Team 4- The Final Installment...ish

Round 4 of selecting a NEW TEAM has landed on the LA Kings. This is a team with some interesting pieces and makes them one of the more attractive teams to choose from.For the last few years they have been a bit of a joke on the ice and there were questionable decisions being made in the front office. On the bright side it was those years that put them in a position to start building their team through the draft. The decision to bring in Marc Crawford probably wasn’t the right choice and by all accounts his endorsement of Dan Cloutier in nets did nothing to further the development of this team.

The change in philosophy on how prospects are evaluated and developed under the guidance of Dean Lombardi and his hockey operations staff is a big reason for optimism. Lombardi did a good job at putting together the San Jose Sharks and looks to be doing that in LA. The Kings have what looks to be one of the deepest roster of quality of prospects in the NHL. They have 3 good looking goaltenders in Jonathan Bernier, Jeff Zatkoff and Jon Quick...all under the age of 23. Quick just came off a very solid rookie year as the starter. His play will allow the team to be patient in bringing along the other 2 and will allow for some competition on the farm team. Another luxury they have is a very deep defence both at the NHL level and in the system. Drew Doughty very easily could have been a contender for rookie of the year and was selected to play for Canada at the World Championships. Jack Johnson is a big body First Round Pick and has that Michigan pedigree. In the minors and in junior may be the best grouping of young defence. Canadian World Junior captain Thomas Hickey was an early pick and looks to be a good 2 way defenceman, smart and savvy Russian Vyacheslav Voynov has some real potential, towering pivot Brian Boyle may play center or defence but is a pig body for sure and then last years 13th pick the rugged Colten Teubert ( I have a softy spot for Teubert as I have met him and gotten his autograph. He seemed really down to earth very chatty and outgoing just a nice guy...also watching him in the World Juniors in person as a first pair shutdown player doesn’t hurt. He looks to possibly be a very solid player).

Where I see the team lacking is up front. After watching a few games and looking into the team they are a little weak up front. Scoring was an issue all season and they will need to do something soon to address this. There have been talk that maybe a Marian Gaborek may come as a free agent and even some talk of Vincent Lecavalier being dealt to LA. If that is the case they do have some pieces that could be moved in a possible deal as Tampa has NO DEFENCE. The Entry Draft this year will be very interesting for them as they do have the 5th pick and are assured of a good player or it could be used to get a top flight forward that can put the puck in the net.

Already on the team or on the verge that look to be making positive strides are Oscar Moller,Wayne Simmonds, Teddy Purcell, and Trevor Lewis. These youngsters along with Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Jarret Stoll and Alexander Frolov allow for a decent core to build upon.

So here we are, 4 teams that are in the running to become my favorite Western Conference team. This is where things begging to get difficult and a little murky. I will admit that I did have a bit of a lean when I began thinking about this and LA had the early lead. The only problem was that as time went by and i started doing a little research the balance of power began to shift. As of right now I have widdled the selection down to 2 possible choices....The LA Kings and....The St. Louis Blues. and that I am afraid is where it will need to stay right at this moment. It is just too close to call and I will have to give it some real thought and weigh the pros and cons. At this point it is just too close to call...a photo finish as it were. I hope to have an answer to this burning question very soon, within the next few days but I just don’t know which way to go at this point. Wish me luck, it looks like I will need it.

The Quest - In Search of a 1B

ROUND 1 here is the first installment of the selecting a New Favorite Western Conference NHL Team. In honour of there first trip back to the playoff and their exit last night after being swept, I am submitting the St. Louis Blues.

This is an interesting team for a few reasons. I wasn’t planning on sellecting any teams for consideration that made the playoffs as they could be seen as already decent and I didn’t wasn’t to be considered as a bandwagon jumper. They messed up that plan by making a late season charge into the playoffs. Perhaps they over achieved a bit this year but they are still a good up and coming team. Chris Mason has played well and between himself and Hannu Toivenen could prove to be a good 1-2 combo in nets for a while. Keith Tkachuk is still there and is actually playing well and doesn’t seem to be a prickly or as , well, fat as he has been in the past. There are some real nice pieces already in the lineup with Patrik Berglund, Brad Boyes, Andy Mcdonald, T.J. Oshie, Erik Johnson and Eric Brewer. To be in the position that they are in right now despite the injuries to many of the big name players on the team such as Paul Karya it shows that they are a team to keep an eye on.

I also like the fact that John Davidson is there overseeing this club as he seems to have had a vision for this team and has stuck with it and that is beginning to show dividends with the run they are currently on. They should get a mid 1st round pick this season in a decently deep draft, and that will also help going forward.

They also have some decent players down the line either in the minors or drafted players. None more interesting then Alex Pietrangelo who will be looking to make the club next season and will have a very legit chance of doing so.

One thing that is going against them in my eyes stems to a trade that was made earlier in the year between themselves and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pre-Brian Burke, Cliff Fletcher pulled a deal that sent Lee Stempniak to TO for Alexander Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo. I am not pleased with this deal as one player I have no use for is Colaiacovo. Steen I can take or leave, he may be serviceable but as for Colaiacovo, no interest...you can’t be a top prospect for 6 years...there is no reset button every year.

Look for the next possible team to be posted very soon.

Looking ahead to 2009/10 - Decision Time

With the Ottawa Senators out of the playoffs for the first time in 11 years I figure now is as good a time as any to begin looking toward next season and like many GM’s have to get all the ducks in a row prior to the Entry Draft as well as July 1 free agency.

In the next few days I will begin a short series involving teams in the NHL’s Western Conference. One may think as the season is drawing to a close that it would involve the playoffs, but not this time. Over the course of a few days I will be outlining a small sampling of Western teams that are more “down” that I will be throwing my support behind and becoming my Western team and backup favorite. The Ottawa Senators will remain my team and I will always throw my support that direction in the unlikely event that the two ever meet up...but how sweet would that be? Now when I began throwing around some teams the Blues and Blue Jackets looked like they were going to miss the playoffs and had the potential to be a lottery pick but after an unlikely run they have basically made the playoffs but are still on the short list. I wanted to keep it to the down and outs so there would be no accusing of a bandwagon jumper. St Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Phoenix Coyotes, L.A. Kings, or Nashville Predators. The other teams in the West are either too established or teams that don’t interest me. Even though Edmonton fits the bill I just can’t justify them just for being a Canadian team and as for the Colorado Avalanche they just seem as a team that has been good for too long and maybe with Joe Sakic out and all the injuries, arn’t as bad as they appeared this year.

So look forward to this series to begin probably early to mid week next week. Please feel free to weigh in as there is a tentative ranking going in but nothing is set in stone yet and a good case could sway the final decision.