Sometimes it just feels like the only thing you do is play hockey and eat — Henrik Lundqvist
Between barbecuing, outdoor parties and general miscellany, summer is indeed the season for eating. Alas, the autumnal equinox has now come and gone, so the other half of King Henrik’s pronouncement is about to happen. It’s time to play (and for us couch potatoes, watch) hockey.
Each year, the new hockey season is filled with fresh, interesting story lines worth watching. Last year, Tyler Toffoli was on the watch list, as was Slava Voynov. Martin Jones was an afterthought in Manchester, as was Tanner Pearson. The Kings had lost their title to the Chicago Blackhawks and were facing a long, steep climb up the mountain once more. There were whispers in certain corners that the eight-seeded Kings were a “fluke” champion in 2012, and pundits were now fawning over crosstown rival Anaheim and inter-state foe San Jose.
We all know what ultimately happened. Coming into this season, the ‘fluke’ label has been discarded in favor of ‘possible dynasty’. While all that remains be seen, it’s another year, and thus brand new stories to watch. The following are five worth keeping an eye on.
Drew Doughty and the Norris Trophy watch
Unfortunately for Doughty, Norris Trophy winners consistently score at a high level, something he hasn’t accomplished since 2009-10. The fewest number of points by a winner (not counting lockout-shortened seasons) in recent memory was Zdeno Chara’s 50 in 2008-09, with an average of 65 over the past ten campaigns. Even with his ice time, high Corsi For and surprising physicality, he’s going to need to get out of the 30s and 40s in total points if he ever hopes to be shining up that trophy on his mantle someday.
The Mike Richards watch
Given his offensive output in recent seasons as well as his periodic demotion to the fourth line, it’s almost hard to remember that the 29-year old Richards was a perennial 30 goal, 60+ point player with the Philadelphia Flyers. He should be in his prime, and yet he was this close to becoming a compliance buyout victim. “Everyone knows what this guy brings. He’s very hard to find,” said GM Dean Lombardi, assessing Richards. “I just think he’s at a stage in his career where he has to change the way he prepares in the offseason. You can’t prepare the same way at 29 you did at 22. That’s what it comes down to.”
Richards reportedly came to camp in great shape. Given his $5.75 million cap hit and contract that runs into the next decade, it’s imperative he returns to form. Can he rebound this season? That will absolutely be an unfolding story to watch.
The Dustin Brown watch
Sure, L.A won the Cup despite Brown’s struggles, but they cannot afford to have nearly one-sixth of their cap tied up in two players vastly underperforming offensively. Brown has to be better. A lot better.
Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson
On the plus side, there’s Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson. Both are young (22), recent high draft picks that have had immediate success at the NHL level. Toffoli played in 62 games, averaging 12:56 of ice time and scoring 29 points. He stepped it up big time in the playoffs, notching 14 points in 26 game. Pearson appeared in just 25 games (7 points), but also stood tall in the playoffs, recording 12 points.
Toffoli and Pearson were paired with Jeff Carter during much of the playoffs, and the results speak for themselves. Watch for Darryl Sutter to give the trio a chance to recreate their chemistry once again this year. Are these two youngsters ready to take the next step in their development and become offensive stars in the making? Watch and learn, Kings fans.
Can the Kings repeat?
However, the Kings have plenty going for them in their quest for yet another Cup. For starters, they have a franchise center (Kopitar), franchise defenseman (Doughty) and franchise goaltender (Quick). They’ve got enviable depth up and down the line. Darryl Sutter has proven himself to be one of the best head coaches in the NHL, and Dean Lombardi one of the top GMs. Other than the return to form of Richards and Brown and the defense adjusting to the loss of Willie Mitchell, there aren’t many unknowns on this Kings team to watch out for.
Disconcertingly for the rest of the NHL, the Kings project to be even better this year. Marian Gaborik re-signed this past offseason and when healthy, has the electric skills necessary to jump-start an otherwise inconsistent offense. Watch for a very solid regular season in L.A., and after that, it’s anyone’s guess whether or not they have what it takes to get back to the Cup finals.
As a matter of fact, I discussed that very scenario in this piece a couple of months ago. Watch out, Nostradamus — watch out.
You sure have this team dialed in. I usually read these stories about the Kings just to see how little they understand about the team, but you pretty much nailed it. I expect both Richards and Brown to have much better seasons, especially Richards. He knows he won’t be here after this season if he plays like he did last season. By the way, I have been a fan since the late 70’s and I now live in the northwest.
Brown should be better. He wasn’t fully recovered from his knee the first half of the year.
Hmm. “Richards was a perennial 30 goal” scorer? He reached that mark twice (5 and 6 seasons back). 2 times in the course of nine seasons is “perennial?” I don’t know why it’s so heretical to acknowledge the plain fact that Richards, for all the compulsory love he gets, is a very average player. Has been throughout most of his time in LA.
Richards’ reduced offensive numbers should not be viewed in the same light as Brown’s reduced numbers.
Richards spent 2/3 of the season in a top 6 role and getting good minutes on PP unit 1. A lot of good quality minutes. Modest offensive numbers given those roles are a great deal more damning than in the minutes allotted to Brown, who came in injured and spent 90+% of the season on line 3 and saw very spotty use on the PP the entire season. Hard to put up good numbers when not given the opportunity to do so. If you take into consideration how Darryl Sutter used Brown last season, his lower numbers are pretty well explained.
Where does this idea that NHL players are in their prime at age 28 or 29? It’s pretty rare that a player puts up his best offensive season after the age of 25-26.