LA KINGS NEWS CLIPS 6/11/10

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1 LA KINGS NEWS CLIPS 6/11/10

2 FROM LAKINGS.COM RICH HAMMOND ARTICLES ON LAKINGS.COM AND LA KINGS INSIDER Numbers game Posted by Rich Hammond on 10 June 2010, 2:39 pm Since rumors are bound to be thrown around soon not that they ever really end it might be instructive to at least look at what the Kings are facing, salary-wise, entering next season. Below, I put together a reasonable look at the Kings lineup (just a semi-educated guess, particularly in terms of prospects), with their salary-cap hits for next season Smyth ($6.25 million)-kopitar ($6.8 million)-williams ($3.5 million) (TBD)-Stoll ($3.6 million)-brown ($3.175 million) Richardson (?)-Handzus ($4 million)-simmonds ($821,666) Clifford ($900,000)-Cliche ($900,000)-Westgarth ($525,000) Clune ($750,000 estimate)-parse ($900,000) Doughty ($3.475 million)-scuderi ($3.4 million) Johnson ($1.425 million)-greene ($2.95 million) Drewiske ($616,667)-(TBD) Harrold ($583,333) Quick ($1.8 million) Bernier ($843,333) Those 20 players, plus the final year of Alyn McCauley s buyout ($666,667), total approximately $47.8 million. This season s salary cap was $56.8 million, and it s reasonable to assume it will hold, unless the players decide to bump it up $2 million. So that would leave the Kings $9 million to fill three spots (that includes Richardson, who made $600,000 last season but should get a sizable raise), assuming they re willing to go to the cap ceiling (which would also mean no wiggle room for a trade-deadline addition). That s not to discourage anyone from debating scenarios, but it s a reminder that if you re thinking of adding $10 million to the payroll, you also have to determine which current salaries you want to dump

3 TODAY IN KINGS HISTORY: JUNE The Los Angeles Kings selected Jim Fox with the 10th overall pick, Bernie Nicholls (Kings all-time scoring) with the 73rd pick and Daryl Evans with the 178th pick of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Fox played 10 NHL seasons ( ), scoring =479 in 578 games before a knee injury ended his career. Since his retirement, Fox has been the Television Color Analyst for the Los Angeles Kings. Nicholls played 17 seasons in the NHL ( ) appearing in 1,127 games with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, scoring =1209 with 1,292 PIMs. Evans tallied 22-30=52 in 113 games with the Kings, Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs, but scored 5-8=13 in 10 playoff games with the Kings in , including the famed "Miracle on Manchester" goal. Evans also currently works as the Kings Radio Color Analyst. (Kings All-Time Broadcasters) Ironically, the Kings also drafted Darren Eliot with the 115th overall selection in that draft. Eliot is also a famed hockey television analyst Hockey Hall of Fame announced the newest members: Grant Fuhr (who played briefly for the Kings), Pat LaFontaine, and junior coach Brian Kilrea (who scored the first goal in Kings history in 1967). [Back] LAKingsHockey Today in Kings History: June 10, Luc Robitaille was named the NHL Rookie of the Year for

4 latimes.com/sports/la-sp-elliott-kings ,0, column latimes.com Kings are following Blackhawks' blueprint Chicago built its team into Stanley Cup champions using a masterful mix of draft picks and free agents, the same patient formula GM Dean Lombardi is employing with L.A. Helene Elliott 9:19 PM PDT, June 10, 2010 The Blackhawks' first Stanley Cup triumph since 1961 was the best thing that could have happened to the Kings short of winning it themselves. The Blackhawks' six-game victory over the Philadelphia Flyers proved that good things come to those who wait. And who draft well, create the right mix in the locker room, and benefit from supportive ownership. The Kings and Blackhawks were on the same dismal track most of the last decade, lacking a cohesive plan or the guts to build the right way. The Hawks missed the playoffs every season but one between and ; the Kings' last playoff appearance before this spring was in The Blackhawks reached the Western Conference final last season and put that lesson to good use this year; the Kings lost their first-round series to Vancouver two months ago but felt they could have won, a memory that can inspire them next season. After years of neglect the Blackhawks were revived when Rocky Wirtz succeeded his late father, William, and put money and passion into hockey operations and marketing. The Kings, whose season- ticket base dropped below 10,000 four years ago, have made substantial gains under General Manager Dean Lombardi, who is fanatical about building through the draft and developing players with as much character as skill. The Kings are probably two years, two centers and a defenseman or two behind the Blackhawks' path, though that could change depending on Lombardi's moves in the free-agent market. The Kings should be a desirable destination for premier players, and that would again follow the lead of the Blackhawks, who filled vital holes through free agency with prolific winger Marian Hossa, defenseman Brian Campbell, clever winger Tomas Kopecky and gritty fourth-liner John Madden, twice a Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils. But Chicago's first step was to assemble a solid core through the draft by wisely using the early picks that resulted from all those non-playoff finishes. Duncan Keith, who's likely to add the Norris trophy to a haul that includes an Olympic gold medal and Cup title, was a second-round pick in His defense partner, Brent Seabrook, was chosen 14th in Power forward Dustin Byfuglien was an eighth-round pick that year and had an enormous impact on the Blackhawks' Cup run with 11 goals. Dave Bolland, a solid, two-way center, was chosen in the second round in Troy Brouwer, a big forward who scored 22 goals this season, was chosen five rounds later. Their heartbeat is steady center Jonathan Toews, drafted third overall in 2006, and flashy winger Patrick Kane, the No. 1 pick in Toews, 22, won an Olympic gold medal with Canada in February and the Conn Smythe

5 trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. Kane had probably his best game of the final in Game 6, setting up two goals and scoring the Cup-winning goal in overtime. The Kings also put their core together through the draft. Team captain Dustin Brown, whose bruising play sets the team's tone, was the 13th pick in Center Anze Kopitar, on the cusp of elite status, was the 11th pick in Winger Alexander Frolov was the 20th pick in Goaltender Jonathan Quick was a third-round pick in Winger Wayne Simmonds was a second-rounder in Defenseman Drew Doughty, chosen second overall in 2008, is a Norris finalist at age 20 and franchise cornerstone. Trades for young defensemen Matt Greene and Jack Johnson and center Michal Handzus accelerated the Kings' progress, just as trades for Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd helped carry the Blackhawks to another level. The Blackhawks will parade the Stanley Cup through the streets of Chicago on Friday. There's no hurry to plan a Cup parade in Los Angeles, but the Blackhawks have shown the Kings the route from oblivion to the pinnacle. It's up to the Kings now to follow that lead too. helene.elliott@latimes.com twitter.com/helenenothelen Copyright 2010, The Los Angeles Times FROM NEWSWIRE Ex-King Rob Blake to retire Rob Blake, the rugged defenseman who controlled the blue line during 20 NHL seasons and captained the San Jose Sharks into the Western Conference finals this spring, is retiring. The announcement is not expected to come until next week. At 6 feet 4 and 225 pounds, Blake, 40, was an intimidating force during two tours of duty with the Kings and with Colorado and the Sharks. He broke into the NHL with Los Angeles in 1990 and quickly became a Kings mainstay. He replaced Wayne Gretzky as the team's captain in 1996 and held the title until he was traded to Colorado in That turned out to be a great move as Blake played a key role when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup title that season.

6 FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS: Kevin Westgarth's Blog: Tough finish to a fun season Courtesy of The Hockey News The Cup. It s almost time to see it again. It has been one heck of a playoffs and we re down to two classic teams with arguably the most effective fans. This is what the other 10 months of the year are for. I definitely don t need to tell anyone how fantastic the NHL playoffs have been. The upsets and close series are a perfect indicator playoffs are indeed a new season. At one point, between the two conferences every seed was still alive: 1, 2, 3 and 5 in the West and 4, 6, 7, and 8 in the East. Wow. And a 3-0 comeback by a team that may end up with the Cup? That makes for good sports. Now I just wish I could stop tearing up every time they show those damned Stanley Cup commercials. D-Mac does it to me every time. Leaving the Big Show, the American League has had its share of drama and breakout post-season performances as well. The most shocking team probably being my own Manchester Monarchs. After stumbling through the second half of the schedule, we ended the season with an eight-game winning streak to secure third place in the endlessly competitive Atlantic Conference. Heading into our first series, we were hopeful, but wary, as we did not fare that well against our opponents, the Portland Pirates, during the year. However, most of the cogs that put us in first place by Christmas were either returning from injury or the NHL. We knew anything was possible, especially since we had the best goalie, and maybe most valuable player in the league, Jonathan Bernier on our side. In all honesty, we knew even one goal could get it done some nights. We took down the Mighty Pirates in a sweep and our confidence grew. Still, heading into a series against the Worcester Sharks was once again a daunting task. After falling behind a game, we came roaring back and took them in six. It was a great series that saw some incredible play on both teams. Unfortunately, during this series I was injured and had to watch from the sidelines after tearing my MCL in Game 2. To say watching from the sidelines during the playoffs is the worst thing in the world is hyperbolic, but not by much. To see some of the players on the other team become a little braver, or pull stunts they might not have if you were in the lineup is maddening, to say the least. We were extremely lucky to have toughness from top to bottom in Manchester even our 20-year-old Russian, Slava Voinov, beat someone up this year, but I inevitably took it personally if anything happened to my teammates. I think I now understand how my parents felt watching me play. There s no way to get rid of that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach from the stands. Sorry, Mom. Next came the Big, Bad Hershey Bears; the best team in the AHL. I think we were a little unsure about what to expect and it showed in Game 1 when Hershey scored 16 seconds into the first period. Oops. But the boys stayed composed and came back to make it a game. Game 2 saw a better effort, but inevitably, a loss in overtime. The best part was talking to the guys after that game, knowing we were on our way home. No one was down and no one was scared. We faced adversity all year and were ready for it. Two incredible wins later the second a 1-0 Bernier special and the series was tied. The Bears looked worn and weary, the only problem was they re a veteran team built to win close games. When Games 5 and 6 looked well in hand for us, the Bears eked out some goals to take both in overtime, ending our fairytale. Damn it. Now I m just torn between rooting against the team that beat us and wanting to lose to the Calder Cup champions.

7 That moment when the last game finishes to signal an end to your season never seems real. No matter what, there s going to be a tomorrow, but tomorrow we re no longer part of the same team. It s over. And it still kills me. After celebrating the season, we had to say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. That is difficult every year, but this year seemed a little different. Three years ago, I came to Manchester with a fresh crop of prospects, many of who have become the leaders of our Atlantic Division Championship team. This year things have changed as we realize it is the end of an era; many of us don t know where we re going to be playing next year. Playing and growing with these guys has seemed like another stint in college and this year we re graduating. It has been an honor and a privilege to play with these guys and I can t wait to see the things they do. On a personal note, after an incredible season with the Monarchs, we saw perhaps one of the best playoff performances in history. Bud Holloway had six game-winning goals in our 10 wins, tying the playoff record. That includes all four in the Portland series, a record that will stand forever. He also had an assist on three of the other four game-winners, meaning he had nine game-winning points in our 10 wins. Buddy put a new (nicely bearded) face on clutch play. Also, I would be remiss if I didn t root for a former teammate of mine, Darroll Powe. Power and I played together for four years at Princeton, graduating in 07 with, arguably, the best class the school and hockey team had ever seen. He s now a big part of the Philadelphia Flyers team vying for Lord Stanley s Silver Dish. Given that the Kings are out and hoping Hexy won t mind Go Flyers Go. After that, it s a long summer and I can t wait for next year. The Kings are Koming. Three Books Unfortunately, my literary pursuits have faltered recently, as I have been swept up in the playoffs and have been busy with crosswords when not watching games or doing rehab. In that vein, the Simon & Schuster collections are excellent and still the best. Also, in the Philly vein, if you have a chance to watch the Broadstreet Bullies special by HBO, it is something else. It makes you a hockey fan all over again. Keep your hands up and your chin down. Westy