To paraphrase the billboards, The Time Better Be Now because all of the eggs are officially in one basket. This is the team that you get after sitting through the years of gap fillers and bridge players and boxes on a board and fawning over that player in juniors who you are SURE is going to be the one - because in Dean We Trust.
I really hope that they can figure out a way to pull it together - because if they don't, the Kings are likely to be mired in mediocrity for a very long time. The prime draft picks for about a 5 year period are all gone or the picks are already traded away. As we have all experienced, it takes a tremendous amount of time to build up that pipeline so that it can feed quality players into your system. The fans made the sacrifice - they dutifully attended the games when it seemed like the team was intentionally sucking for a better draft pick.
Being older has its disadvantages. I've seen this scenario play out time and again - new management comes in talking about building the team "the right way". Younger fans who haven't experienced that philosophy before embrace the mantra and slam anyone who questions the guru. The guru puts out a crap team now, but "the future is bright" for those who have "patience". This goes on until the guru turns out to be just another late-night huckster who really doesn't know any better than anyone else. As his house of cards starts to collapse, he starts giving away small pieces of the future that he has accumulated at the expense of the "ticket-buying no matter what the team looked like" fans to try to bolster the lack of performance. When those moves don't work, he starts gambling larger and larger pieces of that hard-earned future - but nothing works.
One day, the fans look up and take off the purple glasses and in unison murmur "When did the future go? Where are all of those options we were suppose to have?" Congratulations - the options are all gone. The team you see is the team you are going to have for a long time. There are few, if any, impact players in the system and at the moment they are essentially maxed out to the salary cap. Sure, they can dump a few underperforming UFAs at the end of the season - but who do they pick up to replace them?
Is this the team to challenge for the Cup that you imagined after experiencing the glow from the golden tongue of the Smartest Man in the Room 6 years ago?
This scenario plays out over and over again. Remember this lesson when the next new GM comes to town promising Cups and banners and parades. It takes more than words to make those events actually happen.
Wonderful post.
I am a San Diego Chargers fan and I said those exact words "Where did the future go" during last season.
Just out of curiosity, what did the pie charts look like in 2009?
I remember a Kings defense that was supposed to be lead by Doughty, Johnson, Hickey, Voynov, Teubert with Greene as a holdover.
Up front there was the bright future with Schenn, Moller, Simmonds, Holloway, Purcell to compliment the core of Kopitar and Brown.
Johnson, Schenn, Simmonds, Teubert and two #1 picks have been moved, Bernier and Brown could be next. Moller and Holloway are in Europe. Hickey has yet to play an NHL game. And through all of this we haven't won a playoff series and are probably no closer than we were in 2006.
He is not scoring 40 goals next season. Not even 35. Or 30.
Don't worry, the deal is good for you.
I think you're being too harsh. Carter is close to 20 goals with us and missed alot of this year with injuries. Keep him healthy and play him with the right guys, I think he can easily pot at least 30.
You can sense the disappointment, and it was obviously clear in the end, in Jack's voice but he took the high road and was finding the positives in moving on to Columbus. I'd guarantee he and Dean won't be sharing a beer in the future though.
__________________ "I have been complimented many times and they always embarrass me; I always feel that they have not said enough." - Mark Twain.
You can sense the disappointment, and it was obviously clear in the end, in Jack's voice but he took the high road and was finding the positives in moving on to Columbus. I'd guarantee he and Dean won't be sharing a beer in the future though.
I am a San Diego Chargers fan and I said those exact words "Where did the future go" during last season.
Just out of curiosity, what did the pie charts look like in 2009?
I remember a Kings defense that was supposed to be lead by Doughty, Johnson, Hickey, Voynov, Teubert with Greene as a holdover.
Up front there was the bright future with Schenn, Moller, Simmonds, Holloway, Purcell to compliment the core of Kopitar and Brown.
Johnson, Schenn, Simmonds, Teubert and two #1 picks have been moved, Bernier and Brown could be next. Moller and Holloway are in Europe. Hickey has yet to play an NHL game. And through all of this we haven't won a playoff series and are probably no closer than we were in 2006.
Truly the perfect choice of words psp...
"Where did the future go"
Die hard Charger's fan since I was 8. I think the future is being sacrificed with AJ Smith's ego, the Chargers are the most underachieving team in sports.
But hey I got to go up to Oakland and watch us knock the Raiders out of the playoffs so that helped make up for the bad season.
__________________
"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.
JJ sounded bitter in his interview. Wish him the best!
I wouldn't say so. He is thinking the only way possible. Kings don't want him, so he prefers to be in the team that wants him. I'd be thinking the same.
You can sense the disappointment, and it was obviously clear in the end, in Jack's voice but he took the high road and was finding the positives in moving on to Columbus. I'd guarantee he and Dean won't be sharing a beer in the future though.
I suck at the internet.. Can someone link me to this video?
You can sense the disappointment, and it was obviously clear in the end, in Jack's voice but he took the high road and was finding the positives in moving on to Columbus. I'd guarantee he and Dean won't be sharing a beer in the future though.
WHB,
The relationship was never the same after you know what. They tried to sugar coat it, but it was a huge deal to JJ at the time, and I'm sure it still is. I always thought after that Jack would eventually be moved. I had a glimmer of hope when the contract was signed, but I guess the people that said all that did was make him more marketable were right.
Will be interesting to see what happens with Quick, who is the next guy due to be signed. You have to expect Quick will demand at the very least a modified NTC so he can not be sent to NHL Siberia like those before him.
The relationship was never the same after you know what. They tried to sugar coat it, but it was a huge deal to JJ at the time, and I'm sure it still is. I always thought after that Jack would eventually be moved. I had a glimmer of hope when the contract was signed, but I guess the people that said all that did was make him more marketable were right.
Will be interesting to see what happens with Quick, who is the next guy due to be signed. You have to expect Quick will demand at the very least a modified NTC so he can not be sent to NHL Siberia like those before him.
I always knew it would be a fractured relationship after that. Lombardi has a way with putting his foot in his mouth. Jack addressed it, and then respectfully took the high road afterwards and so far he's taking the high road now. At least for Jack's sake the only reason they'll cross paths going forward would be due to Team USA as Dean is on the selection committee. But whatever relationship they kept going for the sake of the team and organization, I can assure you is dead and beyond repair.
