Patio Furniture

So here we are... 3 days after the Los Angeles Kings meltdown against the Calgary Flames and now with 2 new players in the Kings lineup. Jarret Stoll and Rob Scuderi will be on the sidelines tonight with young pups Andrei Loktionov (19!) and Brandon Segal (26) making their Kings debut tonight in Edmonton. I'm not going to pretend like I know anything about these guys... and don't believe any blogger that says they do. They are just lying to you.

This is our 2nd line center??

Brandon Segal... only half a jew.
Don't believe me? There is a forum on the web for everything!

The real story tonight in Edmonton is the complete disappearance of former King Patrick O'Sullivan. I was a big fan of Patrick during his time in Los Angeles... even feeling like he was stolen from the Minnesota Wild by Dean Lombardi during the 2006 NHL Draft. He always had the potential to be electric as a player... but he never was consistent. When Anze Kopitar signed his 7 year deal last season with the Kings the 1st line of Kopitar, O'Sullivan and Dustin Brown were to be together until at least the 2010-2011 season. And many Kings fans rejoiced in the idea of the second coming of the Triple Crown Line. And when the Kings traded him to Edmonton last season as part of the Justin Williams deal... many people, including myself, were left scratching their heads.

Now, 24 games into the new season... it's obvious that Kopitar would have never succeeded with Brown and O'Sullivan as his linemates. Sure, it was sexy to think the 3 young King studs would be together forever as a line... but Kopitar needed the speed and smart play of Justin Williams and the crafty veteran know-how of Ryan Smyth to become the player he has this season. Anze would not be leading the league in scoring with the enigmatic play of O'Sullivan on his wing.

O'Sullivan with his one smile as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.

Patrick has 6 goals in 43 games with the Oilers while Justin Williams has 6 in 31 games as a King. But the difference they've made to their teams couldn't be more opposite. Williams is an anchor on the 1st line while Sully is centering the Oilers 4th line. Edmonton has been spinning its wheels all season... and this roadtrip to Canada with the Kings #1 Left Wing, #2 Center and #4 Defensman all injured... has the potential to not be a pretty one for the Kings.


And then there were the comments. During an interview with TSN... O'Sullivan said the following about the team that had traded for him and gave him the opportunity to play on the 1st line:

What’s been the most surprising thing playing for a Canadian team?

O’SULLIVAN: It’s definitely different coming from L.A. where nobody cared and after the game we’d have two people in the room waiting to talk to us. I didn’t know what to expect when I was traded and I didn’t know how I was going to like it. But to me, I think it’s great. You want to play somewhere where hockey is important. It’s everything and more that I thought it would be. The games are sold out and it’s a fun building to play in. Outside of the weather, it’s a great city. In my opinion if you want to live somewhere warm, you can do it when you’re done playing.”

Fine. Whatever. Honestly, with the exception of the Kings employee Rich Hammond... none of the mainstream media in Los Angeles really cares all that much about ice hockey. But that doesn't mean the fans who cheered for O'Sullivan's feel the same way.

So now he is an Oiler and their blogs can write about how frustrated they are with him. And the Oilers do have some awesome bloggers. Check out The Copper and Blue and Low On Oil for the tough, working class perspective of Edmonton fans. For hockey dick jokes and HD screencaps... keep your dial set right here.