It was a year full of up's and down's in the city of Angels as the Kings started off the season full of optimism and a playoff berth well within reach. That quickly changed as the team's management made some very questionable moves, that were not only questioned by the media but by NHL insiders and other General Managers. This lead to the release of the GM who was replaced towards the end of the season by Ken Houston. It later surfaced through reliable sources (www.hockeybuzz.com/eklund) that the former Kings GM was diagnosed with bipolarism and it was learned he had been off his medication for months, at the time of his dismissal. We wish him luck!
Even with the late push Ken Houston made, the season was lost in the last game of the season as his big guns failed to fire as they lost hold of the 8th and final seed. Will those same big guns be part of next year's club remains to be seen. Ilya who?
The Kings already with one of the younger lineups ,will be in a position of buyer with a lot of room under the cap this upcoming year. Ken Houston has gone on record saying they are looking for a solid winger and or center and a top 3 dman .
Help could also come from the farm/ ECHL where 3 potential game breakers in Turris, Mueller and Hanzal will be looking to stick with the big club next year. We should see 1 of them being moved after July 1st.
Here is our seasons player grades. CPHL Player NamePos.AgeRatingCOMMENTSDavid Backes C 24C+look for big things next year as he is starting to find his game and will lock down the number two pivot spotJoe Pavelski C 23C+Loosing ground to BackesHenrik Sedin C 27A+Teams MVP bar none.Maxime Talbot C 24DVery disapointing year but management still likes him.Trent Hunter LW 27B-Did what was expected and had some pop. Will slowly start sliding down the depth chartJohn-Michael Liles LW 27B-A return to the blueline will help him out.Dion Phaneuf LW 23AWill be taking the number 1-2 spot back on d next year. Had a solid season playing out of positionDaniel Sedin LW 27B-Played most of the year without his brother but still put up decent numbers with no center.Chuck Kobasew RW 26B+One of the lone + playersIlya Kovalchuk RW 25B+Often disappeared in big games.Martin Lapointe RW 34B+Brought in for leadership and provided it.David Moss RW 26CNot enough time to make an impact - look for a big year coming up!Patrick O Sullivan RW 23C+Plus player with some pop - did what was expected and is developingAlexander Edler D 22B-Played with the poise of 5th yr proJonas Frogren D 27CLate bloomer could make an impactMark Giordano D 25C+Injuries derailed a great seasonJay McKee D 30BCould be back at a lower price.Andrej Meszaros D 22A+Great season for the 22yr old. Was the main main on the point and controled the powerplay 68pts on theyear.Brent Seabrook D 23BSolid two way playKari Lehtonen G 24BNeeds to step up and steal a few games next year. Otherwise solid and steady.Antti Niemi (claimed) G 25FWill not be around next year
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Kings - Season in review
