Pool Outlook for Los Angeles

The variables have to be just right for the Los Angeles Kings in the state of salary cap troubles that they're in, just to be competitive in the league, it would seem.  The 2018 season saw those variables come together and they got a massive season from Anze Kopitar and the rebirth of Dustin Brown, among other things, but the variables didn't line up for the 2019 season as well and the team was left in shambles by the final horn on the year, leaving them in last place in the Western Conference, now with more questions than answers.

The Kings didn't get off to the greatest of starts and there was absolutely no recovery available for them, as some sports statistic websites had them already out of the playoff picture by November/December, just given the trend they were on and the teams that they were facing.

The worst is still yet to come, if we're forecasting for the near future, as this team is locked down by a number of tough contracts and the aging process has not been kind to this team either.  All things considered, this could be a pretty dark time coming up for the Kings and unless management has a surefire plan to get themselves out of it all, this rebuild/retool may take much longer than some others.

It's a real shame that Anze Kopitar couldn't follow up his 92-point 2018 campaign with something comparable in the 2019 season.  Kopitar posted 22 goals and 60 points in 81 games for the Kings this season, which was only good enough for 67th among all forwards, 88th overall in the entire hockey pool.  That's a far cry from the 10th overall spot where he finished a year ago and the Kings were actually kind of decent.

The Kings only finished with eight players, including Kopitar, on the pool worthy list for the 2019 season and that was a huge reason why they didn't make it as far as they would have liked, especially in a high-scoring season like it was for everyone else this season.  Dustin Brown, Ilya Kovalchuk, Tyler Toffoli, Alex Iafallo and Jeff Carter rounded out the pool worthy forwards in the season, but Brown was the only forward to finish in the top 100 among all forwards.  Drew Doughty was the only pool worthy defenseman on the team, finishing 19th, thanks to his enormous amounts of ice-time, while Jonathan Quick only played in 46 games for the Kings and still finished 35th among all goalies.  It was certainly a lean year for points from the Kings.

What I Said Last Year, At This Time...

Where does this all lead us? On the one hand, the Kings have shown us that they are a vulnerable team, back in the 2017 season. The 2018 season, with all that talent in their core, they are a team that can get the job done in the regular season. So much is truly dependent on the core group of players and one of the biggest concerns heading into the 2019 season is the contract status of Drew Doughty. Will the Kings be able to extend him in July and if not, how much of a distraction will that be. Spoiler alert... it will be huge! There's a lot riding on this season for the Kings, management has to find depth to move forward again, their stars have to play that way and they have pin some hopes on their youth. All things being equal, the Kings can make the playoffs again, success there will be hard to come by and any injuries or distractions could derail this team in a hurry. Buyer beware.

Did someone say distractions?  Yeah, the Kings had plenty of them and a little bit of everything that could go wrong in the season, came up and bit the Kings on the rear end in the 2019 season.  On paper, they looked like a team that could make the playoffs, they did some additions, they made some subtractions, they got that Drew Doughty extension done (cha-ching!), but it didn't add up on the ice and they fell flat on their face in the overall standings with Ottawa being the only team worse than them in the year.

How did my intriguing or breakout player fare?

Ilya Kovalchuk was certainly one of those distractions in the 2019 season, maybe more so at the end of the year, when the coaching staff opted to start scratching him and leaving him at home for road trips.  Yeah, that was a bit of an issue, but the team had already fallen out of the playoff race by then and Kovalchuk certainly didn't pull his weight from his end.  16 goals and 34 points in 64 games was just not enough, especially not for $6.25 million, which he will make over the next two seasons as well.

2020 Pool Outlook

Forwards	Cap	Defense	Cap	Goalies	Cap
Anze Kopitar	10.000	Drew Doughty	11.000	Jonathan Quick	5.800
Ilya Kovalchuk	6.250	Dion Phaneuf	5.250	Jack Campbell	0.675
Dustin Brown	5.875	Alec Martinez	4.000
Jeff Carter	5.273	Derek Forbort	2.525
Tyler Toffoli	4.600	Paul Ladue	0.825
Trevor Lewis	2.000	Sean Walker	0.745
Kyle Clifford	1.600	Kurtis MacDermid	0.675
Rasmus Kupari	0.925
Gabriel Vilardi	0.925
Carl Grundstrom	0.925
Akil Thomas	0.809
Austin Wagner	0.759
Jaret Anderson-Dolan	0.759
Matt Luff	0.677

Other than the big contracts on the blueline, the Kings are still getting pool worthy numbers from their big ticket players, albeit none of those numbers are enough to get anyone truly excited.  The Kings will probably be looking to shift a contract or two out of this list, but it will be hard to find takers in this cap economy, even with the cap ceiling going up again.  I don't think anyone should be in a big hurry to pick Los Angeles players at next season's hockey pool draft, they should just bide their time and see what kind of bargain picks they can get late on.

Free Agency and the Salary Cap

As you can see in the projected roster above, there isn't a whole lot to write home about, especially at the forward position, as it's littered with their up-and-coming youth, which will undoubtedly change, since they probably don't want to push all of it at the same time.  This does leave the Kings with some cap room against the projected number of $83 million, currently coming in at $72.9 million, so just a touch over $10 million to play with, in theory.

Adrian Kempe and Alex Iafallo are the headlining players for the restricted free agents this summer for the Kings and Kempe will probably look for a decent raise from his entry-level contract, Iafallo may as well, but probably not quite as big.  Unrestricted free agency won't really help this team, as they don't have much heading out the door from this past roster, so the management team may have to nickel and dime their way back this season.

One player signed that isn't on the roster above, 20-year old defenseman Kyle Clague, a 2nd round pick back in 2016, may get a very long look in training camp, if the Kings can't find more help on the blueline from the free agent market.  Clague played in his first pro campaign in the AHL this season and the reports of his development appear to be very positive, so he slides into the post as the one to watch for next season.

Needs at the 2019 Entry Draft

I'm not particularly sold on any of the top prospects the Kings have, besides Clague above, who still hasn't grabbed an elite status for prospects, so I would say the next best player available will be what the Kings are looking for with the 5th pick in the draft.  Adding a player at the centre position is never a bad idea, especially when he's a top rated prospect on a number of lists, looking at Kirby Dach of the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL.  The kid already has size at 6'4" and 198 pounds, so there's a chance a kid like that could make the jump to the NHL on a roster like the Kings'.

I still believe that the Kings are trending downwards, thanks to their aging lineup, but that isn't to say that some of these guys don't have a last hurrah in them, but it's looking more and more improbable at the end of the 2019 regular season.  The Kings need some drastic improvements all around their franchise, starting with their youth system and possibly the way that they're scouting, as they haven't been able to hit many home runs at the draft and that hasn't put a lot of pressure on the larger contracts on the team, leaving some of these veterans content and unmotivated.  Until this team receives a swift kick to their overall philosophy, the trend downwards will continue indefinitely.  I don't see this team doing well in 2020 without sweeping changes.

Weekend Preview (Apr 6)

Welcome to the final day of the regular season!

What is really left to play for?  Well, there's jockeying to be done in the NHL playoff races, as the Jackets did clinch the final spot in the Eastern Conference last night, so now we just try to figure out who is playing where in a few cases.

The biggest story in the hockey pool, which is a horrible long shot, but it's all we got... can anyone catch Kristy & Don for 3rd place?  Jesse starts the day 17 points back and now we're heavy into the healthy scratch territory and it's not going to be pretty.

The weekly scoring honours are still up for grabs, for whatever they're worth.  Stuart has the lead in the Mover & Shaker at the start of play today with 26 points, 6 points back has five teams in the race, at least.  Troy's team has the caboose this week with 6 points, 7 points has nine teams in vying for the final title of the season.

Everything gets started at 11am MT and there are the maximum allowable amount of games in the league today, so there's lots to cover.  Let's get this party started.  Is this why I can't sleep at 3am?  Doubtful, but it's helping with the prep.

Louis Domingue (Eric) versus Tuukka Rask (Jesse)
There's nothing to be decided in Boston, when the Lightning visit the Bruins, both have clinched home-ice in the opening round and if these two meet in the next round, Tampa would have home-ice, thanks to being the best team in the regular season by a country mile.  This could just be one ugly stare down that has no real vigor to the game.  Both teams will likely save it all for when the games really matter.

The Bruins coaching staff did confirm that Tuukka Rask will get the nod for the Bruins this morning/afternoon, which is certainly to the delight of Jesse's team, which you'll get your fill of his name in this post, racing for 3rd place.  The Lightning had yet to confirm, but if I had to lean one way more than the other, I would think that Louis Domingue gets the start in the finale, just to save their number one on that extra push for nothing.  Eric's team is still vying for a top 10 spot and he may sneak a start from under Dale C., the team he's chasing for that spot.

The goaltending is the only mention of the 3rd place race in this early game, but the race will be prominent in this post, right around this same spot in every game.

Jacob Markstrom (Chelsea) versus Jordan Binnington (N/A)
The St. Louis Blues can put some pressure on their Central Division foes for top spot in the division with a win over the Vancouver Canucks in one of the two early afternoon games.  The Blues start the day in 3rd, but could go 1st with a win in any fashion.  If Winnipeg or Nashville get at least a point in their respective games, the Blues don't have the tie-breaks to stay up though, so they'll need a lot of help to win the division today.

The Blues confirmed that they will be going with their rookie wonderkid in this game against the Canucks, which is of no help to the hockey pool, while the Canucks had yet to confirm early on this morning, but the lean is towards one more start for Jacob Markstrom, which would give Chelsea her first start of the day, in theory.  There's not a lot in this one for the hockey pool, so we'll try not to dwell in it too much from the goaltending perspective.

As for the 3rd place race, also nothing.  The Blue have the storyline here and the 2pm MT start will likely move along with the wind, just breezing on by.

Frederik Andersen (Wilton) versus Charlie Lindgren (N/A)
It will be Bob Cole's last game on Hockey Night in Canada and he gets to call the classic rivalry between the Leafs and the Canadiens.  I'm sure everyone would have preferred this game to mean something, but it doesn't.  The Leafs are in and the Habs are out and that's about that.

Surprisingly, no Carey Price for the Canadiens in the finale at home tonight, as Charlie Lindgren, who has been sitting around as the team's number three for the last few weeks, will draw into the start against the Leafs, a likely reward for his patience this year.  Frederik Andersen will indeed get the start for the Leafs, as he looks to stay sharp heading into the playoffs.  Wilton's team sits 9th after some big gains in the third segment and looks to finish strong in the top 10.

Garret Sparks will not be backing up Andersen tonight, as he was given a 10-day sabbatical away from the team in the late part of the week, as the Leafs called up Michael Hutchinson to take his place, likely into the playoffs.  Sparks has really lost his confidence and needed the time away.  This wasn't going to be a scheduled start for him anyways, so Grant doesn't really lose out here.

Leafs defenseman Ron Hainsey also won't be going tonight for the Leafs, he'll be a scratch for some rest tonight, joining Jake Muzzin who has missed the last couple games due to illness.  Both Hainsey and Muzzin are on Neil's team this year and are only hanging on to 7th place by the tie-breaker and two games being removed.  This is not an ideal situation for his team.

In the 3rd place race, Kristy & Don have some stock here with Max Domi, he's still expected to dress and play in the finale.

Joonas Korpisalo (N/A) versus Craig Anderson (Mike)
The best the Columbus Blue Jackets can finish is the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, which would need either 2 points and a Carolina loss in any fashion or 1 point and a Carolina regulation loss.  The Jackets get the lowly Sens to finish, so that should really put the pressure on Carolina to win and not have to face the Lightning in round one.

Craig Anderson was in the starter's net for the Senators at the morning skate, which likely means he'll get the nod for the home side in their finale of the season.  Mike's team starts 8 points back of Benson's team in 20th place today and could be the only pool goalie going tonight, as the Jackets did play last night and likely will go with Joonas Korpisalo.

The early indications this morning suggest that Bobby Ryan will get a twirl in the last game of the regular season tonight, giving one more skater game to Jeremy's 19th place team.

In the 3rd place race, Matt Duchene will be Jesse's representation tonight, while Thomas Chabot appears to be the only guy going for the duo tonight, if the goaltending match-up is what it says above.  That would divide the game evenly between sides and both have been quite good for their respective pool teams.  A barn-burner would be a fun one to watch here.

Carter Hutton (Wes) versus Jimmy Howard (Tony)
In the overall standings, the Sabres sit 28th and the Red Wings sit 27th, both tied at 74 points and the Wings edging in the ROW column, 29-27.  Loser of this game gets 28th spot and increased draft odds, so maybe defense won't be the order of the game?

Carter Hutton and Jimmy Howard may be subject to a lot of shots on goal and could you possibly blame either of them if they only mailed in their effort, given the situation?  Wes and Tony are sure hoping their goalie doesn't mail it in, they'd rather have the 2 points and they don't care where either of these two teams draft.  That's just the long and short of it all.

Both teams in the 3rd place race are betting on the Red Wings tonight, as Jesse has both Andreas Athanasiou and Niklas Kronwall going, while the duo should have Anthony Mantha going as well.  Mantha has been the hottest of the three players in this group, which is good news for the duo to keep their spot free and clear of any intruders.

Mackenzie Blackwood (N/A) versus Roberto Luongo (John P.)
It's a nothing game in Florida tonight, when the Devils and the Panthers face-off.  Well, it may not exactly be nothing, but losing this game means that there's a chance that either the Devils or the Panthers' lottery odds will improve, depending on a bunch of other results, but it's only marginal improvement and almost not worth thinking about.

John P.'s team is the only one of the two locked in with a hockey pool start here and there's a good possibility he gets two starts as well.  John is eyeing up that last Mover & Shaker nod and a couple of wins would have him snug as a bug in a rug in that race, so maybe the Panthers can do him some good with a win for the home fans tonight.  Roberto Luongo will get the nod for both teams tonight to do that.

In the race for 3rd place, Kristy & Don have Nico Hischier in this game and I would imagine he goes to get that valuable experience in his sophomore year.  46 points in 68 games this season, he has been okay for a sub-par team like the Devils this year.

Petr Mrazek (Stacey C.) versus Carter Hart (Jeremy)
The Hurricanes do have an extra little bit of incentive today, as they could finish as high as 3rd in the Metro with a win today and a regulation loss from the Penguins or as explained earlier, they could finish in the last wild card spot in the east as well, if the results don't go their way.  The games in question for the Hurricanes all get started at the same time, so there will be plenty of scoreboard watching among them.

The Flyers laid out their goaltending plans early on in the week and Carter Hart was the one tapped for the season finale at home, giving Jeremy the first of two possible starts tonight.  Nor the Flyers or Jeremy's team has much to play for tonight, but those points would just look good in their column.  The Hurricanes had yet to confirm this morning, but with moving up on their mind, it seems very likely that Petr Mrazek gets the nod, which would aid Stacey C.'s attempt at moving into the Mover & Shaker spot this week. This appears to be his only start of the day, looking down the line.

The duo have some stock in this game, Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton features on their team and could feature in this game as well, if the Hurricanes put on a scoring display.  Hamilton has been slowly finding the scoresheet more and more in the late part of the season.

Alexandar Georgiev (N/A) versus Matt Murray (Scott)
The Pittsburgh Penguins need at least a point to finish 3rd in the Metro Division, but a regulation win and a regulation loss by the Islanders, another 5pm MT start, could see them as high as 2nd in the Metro and home-ice against those same Islanders.  A regulation loss by the Pens and a win for the Hurricanes would then see the Crosby versus Ovechkin playoff match-up we've all come to enjoy.  What are you hoping for?

This could have been an all-Scott match-up in Pittsburgh tonight, but it sounds like Henrik Lundqvist has conceded the net to his rookie counterpart, giving Alexandar Georgiev the net for the finale, taking precious minutes away from the hockey pool on the last day.  Matt Murray does indeed give Scott at least one start tonight, going for the Penguins.  Scott's team is going to need all the help it can get to make it out of 25th before the final buzzer, starting the day, 5 points back.

No love in the 3rd place race in this game, neither the duo or Jesse have any players going in Pittsburgh tonight.

Robin Lehner (Chelsea) versus Pheonix Copley (Brian)
The last of the 5pm MT start games sees the Islanders take on the Capitals in Washington and they need a point to clinch home-ice against 3rd place in the Metro, whoever finishes there, Pittsburgh or Carolina.  The Capitals already have top spot locked up and will cruise this game and into the playoffs with their opening round opponent to be decided today.

After the morning skate, the teams appeared to have both of their goalies locked in for the night, bot Chelsea and Brian are getting a start in this game, thanks to Robin Lehner and Pheonix Copley getting tapped for this one.  Neither team has fared particularly well this week in the scoring race either and neither will want to be in the Basement Dweller nod, so this will another opportunity for points from the crease.

If the morning skate is any indication, it looks like the Capitals will be resting some players tonight, namely Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and John Carlson.  This means no skater games for Steve, Tony and John P. in the Capitals' finale.  For the Islanders, Valtteri Filppula will make his return from a hyper-extended elbow tonight, returning for Neil's team in a race for 7th place, where he desperately needs the bodies after the scratches for the Leafs.

Alex Ovechkin and Jake Vrana are expected to play for the Capitals tonight, which is good news for Jesse's team, while Ryan Pulock and Anthony Beauvillier were both in line rushes for the Islanders this morning, both expected to go for the duo tonight.  The split becomes pretty easy, Jesse looking for a very lopsided victory from the home side tonight.

Cam Ward (N/A) versus Pekka Rinne (John P.)
The Nashville Predators are the outright favourites to win the division, having the 1 point lead heading into action today, so a win in any fashion against the Blackhawks will seal the deal and then the Jets will be playing for 2nd place, depending on the Blues' result.  Otherwise, 1 point gives Winnipeg a shot and a regulation loss blows open the door.  Very interesting.

The Blackhawks played last night and lost Corey Crawford to a groin injury, so Cam Ward will be playing on back-to-back nights, shortly after getting the win against the Stars the night before.  It hasn't been confirmed, but with the Predators looking to clinch the division title, it does seem rather likely that they will go with Pekka Rinne with a few days before the playoffs start.  If they can ensure a better match-up, I would imagine they would.  I wouldn't be surprised, however, if they did go with Juuse Saros, just because the Blackhawks did play last night and they are a non-playoff team.

Each team in the 3rd place race has some stock in this one, Jesse has Jonathan Toews for the Blackhawks, while the duo has Ryan Ellis for the Predators.  So, I guess we know where their allegiances lie in this game tonight, eh?

Alex Stalock (Ryan) versus Ben Bishop (Clayton)
The wild card spots in the Western Conference also need to be settled today and the Dallas Stars could do that before their division rivals in the same boat faceoff, as they will play the Wild for the top wild card spot and the chance to play the Central Division winner instead of the Calgary Flames in the opening round.  Pick your poison, right?  The Stars need 1 point to take the top wild card or else they open the door for the Avs to swoop in and possibly take it in the last game of the year.

One confirmation for the goalies this morning and it comes from the visiting Wild, as they will go with Alex Stalock for their finale, seeing as though he didn't have a lot of ice-time in games this season and the Wild don't have any stock left in this season.  It's a good move for this team and for Ryan's team, which starts 13th, 8 points back of 10th.  There have been some rumblings that Ben Bishop will be ready to start this game tonight, coming back from another stint on the injured list with a lower-body injury.  Both Wes and Clayton's teams are dangerously close to the Basement Dweller nod this week and they both are looking for points to keep out of that lowly position and this match-up might just give them their chances.

Jesse has Stars rookie defenseman Miro Heiskanen going in this game today, who has played in all 81 games to this point, so I would fully expect him to dress for #82 as well.  33 points in 81 games is a solid rookie campaign from the back end.

Connor Hellebuyck (Jeremy) versus Calvin Pickard (N/A)
The Jets and Coyotes have an 8pm MT start, two hours after the Predators get started, so they might have a good idea of what's at stake for their game, before they even faceoff against the city predecessors in the desert.  If the Predators don't come away with 2 points against Chicago, the Jets need 2 points to win the Central or else they play the Blues and the results today decide where they open up the series.

The Jets goaltending had yet to be confirmed, but with the division on the line, it does seem rather appropriate that Connor Hellebuyck gets the nod in this post, at least.  The Jets will want to finish off the season strong, since they haven't necessarily been playing all that well of late, 4-5-1 in their last 10 games.  The Coyotes, on the other hand, don't have much to play for, so they are rewarding Calvin Pickard for his service with the last start of the season, confirmed.

The 3rd place race has no stock in this game, so we'll quickly move on from this one and into the rest of the late games.

Mikko Koskinen (Tony) versus Mike Smith (Brian)
Well, if the Oilers have anything left to play for this season, it's taking one away from their provincial nemesis, the Flames, before they see their Alberta rivals head to the playoffs.  The Oilers could also play for Leon Draisaitl, who sits on 49 goals at the start of play tonight, only 2 goals back of the league lead and the Rocket Richard Trophy.  That's something too.

In practice on Friday, it looked like Mike Smith was getting the nod for the Flames, as he was in the starter's net, so Brian should be getting this start.  Tony's team will likely see the Oilers' season out with one last start from Mikko Koskinen, who had the night off in their last game and they'll want that win over the Flames, I'm sure.

We're not sure how the scratches will play out in this game, as there is a chance for some nastiness and the Oilers really playing spoiler to the Flames' chances, if Calgary isn't careful.  That could impact the 2nd place race, as Kristy & Don do have Elias Lindholm on their side and he was a scratch earlier in the week... do they dare risk him tonight?

Marc-Andre Fleury (Troy) versus Jonathan Quick (Brenda & Seward)
The Golden Knights are visiting the Kings to finish off the regular season and this game doesn't have a lot of play in the standings tonight either.  The Kings could move up to 29th overall in the standings, if the Devils lose and the Kings win, in the most simple of terms, which would mean their chances at the draft lottery could take a good kicking, but that won't stop them from letting Jonathan Quick play out the last home game tonight.  There are some out there that believe that this could be his last game in a Kings uniform.

The Golden Knights haven't confirmed their goalie yet this morning, but they have been unafraid at letting Marc-Andre Fleury go overboard this year and since he's still shaking off the rust from a late season injury, I would have to think they plop him back out there and continue to shake off that rust.  It seems most likely, really.

There's definitely some play in the 3rd place race here in this game, as the duo will have both Jonathan Marchessault and Cody Eakin as possibilities for the lineup for Vegas, while Jesse should have Dustin Brown in the finale for the Kings tonight.

Philipp Grubauer (Jesse) versus Martin Jones (Brenda & Seward)
Yes, depending on how the Stars do earlier in the evening, the Avalanche may have something to play for.  I don't think either team really wants to play the Flames in the opening round, but if the Stars fail to pick up a point against the Wild, the Avalanche could upset the Sharks with a win and jump up a spot to play the Central winner.  It's all so very exciting.

We're just spitballin' here on the goalie match-up for this one, since this post is so early and this game is so late, but if the Avalanche still have a chance at moving up, they will likely go back to Philipp Grubauer tonight, since he has won the confidence of this group.  Jesse is hoping that his team is within 2 points of 3rd place at the time, just so that win can mean something.  Aaron Dell got the call for the Sharks in their last game and I don't see them letting Martin Jones go flat ahead of the playoffs, so I would imagine he gets the last home game of the regular season, giving the duo a second start on the night.

Both Jesse and Kristy & Don have skater stock in this game too, so what Jesse is looking for is an avalanche of points from Colorado, seeing as though he has Gabriel Landeskog and Tyson Barrie as well.  He also has Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the home side, but the duo have Gustav Nyquist too.  Wouldn't it be neat if 3rd place came down to this game?