As much flak as ESPN gets around here, they were one of the only publications last year to predict the Kings making the playoffs. They also predicted that Phoenix would do better than any thought.
Spector, has the Kings winning the Pacific {slide #13} , Doughty winning Norris {slide #4}, and the Kings winning the West Conferance {slide #3} but losing the Cup to Washington.
Barnaby's high if he thinks a 40 year old Lidstrom will win the Norris.
he came 4th last year, and this year the team should be healthy infront of him meaning his stats improve over last year, and the team finish higher in the standings. That all leads to him being a serious candidate
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"It has not been a good day. I lost my glasses early this morning and I had to go buy a pair of 79 dollar reading glasses today. 79 bucks. You can literally get them at Costco, three-for-20." - Darryl Sutter's response to going up 2-0 in the series.
up and coming, yes. 5th best team in the league, not even close.
EXACTLY !!! ... because I mean being tied for the 8th best record in the league LAST YEAR, and then expecting us to be better, while also expecting San Jose, Phoenix, New Jersey and/or Pittsburgh to maybe get worse ... well THAT CAN'T HAPPEN ! Nope ... no way not gonna happen nope not even close
I mean what do TSN, ESPN and FOX Sports know about Hockey anyways
not a kings fan/hater here but im just going to say, 5th seems on the high end of where I would place the kings,I think they are definately in the hunt for that and can possibly get it but I still see Washington/Detroit*/Chicago*/Vancouver/New Jersey ahead of the kings, the kings have a strong chance of finishing with more points then detroit/chicago i think because the central is pretty strong and chicago probably won't play super strong until playoffs.. I would place the kings 6th if it were me. Just wondering how did Jersey get worse? Arnott+Kovalchuk+Tallinder+Volchenkov - Paul Martin(who didnt play even close to full season last year?)-Dean Mcammond, Although Lemaire is a great coach. Ofcourse kings fans and tsn/espn know more then me, even though tsn rankings last year were quite bad and to me sort of still are.. Do you guys think Bernier will get alot of playing time this year?
I think the only reaon the kings are placed so high is because of potential. All of these rankings are on the premise that all the kids get better, if that happens then sure 5th is possible, but it seems unlikely
not a kings fan/hater here but im just going to say, 5th seems on the high end of where I would place the kings,I think they are definately in the hunt for that and can possibly get it but I still see Washington/Detroit*/Chicago*/Vancouver/New Jersey ahead of the kings, the kings have a strong chance of finishing with more points then detroit/chicago i think because the central is pretty strong and chicago probably won't play super strong until playoffs.. I would place the kings 6th if it were me. Just wondering how did Jersey get worse? Arnott+Kovalchuk+Tallinder+Volchenkov - Paul Martin(who didnt play even close to full season last year?)-Dean Mcammond, Although Lemaire is a great coach. Ofcourse kings fans and tsn/espn know more then me, even though tsn rankings last year were quite bad and to me sort of still are.. Do you guys think Bernier will get alot of playing time this year?
I think most agree that the ranking is quite high. Too high probably. I think the majority of fans would settle for a solid playoff-spot while challenging (possibly even winning) the division. Followed with an improved (much !) performance in the playoffs.
But on the Devils, sure they made a lot of solid additions to their roster ... but before the season starts there'll be 1 or 2 subtractions too following the Kovalchuk signing. -And some would call their blue-line somewhat suspect. So it's not all ready and set to go in New Jersey.
Yeah, a lot of over-hype in the media now. That's not to say I'm not stoked to see them finally getting recognition, though. I just STRONGLY adhere to the "walk before you run" philosphy. That is, you need to get into the playoffs and get bounced in the first round (a task which we all know the Kings completed last year), then get beat in a 7-game 2nd round series or competitive 3rd round series (hopefully the Kings get there this year), in order to have the experience to make a true run at the Cup.
Thus, I stick to my 2011-12 prediction. With a repeat in 2012-13, of course....
That being said, I talked to a buddy of mine yesterday who is a Ducks exec. He commented on how strong the Kings looked last week. I told him pretty much what I said above, that I didn't expect them to contend for the Cup this year. His only response was "you might be surprised". I told him I would be more than happy to be wrong.
I don't know. I guess 5 does seem high but lower than 8 would seem low. The Kings were a good team last year and they improved their goaltending and defense this season. If Quick gets burnt out, Bernier will pick up the slack. I also think Jack Johnson is poised to have a big season.
and yet more love for the Kings ...
, and the Kings winning the West Conferance {slide #3} 
Nope ... no way 
not gonna happen 
nope not even close 
