Why would he throw a significant portion of that away for a 27 year old specialty player? If he is going to jeopardize the ability to keep good, young talent like Doughty (20), Simmonds (22), Bernier (24), and the other young bucks coming up in the system only to bring in a specialty player that is going to affect the books for 15 years, that would undo the past 5 years of work.
That 27 year old specialty player is entering his prime. He represents one of the biggest and most difficult pieces to get on any championship team, a bonafide, scare-the-shit-out-the-opponent-difference maker. No one on the kings scares anyone on the ice. Kopitar scores, but he doesnt 'scare' any team. Signing Doughty, Bernier and Simmonds should not be affected by signing Kovy. This is LA, not some small market team. If ownership cant sign all those players, the team is doomed to mediocrity
(remember how Roman Vopat was going to change the Kings fortunes around? Im still waiting for that 10 years later). Those players minus Kovy is not enough to win the stanley cup. Did you see loaded DET teams of the 90's, are you saying that the Kings cant afford what DET did? The ducks won the cup, and the Kings have stood by and watched. As a kings fan, there isnt a 3year plan, its a 5min plan.
I don't buy in to the thinking that the Kings are going to be somehow worse than they were last year. They had a pretty darn good year (100 points) and they really haven't lost anything. They haven't added too much either except a year's worth of experience and offseason training. Why are they going to be worse for not adding something that may or may not be a benefit? Why is it a foregone conclusion that they will be worse this year?
are they good enough to get out of the 2nd round? are they good enough to be favored to win their first round matchup? Prolly not, and Maybe.
to me that is the same as last year.
Kopitar will score over 40 goals this season - I have no doubts. Ponikarovsky is almost an apples for apples trade for Frolov.
apples to apples? so we can expect Poni to painfully underachieve, that is exactly what Frolov did, underachieve. Poni would be a GREAT 3rd line guy, a mediocre 2nd line guy. Given LA KIngs history, they'll try him on the first line at times and wonder why he only has 11 goals(sarcasm). Poni is good addition to a playoff bound loaded team, but he is not the type of player to 'shoulder the load'. he just isnt that guy.
They are icing virtually the same team they did last year that finished sixth in a brutally tough Western Conference....So where is the downgrade in the team?
That same team that did not have the horses to beat a VAN team, and had no business making it out of the 2nd round even if they did beat VAN. Unless you think we have the second coming of the '79-'80 Edmonton Oilers, this team is not good enough to win. Keep in mind, my goal is the stanley cup, not winning the 2nd or 3rd round of playoffs.
I am pumped with this team and I think they are going to surprise a lot of people.
I am excited about this team as well. But there comes a point in the NHL playoffs that gimmicks and over-achieving stops working. "The best team always wins in an NHL 7-game series."
I am not big on Kovalchuk.
Believe it or not, Im not a huge Kovalchuk fan either. But the stars seem to be aligned for the Kings and I see this an oppourtunity that they cant/shouldnt pass up. In that respect, Kovalchuk is just like Shaq
(when he left ORL - 28, in his prime, ready to make his name in this league). But then again, the Kings arent used to winning and have never known what it takes to bring home the cup. Maybe they should ask the Ducks for advice. (didnt ducks trade for JS Giguere, Bryzgalov and pay big bucks for Pronger, Selanne and Niedrmeyer?)
One thing we both agree on is we would both want this matter to resolved as soon as possible.
