I wouldn't say that at all. Muzzin proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is ready for the NHL. If I was Johnson, I would be very worried about my future with the Kings, because Muzzin CAN step in and do what Johnson does, only better.
In my opinion, Johnson is gone, it's only a matter of time.
Dude.... I like Muzzin as much as the next guy but JJ on a bad day is still better.
Muzzin's going to be a nice NHL player but he's never going to be the top 2 d-man for a whole country. Just isn't going to happen.
This JJ hate has really got to stop. Who cares if he isn't the best in his generation? Who cares if he isn't as good as Drew. All that matters is that he can be one of the best 2nd or 3rd d-men in the league and once in a whole be a top level guy.
I don't think Muzzin is going to stay down all that long. We're coming up on decision time for Schenn and Loki hasn't yet proven that he's ready....
I don't think Muzzin is going to stay down all that long. We're coming up on decision time for Schenn and Loki hasn't yet proven that he's ready....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammond
The Kings did not put Drew Doughty on injured reserve because they believe there’s an outside chance that he might be able to return for Wednesday’s game at Chicago. If Doughty goes on IR, he would not be able to play until Thursday. Plus, with the Kings playing in the Midwest, Jake Muzzin won’t be too far away should they need him again.
Afraid to put Harrold on waivers? Showing him off for a possible trade? I bet he's worked hard to get where he is and all, but seriously. Who, other than Dean Lombardi/Terry Murray, would in their right mind actually want Harrold for anything? I doubt Anaheim would find a spot for him and we all know what their defense looks like...
Put me in with the group of people scratching their heads. Muzzin ona bad day in his first 6 games in the freaking NHL has proven himself to be a better option then Peter Harrold. Not that PH is terrible because he isn't, its just that Muzz not only has greater natural talent but also has greater physical ability and I just can't see any reason beyond showcasing a different player for a deal for this decision.
I mean Muzz should be the reason that we sent down Davis more than making room for freaking Harrold.
Muzzin is down there as he is waiver-exempt and will be getting great minutes playing in the first pairing with Hickey. Doughty will be back soon, so there's no reason to risk losing Drewiske or Harrold for nothing.
Muzzin has room to grow, and while he played great, he hasn't even played a full-season in the AHL yet. I'm sure he'll be called up, but a season down there could be great for his development in terms of size and smarts.
They're probably looking for Drewiske to play with Greene once Doughty comes back and have Harrold as the 7th guy. I don't want Muzzin sitting on the bench so sending him down now instead of waiving Harrold (remember we HAD to send someone down) and risk losing Harry on waivers or re-entry waivers makes sense.
They're probably looking for Drewiske to play with Greene once Doughty comes back and have Harrold as the 7th guy. I don't want Muzzin sitting on the bench so sending him down now instead of waiving Harrold (remember we HAD to send someone down) and risk losing Harry on waivers or re-entry waivers makes sense.
Muzzin is better than Harrold, Drewiske and Johnson. No reason he should have been sent down.
Agree but I think the Kings want him to play 20+ min at the pro level to speed up his progress. I think they are very happy with Muzzin and look for him to be the first recall.
We are glutted up on the blue line with Muzzin, Voynov, Hickey, Martinez all being NHL ready to varying degrees but also all significantly better options than PH. In todays salary cap aware NHL I can't imagine that the Kings would honestly be concerned about losing PH to waivers and even in the extreme outside chance that someone would actually claim him (since I see him as redundant and most NHL teams have a player or players who can fill his spot) we are also deep in enough in two way talent to where he simply wouldn't be missed.
I see it as we have to play our absolute best players to win and more so to win the cup. If we are sitting better players at the beginning of the season, when we have a little more room to break them in as everyone is still putting their teams/systems in place so that we can play it safe with place holders then I am against it.
PH does nothing more than take a spot either up front or in back that could be held by a better player.
To me, Davis is also a thin ice player as Muzzin in such short time is clearly and significantly better and a better option than DD has been up to this point. I remember Hickey and Muzzin being a pretty much equal heat to make the team and Muzz got the nod.
I am one of our fans who also follows the Narchs pretty closely and watch as many games as possible and I believe that VV is easily as good as either of them at this point so we have 3 NHL ready talented kids who are now playing on the farm and while that might be beneficial for their development in some ways it absolutely should also mean that we no longer have room for the PH's and also that we no longer need players who are only "competent" at this point.
Its time for us to make room and get these kids into the line up so that we have an entire season to evaluate their talent and work them into our line up/system at the NHL level.
I know that this site is called Hockey Future's, but come on, let the defensemen develop properly. Harrold is just fine as a bottom pairing defenseman, no reason to not have Muzzin, Voynov and Hickey getting top 4 minutes in the AHL. Defensemen still take longer to develop and there is no reason to rush any of them. The Kings are 5-2 and people still complain.
Hickey - 21
Muzzin - 21
Voynov - 20
All three of them are playing where they should be playing, top minutes in the AHL. Once Doughty comes back, Harrold will be back to being the #7 defenseman. The Monarchs are a very young team and I would rather have them play together and develop a strong bond in the AHL that they can bring with the to the NHL when they make it.
Its time for us to make room and get these kids into the line up so that we have an entire season to evaluate their talent and work them into our line up/system at the NHL level.
This doesn't make any sense, you don't develop players in the NHL. The Monarchs play the same system and they can all play 20+ minutes. The Kings can evaluate their talent just as much in the AHL. And they can all play together with lots of special team minutes.
Every player develops in the NHL at one point or another. *When* a player is ready to take the next step they are moved along to the next level. Braden Schenn has little to benefit from playing in jrs so he is playing/developing in the NHL.
Want to argue that he is a rare case or that he can't go to the AHL so that is why we have him up in the bigs then I can give you JJ,DD,WS and literally tons of other player both currently playing in the NHL today and over the years.
Every player develops in the NHL at one point or another. *When* a player is ready to take the next step they are moved along to the next level. Braden Schenn has little to benefit from playing in jrs so he is playing/developing in the NHL.
Want to argue that he is a rare case or that he can't go to the AHL so that is why we have him up in the bigs then I can give you JJ,DD,WS and literally tons of other player both currently playing in the NHL today and over the years.
Johnson is a poor example because spending some time in the AHL would have been very beneficial to him.
So har he appears to be the same player as he was when he got here, tons and tons of talent that is still waiting to put everything together.
I am not certain that the AHL would have done much to change that and his level of play is simply way above AHL caliber so he wouldn't be able to really learn anything with the exception of becoming a more lazy player due to his being so much greater than his competition.
Ideally we would send him to learn at the highest level possible so that he will be challenged up to and beyond his skill level, forcing him to develop maturity into his talent. I think that is what we see at times when we see JJ have a stellar game or link a few shifts together.
The big question in my opinion is how long will it take for him to learn how to play his game and will he still be a King by the time he does.
So har he appears to be the same player as he was when he got here, tons and tons of talent that is still waiting to put everything together.
I am not certain that the AHL would have done much to change that and his level of play is simply way above AHL caliber so he wouldn't be able to really learn anything with the exception of becoming a more lazy player due to his being so much greater than his competition.
Ideally we would send him to learn at the highest level possible so that he will be challenged up to and beyond his skill level, forcing him to develop maturity into his talent. I think that is what we see at times when we see JJ have a stellar game or link a few shifts together.
The big question in my opinion is how long will it take for him to learn how to play his game and will he still be a King by the time he does.
To me, he is the one player that is the most attractive to other teams that Lombardi is probably willing to give up to get some help up front. If Lombardi could count on Hickey, Muzzin, Voynov, or anyone else to do about 75% of the things that Johnson CAN do but doesn't always do, then I think Johnson would be trade bait.
At any rate the Kings look set on defense when Doughty returns.
Doughty - Mitchell
Johnson - Scuderi
Greene - Drewiske
Harrold
If Drewiske's game slacks off at all one of the kids in Manchester is going to get a shot at replacing him. It would be great though if the big four in Manchester of Hickey, Muzzin, Voynov, and Martinez had an opportunity to anchor that blueline for an entire season. All of them need some polish.
Johnson could have used some humbling in the AHL. He's way too cocky, in a bad way. He has all of the physical ability, but I'm worried about the grey matter. He has to play smarter and he could have learned it a lot faster in the AHL.
Schenn is fine as a fourth liner, it would be bad if he was in the top 6 and was counted on to score. Clifford could use more time in juniors.
JJ will mature. That's what it's really all about now and he seems to get much more focused when reaching the big games. He just needs to learn how to translate that focus and attention to the regular season as well, even if it's not as exciting as the tournament atmosphere.
