Complete Bull

Sometimes I can't stand the internet. And with Twitter and Hockey Rumor Mongering... I hate it even more. Check out this monstrosity from one of my favorite go-to hockey sites, Kukla's Korner:


But wait... there's more....


I love Kukla's and I don't blame them for this at all, they are just reporting it. But seeing it all laid out like that is ridiculous. It all starts with a fucking twitter post (from John Buccigross!) and explodes into a full-on ESPN.com article about how this trade is a go. Thank god Sheriff Dean Lombardi is there to be able to call this trade what it really is... complete bull.

Do I look like I'm fucking kidding?

This trade makes no sense. Sure Marleau is a Lombardi guy. Dean drafted him and Marleau played under him for 6 years. But would the San Jose Sharks really trade their former captain and one of their best players to a division rival? And would Dean really take on a 29 year old with a 6 million dollar cap hit who will be a Free Agent at the end of the season? Even if the Kings re-signed Marleau to a new contract... there goes the money to keep Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson and Jon Quick and Wayne Simmonds around. Marleau would be the #1 center the Kings have been looking for... and with Stoll going the other way (at least to Canada) could you imagine how great Anze Kopitar would be without the pressure of having to be the #1 center? Hmm, I'm starting to like this trade.

No... are you serious? I'm going back to Canada?
But the waitresses are WAY hotter in LA.

But Frolov is the problem with this trade. One of the major storylines for The Royal Half this season will be tracking Alexander Frolov. He is an UFA and is due a big payday... and probably not with the Kings. But trading him now makes no sense. Especially for a player that will be in the EXACT same situation with free agency at the end of the year. Besides, with Frolov gone...the Kings are back to square one with scoring wingers. Is Ted Purcell really going to be able to step in and take the place of 30 goals this season... no.

In a few hours this trade will probably go down and I'll look like an idiot. But the fact that some jerkoff posts a "tweet" that so and so is going to so and so... and then it gets picked up as a major news story... that's just idiotic. Everyone is trying to outscoop each other. But that's the new NHL... in terms of reporting. It just shows you how great Rich Hammond at Inside the Kings is in terms of having all the facts before reporting them. I used to really enjoy reading John Buccigross... but then I realized I only liked him because he was the one personality at ESPN that actually liked hockey. His columns bore me now and instead of posting twitters that drive hockey fans crazy... he should just spend his time thinking of some clever song lyrics to feature in his latest NHL preview.

Be sure to check out Fear the Fin for your Sharks perspective... they have been doing a great job of providing all the coverage of this crazy trade.

The Greatest Line of All

Ivanans-Armstrong-Westgarth

This is the greatest line the Los Angeles Kings will ever field. Also, in tonights Super-Important Game Kings fans get their season long wish as Kyle Calder is out tonight... just a few days after Half Season Ticket Holder Buddy mentioned how especially worthless Calder has seemed the last few games. Taking Calder's spot on that 2nd line is none other than Peter Harrold. Peter Harrold is the Kordell Stewart of the Kings... powerplay defenseman... 4th line right winger. I've always liked Peter Harrold. I think he has decent offensive instincts and I've been totally fine with the way he's been playing this year. Sure, sometimes he makes a dumb pass or gets run over with his head down, but I'd still rather have him out there than Calder.

Hey, awesome Fox Sports West! Thanks for actually broadcasting this game tonight. Oh wait what? It's an illegal internet stream I have to watch tonight? Okay, what ever you say!

Stream Weaver

I have a Slingbox. When traveling a lot for work and being the fan of a certain heart breaking Los Angeles hockey team, the Slingbox is indispensable. But when the Kings go to Canada and Fox Sports West decides to not broadcast the game on tv... what do you do? Well, in years past, I would get the Center Ice package and watch the Canadian broadcast of the game. But this season I decided to not get the Center Ice package, due to the fact that I was really just spending 150 bucks to watch 3 Kings game each year.

So thanks to a thread at LetsGoKings, I discovered a site that streams all sorts of live sporting events. Like all sorts. Like NHL hockey games. European soccer games. The Philippine Basketball Association. And the streaming is quite good, actually even better than my Slingbox. I have no idea quite how it happens, but until it gets shut down I'll be using it. With the power of illegal on-line streaming, I was able to watch the Los Angeles Kings beat the Ottawa Senators yesterday.

Kings 1, A Team in WAY worse shape than the Kings 0


Hurray for the internet!

I watched with the sound turned off in my office yesterday, but visually, it seemed like the Kings played a solid game. Ottawa had just fired its coach, so there was a chance the Senators could come out strong. But the Kings walked away with a much needed last minute victory (especially after the game that was stolen from them last Saturday in Montreal.)

So what does this all mean? It means it's time for some Scoreboard Watching!

This graphic makes 2 things clear. The Kings are only 4 points from being tied for the 8th and final playoff spot. They are also 2 points from being the worst team in the conference. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

There is a 4 way tie for 8th place. And a 3 way tie for 7th. Let's see... if you add the total amount of points and multiply it by games remaining and the carry over the remainder and divide by goals scored.... it's a recipe for some good old fashioned hockey fun!

Sure it's 7 teams all battling for one spot... but it's closer to the playoffs than the Kings have been in a long while so I'll take it while it lasts. It does make you wonder where the Kings could be today if they could have won a couple of those games they let get away earlier in the season... Denis Gauthier I'm looking at you!