Clifford is a 10-15 goal guy in the NHL, he may have an odd 20 goal season, but it will not become the norm. Perfect 3rd liner with Simmonds.
Yup. This is exactly what I'm thinking, perfect 3rd liner and will eventually be centered by someone like Lewis permanently or Schenn. I thought Schenn would be a perfect 3rd line center, kind of like Jordan Staal and Loktionov was the 2nd line center of the future but after seeing the plan they have for Loktionov, which is to convert him to LW, I say Schenn is the future 2nd line C and Lewis is 3rd line.
That change (switching Lokti from C to LW), in my opinion, is mostly based on Lewis' growth and the obvious fact that we don't have a solid LW in our prospect pool. This is how I see things in the future:
Much like Brown was on his line last year without Williams? Hes on nearly the same exact pace he was last year having Williams on his line this year. His 82 game pace last year was 52 pts, this year its 51.
Hes one of the better defensively responsible players on the Kings and his playmaking abilities arent that bad. Look at some of the names around him last year. Krejci, Bergeron, Jokinen, Koivu, Duchene. All considered 2nd line guys and all have similar assists numbers to Stoll.
Well that number is skewed, due to Stoll being on the no 1 pp unit last year. Close to 50% of his points were on the PP. Now this year, that % is down because he had the luxury of playing with a decent playmaker during even Str times. Another telling story, is the production of Brown playing with playmaker this year. His PPG is up so far this year (he is slumping after the line shuffles).
Like i said, he does a good job on the 2nd line, but if we are to be real contenders, i feel we need a more all around center on that line (unless we resign JW) or put a playmaker like Lokti (once he reaches his potential) with him.
I know statistically he fares even amongst the 2nd liners in the league, but realistically, where would he play on Detroit, Vancouver, Pitt, Philly, SJ, Boston, Dallas, etc? He wouldnt make the top 6 for many contenders in my opinion.
Nominating Toffoli as a homegrown potential sniper...
I have been spending a ton of time watching him play this season and I love the kid. On the ice his game is continuing to develop and he is clearly an exceptional player and off the ice he is the most personable approachable kid who clearly eats sleeps and breathes the game.
That said, sniper isn't exactly how I would categorize him. He has gifted hands and is a very good skater but his overall game keeps him from being that game breaking guy that I think of when I think of the term sniper.
If he continues to develop along the way that I believe he will then he should score a gob of goals in the NHL but not so many of them will be those flashy sniper type as much as they will be the deadly if left open kind. If that makes any sense.
Heck, call him whatever anyone wants to, Toffoli really is a gifted goal scoring forward.
Same things can be said about Vey though in a different way.
Kitsyn has a sort of brutish version of a young Luc with a modern cause havoc style inserted into it.
Weal is closer to a true sniper in my opinion and if he continues to play by instinct rather than instruct I think we will all be pleasantly surprised by him.
Also, I haven't given up at all on Kozun yet. If Clifford played a less physical/defencive game and a more offensive game then I would say that the two have some comparable aspects to each other.
Kozun has one problem and that is that he has to learn how to be a better two way player and he is, its just taking time. If he were allowed to simply run free on the Monarchs then he would be scoring a ton, as it is he is being reigned in and it is slowly starting to work.
Just to name a few.
Matt Moulson signs his new deal.
Last edited by Tonellisghost: 01-27-2011 at 04:36 PM.
Weal is closer to a true sniper in my opinion and if he continues to play by instinct rather than instruct I think we will all be pleasantly surprised by him.
Maybe a sniper in a Derek Roy manner. Primarily a playmaker's mentality, akin to his ol linemate Eberle, that can finish when the opportunity arises.
He's proven he can draft D prospects well very well but when it comes to offense, we've literally got no one who can become a top 6 forward but Brayden Schenn, Andrei Loktionov, Oscar Moller and Tyler Toffoli.. Maybe Brandon Kozun one day, that's wishful thinking though
Id have to say, having 5 guys who could evolve into top six players in the system is really good. To my knowledge there arent too many other teams that can boast that.
And to be fair, Deans focus when he came in was to build from the back end up. He started by drafting top notch D and Goalie prospects. Lets wait to see what Dean does in this draft. Ive got a feeling he is going to draft more forward prospects this year.
Maybe a sniper in a Derek Roy manner. Primarily a playmaker's mentality, akin to his ol linemate Eberle, that can finish when the opportunity arises.
Yep that is a fair way of putting it. This season I see him through necessity being forced to opt to shoot more and is having some solid success in doing so but he has primarily been a playmaker type of kid up to this point. Maybe a poor mans pseudo Hemsky..ish.
I may be in the minority here but I don't want us to resign Justin Williams. He's injury prone, streaky and he can't pass to save his life. His turnovers come at the worst times.
I may be in the minority here but I don't want us to resign Justin Williams. He's injury prone, streaky and he can't pass to save his life. His turnovers come at the worst times.
Kurri?
I disagree. he hans't been injured and his injuries were of the freak nature. it isn't like he has a problematic groin that always flares up like frolov or gaborik.
He may be streaky scoring wise...but I still think he doies alot of contribution when he is not scoring.
I cringe to think of where we would be without Smyth and Williams.
I may be in the minority here but I don't want us to resign Justin Williams. He's injury prone, streaky and he can't pass to save his life. His turnovers come at the worst times.
If you look at their options either within the system or via free agency, there aren't many options available for the Kings that would be better than Williams.
I may be in the minority here but I don't want us to resign Justin Williams. He's injury prone, streaky and he can't pass to save his life. His turnovers come at the worst times.
I don't know which Williams you are talking about.
But our Williams is the most complete player on our roster and has brilliant passes
and excellent ice vision
Kurri?
I disagree. he hans't been injured and his injuries were of the freak nature. it isn't like he has a problematic groin that always flares up like frolov or gaborik.
He may be streaky scoring wise...but I still think he doies alot of contribution when he is not scoring.
I cringe to think of where we would be without Smyth and Williams.
I may be in the minority here but I don't want us to resign Justin Williams. He's injury prone, streaky and he can't pass to save his life. His turnovers come at the worst times.
I may be in the minority here but I don't want us to resign Justin Williams. He's injury prone, streaky and he can't pass to save his life. His turnovers come at the worst times.
If you look at their options either within the system or via free agency, there aren't many options available for the Kings that would be better than Williams.
Agreed, but I see no name's point, this could be a flash in the pan because it's a contract year.
I don't know, but the Smyth-Stoll-Williams line bothers me sometimes....older, slower, no one throws the body except Stoll. Smyth is always cherry picking and Williams always does these dangerous passes behind his back or spins in the corner and 50% of the time gets checked off the puck.
I may be in the minority here but I don't want us to resign Justin Williams. He's injury prone, streaky and he can't pass to save his life. His turnovers come at the worst times.
He turns the puck over once in a while, but only because he is trying to make a play. Seldom do you see him turn it over in a dangerous area, like the attacking blue line. I think more than ever this season has shown how much Smyth needs Williams. To be effective Smyth needs to get good passes in tight areas around the net. I don't think the Kings have any players better than Williams at the 5-foot and less pass.
Agreed, but I see no name's point, this could be a flash in the pan because it's a contract year.
I don't know, but the Smyth-Stoll-Williams line bothers me sometimes....older, slower, no one throws the body except Stoll. Smyth is always cherry picking and Williams always does these dangerous passes behind his back or spins in the corner and 50% of the time gets checked off the puck.
He does have a point, they do turnover the puck quite often (Smyth being the main culprit due to his lack of speed), but their effort is usually consistent and while they have been inconsistent, they have produced to the level one would expect from a 2nd scoring line.
Sure it would be great if it were at a more consistent level and at a higher scoring rate, but again, it is slim pickings to find replacements that are better than them as of now.
He does have a point, they do turnover the puck quite often (Smyth being the main culprit due to his lack of speed), but their effort is usually consistent and while they have been inconsistent, they have produced to the level one would expect from a 2nd scoring line.
Sure it would be great if it were at a more consistent level and at a higher scoring rate, but again, it is slim pickings to find replacements that are better than them as of now.
They should change the system up for that line.
Williams should stay high with his speed and his great snap shot. Smyth and Stoll should stay low, they can take hits better.
I think we're going to be surprised at how much money Williams could get on the free agent market. Just not that many decent honest to god top-6 forwards. Williams is a guy who could get 60+ pts a year if you (and he) is a little lucky and healthy. That's not common and goodness knows we don't really have a replacement for him.
The top UFA right wingers besides Selanne and Sullivan, who pretty much said they would either play on the teams they are now or retire, are Kovalev (37), Ryder, Vrbata, Langdenbrunner, Knuble, and Upshall....
Eh, you are right Ziggy, not much to pick from. This years UFA's suck except for a few centers (Richards and Connolly), one LW, Semin....there are some really good d-men available but we don't need or have any room for any.
Agreed, but I see no name's point, this could be a flash in the pan because it's a contract year.
So he decided to not get hurt this year because of his contract? I get that he is putting up great numbers in a contract year and all but as others have said, who are you going to replace him with? He has shown that when healthy, he'll produce. The guy is one of the few players that have given top effort just about every game this year.
The top UFA right wingers besides Selanne and Sullivan, who pretty much said they would either play on the teams they are now or retire, are Kovalev (37), Ryder, Vrbata, Langdenbrunner, Knuble, and Upshall....
Hejduk?
If he was interested in playing somewhere besides Colorado, I wouldn't mind having him on a 1 year deal.
