Kings offseason thread

[Danny Darko]

Slow start to the offseason, but we've have Kovalchuk in for a talk.

Daryl Sydor retired today... makes me feel old. I remember his rookie season with LA.

[Danny Darko]

ESPN - Ilya Kovalchuk has reached an agreement to remain with the Devils.

"Ilya is excited to be continuing his career with New Jersey and knows first-hand the team's dedication and commitment to winning," Jay Grossman, president of PuckAgency, which represents Kovalchuk, said in a statement.

The Devils said they would have media availability with Kovalchuk on Tuesday.

Kovalchuk had also entertained offers from the Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders. SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL also pursued him.

The deal is believed to be worth $100 million over 17 seasons

Read more: http://www.realgmhockey.com/src_wiretap ... z0uA4W2MWi

Bwahahahahahahhah 17 year deal? that is silly

[Danny Darko]

So moving on from the Ilya saga:

Per Wiretap:

Press Release - The Kings have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with unrestricted free agent left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky, Kings President/GM Dean Lombardi announced today.

Ponikarovsky, 30, recorded 21 goals – his fourth 20-goal campaign in the past five seasons – in 77 regular season games with Pittsburgh and Toronto in 2009-10. Other totals from this past season included 50 points, 61 penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating for the 6-4, 229-pound native of Kiev, Ukraine.

Ponikarovsky, who has seen action in nine NHL seasons, totaled nine points and 17 penalty minutes in 16 regular season games with Pittsburgh after the Penguins acquired him from Toronto for forward Luca Caputi and defenseman Martin Skoula on March 2, 2010. [READ]

Read more: http://hockey.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ar ... z0uzyfNhpt

[Danny Darko]

sounds like a typical Dean guy with size and some grit. I like it.

[Danny Darko]

Good old Frolov worked his ass off as a 2 way player then was butt hurt about LA pursuing "Makes me Ilya Kovalchuk". Not sure what to think here.

We've lost:

Sean O'Donnell- he did good as the part of Yoda and train Drew well, but he's ancient and we have talented youngsters such as Tuebert, Voynov, Drewiske, and Hickey waiting to shine.

Alexander Frolov- I thought he's be a complete stud ala Kopi, but he turned out to be more of a blue collar guy like a poor man's Ryan Smyth. I think we lost something here, but he's replaced by a guy in Alexei Ponikarovsky that is better suited for the role Dean/Murray were cramming down Alexanders throat. At 6'4" 230lbs he's also going to be a load and a better fore checker. Scoring LW is still an area of need for us though.

Raitis Ivanans- Well he did your typical tough guy think, was a wall that absorbed about anything if not a little short armed for the new generation big boys, but he didn't get much credit for being a decent positional skater, which he was imo. So do we now see the era of Westgarth? He's

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeeeY-jbpck[/youtube]
same fight with a better angle of Westgarth (33) and his giant uppercut
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_6vNE5_vL8&feature=related[/youtube]

Kevin is still a bit of a liability as a positional player, though like most young enforcers. He does check well and skate well, but he'll need to be accountable and not take bad penalties head hunting for everyone.

Prospects-
It sure seems like Brayden Schenn might make the team this year after really good run at it last year.
Tuebert is trying to learn not to kill everyone down there, but hey, we just lost Ivanans so you never know. Tuebert does face more positional issues than Westgarth though with the glut of defenders the Kings have.

[Danny Darko]

Rule Changes being discussed that actually excite me?! yes.

The NHL started its “research camp” today in Toronto, where 33 draft-eligible prospects skated and tested out proposed new rules that the league wanted to get an ice-level look at. The proposed changes, as posted by NHL.com’s Mike Morreale, included…

*Hybrid icing rule
*No line change for team committing an offside
*Crease reset rule
*Face-off variation (face-off controlled by whistle in place of traditional puck drop)
*Overtime: three minutes of 4-of-4, three minutes of 3-on-3, three minutes of 2-on-2, followed by shootout (5 players per team).
*Bigger crease
*Verification goal line (additional line situated behind the goal line)
*Wider blue lines
*Line changes zone in front of each bench
*Face-off variations (infringement results in the offending player moving back further, three face-off dots down the middle of the ice)
*No icing the puck while shorthanded

The full list of potential changes can be found here. Honestly, other than the “no line change after offside,” I’m not sure I would want to see any of these changes implemented. Your thoughts

http://lakingsinsider.com/


Wow I would much rather see the ice get better as the number of players shrinks for OT's. I really think this is way more exciting than a shootout after 5.

No hosing the puck when short handed? wow... I could go either way on this. I know it would increase scoring and cause more disciplined play, but then also it makes refs too integral for my blood. We've seen too many bad calls for me to want penalties to be a focus of scoring even further than it already it.