It has been 44 years since the National Hockey League went Hollywood with its first expansion in 1967, but Los Angeles has yet to celebrate a Stanley Cup victory.
That's about to change. This is the Kings' year.
Coach Terry Murray and his Kings were poised for a great 2011-12 season with all-stars at every position, but a summertime trade that brought them Mike Richards from the Philadelphia Flyers was the cherry on top.
L.A. had to give up prized prospect Brayden Schenn in that deal, along with second-line forward Wayne Simmonds, a 14-goal man last year, but Richards was one of two major oars that propelled the Flyers' canoe last year. The other one, Jeff Carter, was also discarded, sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Richards has scored 112 goals and 283 points in his last four seasons and joins an offensive unit in L.A. that 29 other coaches in the league would give their mint condition Bobby Orr rookie cards to have. He joins the likes of Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Dustin Brown and free agent signee Simon Gagne to give Murray an embarrassment of riches when it comes to powerplay options. Dustin Penner, a 20-plus-goal man on four occasions and still in his prime at 29, and 20-goal scorer Jarret Stoll will almost be afterthoughts on this juggernaut. Leading the defence are arguably two of the best five young defencemen in the game - Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. Quick and Bernier, the goaltending Jonathans, give the Kings a solid one-two punch in the net.
"We feel we can compete for the Stanley Cup, and that's what we're preparing for," defenceman Willie Mitchell told NBC Sports."The big thing is when your general manager and the ownership goes out and makes the moves and spends the money that they did, it's a vote of confidence in us as a group to say that they think we're ready."
The Kings made the playoffs last year by a mere three points, but were only seven points out of second place in the Western Conference. This year they appear to be ready to make the leap to Stanley Cup contender, joining the likes of Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Washington, Boston, Detroit and San Jose. "We have a good team - on paper," said Murray. "But we have to work at our system. If we do that, we have a shot at what we all play the game for - the Stanley Cup."
And next June, the biggest blockbuster hit in Hollywood could be Stanley himself, on parade down Wilshire Boulevard.
Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: "The Dallas Cowboys lost to the New York Jets, 27-24, due to two last-minute turnovers by Cowboy QB, Tony Romo. Romo hasn't choked that bad since he was dating Jessica Simpson and she asked if her jeans made her butt look big."
Groaner of the week: "If he coached in Canada," mused Bob Molinaro of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, "LSU coach Les Miles would be known as Fewer Kilometres."
Comedy writer Jim Barach: "A study says that football players who cry after a game have higher self esteem than those who don't. Which is finally some good news for the St. Louis Rams."
RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: "Britain is waging war on litter in London for the 2012 Olympics with new garbage cans that say thank you or sing when rubbish is put in. Call it trash talking."
A groaner from Currie: "Police in London, Ont., have charged a man for the banana-throwing incident at an NHL preseason game. The accused will face a heavy fine with no chance of a peel."
Tampa Bay Rays marketing slogan from sportspickle.com: "Of Tampa Bay's three pro teams, we deserve to be ignored the least."
So, Marlins closer Leo Nuñez was pitching under an assumed name and was a year older than advertised? "Teammates called him 'Nuney,' " noted Greg Cote of The Miami Herald. "His nickname should have been Leo the Lyin'."
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, on his area's two NFL coaches revealing little to the press: "(Hue) Jackson (Oakland) typically presents a happier face to the media and public than does (Jim) Harbaugh (49ers), but with both men, there's usually as much meat in what they say to the outside world as there is in jailhouse stew."
Question asked by an Indianapolis Colts fan of Washington Post sports columnist Norman Chad: "If Peyton Manning is out for the season and the Colts go 0-16, will he win his fifth MVP?"
Janice Hough, of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: "So in the end, what was the difference between the Red Sox and the Yankees? About a week."
Another one from Hough: "The Tampa Bay Rays became the first team eliminated with the baseball playoffs. When asked their reaction, most sports fans in Tampa responded "We have a baseball team?"
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca
