…” and then he will go on to defend Dave Taylor, Andy Murray, the subject of trades, injuries, and the front office in general. Al Murray is a company guy, no doubt about it. His tenure with the team takes him into his fifteenth season, and as he pre-dates the current ownership, he clearly defends it as the best yet. “Take a look at this organization from the top down --- the players in Los Angeles, the players in Manchester, the training facilities and the home arenas for both clubs, add in the prospects in College, in Juniors, in Europe… take the ENTIRE package, and I defy you to show me an organization that can match us in terms of quality,” he says in an adamant tone. “You have to remember that two years ago, Dave and the staff put together a team that no one in the organization has been able to see on the ice in total at the same time for a single day in this time period! You had Aaron Miller’s hernia, followed by a Lappy injury, then of course, Deadmarsh and Allison and the barrage of injuries we suffered all season long last year, and what has transpired this year… You have to understand the level of frustration that people like Dave, Andy, Bill O’Flaherty (Director Of Player Personnel) and the rest of us feel. We think we have a very good team, but then again, we have no idea because we have NEVER seen our team in its entirety.”

The subject turned to Anshakov, and Al was already aware of the debate on LGK. He didn’t completely side with me (damn) but, he did offer these words about the Kings 2002 draftee.

• A very good prospect
• Maybe the best skater we have in the whole organization, which says a lot about his skating ability. (Mentions Tambellini, Frolov and others)
• Certainly an NHL size body
• Gives you a little bit of everything, but (maybe) doesn’t give you everything often enough.
• A lot of tools. Up to him and whatever team is working with him to get the max out of him all the time.
• We think he has a good future, but he hasn’t shown the consistent scoring ability he may need to be a top 6.
• I would still rank several other prospects we have ahead of him.
• I don’t think we gave up one of our “A” prospects, but we gave up a very good one.
• The good organizations over the years have been able to trade prospects like this for a key player, and hopefully Dave has done just that.

And with that we discuss the two Martins… Straka and Strbak… one coming, one going… On Strbak, Al was quick to point out that he was an older player that we brought over to North America in the hopes that he was ready to step in and play an NHL role, but the numbers caught up with him, and he was clearly not one of the top 6 or 7 guys that were going to compete for ice time on a game by game basis in Los Angeles. As Manchester also has a full complement of defensemen, it was apparent that the team was going to have to make a move (or two) that would alleviate some of the glut, and Pittsburgh showed a keen interest in Strbak, as someone who could step in and play for them now. The Penguins defense is a little thin on NHL caliber talent, with only veterans Marc Bergevin and Drake Berehowsky having a wealth of experience, and guys like Dick Tarnstrom, Patrick Boileau, Joseph Melichar and youngsters Dan Focht and Brooks Orpik rounding out the defensive corps. Strbak should have a chance to play, and play a lot in the Pens lineup, so he will get the chance to compete at the NHL level. In that regard, the Kings are pleased to offer Strbak that chance, and don’t see it as something that will come back to haunt them in the future. As for Straka, I bring up the wild highs (a 95 point season a few years back) and the lows (a team worst minus 16 in 22 games this season) and say that as a reasonably knowledgeable hockey fan with a penchant for numbers, I would like to think that BOTH of these situations are way out of the norm, and that Straka’s numbers should like clearly in and around the middle. Murray agrees, and feels that at this point in his career, “Straka should be looked at as the kind of player who will put up good numbers, but will also help in other ways. He’s a veteran who should provide some leadership, and help develop some of the younger talent around him. Clearly look at the guy’s numbers and know that he’s going to give you closer to the upside than the downside of what he has done throughout his career.” To that, we can surely all agree that we hope Al is correct. A healthy and productive Straka should give the Kings a much needed boost up front for the nights that the offensive onus is left to the players who have passed their prime (Robitaille) or clearly haven’t come close to hitting it yet (Brown, Cammalleri, Frolov.)

After we finish discussing the trade, Al throws in his trademark “One thing the people on the boards may not understand is…” and he continues on with his thought, “that Dave Taylor, who takes a lot of heat from some of your posters for his perceived inactivity, is one of the top 2 or 3 GMs in the league when it comes to seeing amateur games, and evaluating the talent that we’ve accumulated over the past few years. Dave was overseas, seeing Anshakov, and seeing players that needed to be looked at when determining if they could or should be given up in a deal. He’s making sure he knows what he is giving up. He is also out consistently watching the colleges and the juniors, and you have to also factor in his location (LA), as he travels further than most of the GMs in these situations. So, he is very much out there and visible at these games, and it’s a credit to, and a commitment from the entire organization.

“Another thing people on the website may not grab on to, we may be seeing one of the best exhibitions of coaching in the history of the NHL. Up in Canada people are blown away by the effort and results of this team.” Once again, speaking like a truly dedicated member of the organization, Murray speaks of his namesake as someone who has done a remarkable job with the team he has been forced to put together like a seamstress might work on a patchwork quilt. “Look at where this team is at in the standings, and imagine what it could be if guys like Adam and Jason were available on a nightly basis. It’s scary.” Who can argue? The team is tied for 5th in the Western Conference, with 26 points, and boasts an impressive team defense that has allowed just 53 goals in their 23 contests.

We make some small talk about the goaltending, and how Cechmanek has run hot and cold in the past, but how the numbers will probably look pretty good at the end of the season, and if the Kings can take the next step and move forward in the playoffs, then the shaky start may be forgotten, though the unorthodox style may cause lingering stomach pains in the abdomen of the Kings fan throughout the season. Murray clearly chuckles, and says that because of his travel schedule he has missed seeing the Kings on the dish most of the year, but that he’s spoken with members of the organization who feel that Roman is still in the process of finding his “comfort zone.” I have to believe that with the team’s commitment to defense, the numbers will be there by season’s end. I remark about how impressed I have been with guys like Jon Sim and the recently recalled Jerrod Smithson, and Al is quick to remind me that these were two guys I was clearly less than enamored with by the end of last season. (Note: I admit it, I’m a convert. Jon Sim rocks, and Jerrod is the “baby faced assassin”!!)

It’s time to say goodbye, as Al’s son has just bought his first home, and dad has to do some foreman like work in getting major appliances into the house. We exchange pleasantries about the job each of us has been doing, I about scouting, he about my musings and writing on LGK (additionally, Al made it a point to single out both Rinkrat and lesgardiens for the jobs that they do as well,) and we agree to speak again some time at the front end of the New Year. Happy Holidays to all of the LGK posters from Al Murray, who hopes the skeptics in the house will accept his hard work and dedication as a holiday gift to all fans of the Los Angeles Kings.

Repost from an old file I found on my hard drive, dated 12/03

A conversation with former Kings Director Of Scouting, Al Murray

Al and I first met in 2002, and then, in 2003 I journeyed to Nashville to attend the NHL Amateur Draft (where the Kings picked up Brown, Tambellini, Boyle, Pushkarev, Brady Murray, Esa Pirnes and a gaggle of others...) In Nashville, Al and I had a number of great conversations, and he gave me unlimited access to his thoughts on the players chosen and not chosen. A lot of what he offered, I posted on LGK at the time, and actually had the advance scoop on the Kings re-acquiring Jozef Stumpel (which was met with collective horror by most of the fan faithful.)

Starting this new blog meant that I would reach out to a number of people who have guided me and given me insight over the years. My last contact number for Al was his cell phone that was property of the Los Angeles Kings. As he's since moved on to HockeyCanada, it was obvious I would have to reach out and get new info.

I am delighted to say that moments after making a cursory inquiry, I was able to speak with Al for a good half hour, catching up on his current duties, as well as discussing the state of his alma mater, the 30th place Los Angeles Kings.

Unfortunately, I did not use the conversation as a forum for an "interview," and therefore don't feel comfortable just repeating our conversation verbatim, as he had no idea he was going on record. I will say, however that at the request of my friend Matt (CBGB to some, DramaQueen or DancingBoy to others) I did have to throw in the "Brian Boyle vs. Corey Perry" scenario, and he assured me that the collective decision of the scouts and management of the LA Kings at the time was that the Boyle decision was a unanimous one, and that he was absolutely projected ahead of Perry at the time. "Of course, hindsight..." as his voice trailed off in a sea of innuendo indicates that he thinks Perry has turned into a valuable piece of a Stanley Cup puzzle, and if the Kings crystal ball had been able to foresee the future, things could have been different (the names of Shea Weber and Patrice Bergeron came up in the same sequence.)

The burning question I had, had to do with Patrick O'Sullivan, who I was extremely high on in Nashville, yet was told with no uncertaintly that the red flag was up on this kid and there was no way he'd be drafted by the Kings. Of course, 29 other teams took the same route before Minnesota grabbed him at the tail end of the 2nd round with the 56th pick. I asked Al about O'Sullivan and his answers made complete sense. First off, there was the psychological aspects of how he would and had handled his parental situation. It was well documented that the elder O'Sullivan (John: http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=8854 ) had been abusive, and stalker-like and questions arose as to how Patrick was going to deal with authority figures. For that reason alone, red flags flew everywhere. Secondly, Al pointed out that at the time, the book on Patrick was that he was (a) not a great skater and (b) had a shooter mentality, so you had to be careful within the team concept about developing a line specifically for him.

Personally, I see a time when O'Sullivan will be the team leader in goals, and I think that the chemistry with skilled players like Kopitar, Brown and Frolov has been evident since Crawford took the defensive shackles off of him and allowed him to up the ante. Anyway, after two more years of juniors, and one exceptional year in the American Hockey League, where he was a runaway choice for rookie of the year, even the Wild had to give to get, and were parting ways with the young sniper, choosing to hold on to Roman Voloshenko, drafted in the second round the following year, and after two years with Houston (AHL) has since returned to Russia. A Wild gamble that didn't pay off.

There was a lot more said, as it related directly to current Kings GM Dean Lombardi, Luc Robitaille, the Kings goaltending situation coming into the 06-07 season, and the future of the kids from that '03 draft (Tambellini and Boyle specifically.) Al Murray is a good guy, who has been integrally involved in the sport of hockey for more than half his life. He's currently Head Scout for HockeyCanada, and has a very different set of responsibilities than he did with the Kings. His great pleasure is seeing those gold medals around the necks of the Under-18 teams he helps assemble. Now, Luc Robitaille is getting involved in HockeyCanada as well, and whereas in the past Al and Luc didn't have much chance to intersect (as Luc was a player, and was actually drafted prior to Al's tenure with the Kings,) there should be some intersection in the future.

Who knows... if Lombardi doesn't pan out, and AEG sees fit to move Luc into a GM role, maybe he'd once again turn to Al Murray for scouting wisdom. That's just conjecture on my part, but you rarely meet nicer, more forthright people than Mr. Murray, and it would be nice to know that he's helping to shape the future of the hockey team you've invested decades of your life cheering for, as well as pissing and moaning about.

And I thought I was on drugs...

...well, I was. The date was March 14, 1981 and the Kings were to square off in an afternoon game at the Fabulous Forum with the Minnesota North Stars. I was celebrating my 26th birthday on this particular Saturday, which really was not unlike most other days in my life prior to that point. I was high. Quite high. This particular day was a mescaline day. Ah, psychedelic drugs. I couldn't do them during the week, but the weekends were stunningly trippy. My partner in crime on this day was Rebecca, a dear friend who had worked with me at RCA Records and enjoyed ogling Kings rookie Larry Murphy, and getting as high as I was on any given day.

We arrived early, and went down to the row of seats immediately behind the glass, next to the penalty box. This was a ritual, and because this was in the pre-Gretzky era, there were very few of us in Los Angeles who bothered, and therefore were never bothered by the Forum security people. In fact, the names Beatrice and Ronnie stand out as ushers who knew us well, and welcomed our presence during warmups.

I had become good friends with Kings left wing Steve Jensen during his tenure with the team, and this, his third season, was a day that he'd skate over to the glass to say hi to Becky and to wish me a happy birthday (Steve was exactly one month younger than me, but his birthday usually fell in the off season, as Kings teams didn't go too far in the post season even back in those days... grin.)

So Becky and I were just coming on to the mescaline, and we were grinning from ear to ear. Steve said, "Hey buddy, I have a surprise for you." and I figured we would be going out to Pancho's after the game for some margaritas, and merriment.

We went up to our familiar seats in Section 12, and the game was set to begin. Mario Lessard defended the goal to our right, and Don Beaupre defended the goal to our left. The puck was dropped and seemingly just seconds later the Kings scored. Then another goal. And another. And another. The crowd was going wild. I remember thinking it was as if the teams just skated from one end of the ice to the other, taking turns putting the red light on. It was less than halfway through the first period and the score was Kings 6, Minnesota 3. I turned to Rebecca and said, "This is it!!! This is the surprise!!!" and I was certain that Steve had somehow fixed it so that the two teams were just going to score at will until time ran out, and that for my birthday I was given the opportunity to see the highest scoring hockey game in NHL history.

Well, as it turned out, the two teams settled in and only scored a few more goals for the remainder of the game, and eventually the mescaline wore off, and my birthday was celebrated with a Kings victory, margaritas and merriment at Pancho's.

One of the goals that was most memorable in that game was by veteran Don Luce, whom the Kings had acquired four days earlier in a rather celebrated deal that included picking up Rick Martin for their playoff run. In fact, this was the only goal of Don's career scored in a Los Angeles uniform, and my memory of it is pretty vivid. Luce was going off on a change and had the puck on his stick in the neutral zone. He lofted it high in the air (causing me to say, as I always did when a player did that for the Kings... "Syl Apps!!!" --- as that was his "trademark") and skated to the bench. The puck floated into the Stars zone and landed neatly on Don Beaupre's left shoulder, bouncing off of the rookie goalie and falling behind the goal line into the net. When Dennis Packer, the Kings public address announcer said, "LOS ANGELES GOAL, scoring his FIRST goal as a King, and sixteenth goal of the season, Number 23... DON LUCE!" there was no one more shocked than Luce himself. He never saw it once it left his stick.



So the title of this piece was "And I thought I was on drugs..." because in researching this story I found two wire service articles detailing the game. Unfortunately I did not find a box score, but check this out... Two articles... two different final scores. The correct one is 10-4, but I suppose if you lived in certain parts of the country, you thought the Kings had rolled a lucky 11.