We've moved - come see the ALL NEW website!

MayorsManor has moved to our new location. 

Please CLICK HERE to visit the new website!

It's been a long journey to get here and we couldn't have done it without a lot of people. A special thanks goes out to you, the loyal readers - through all the tweets, facebook posts, articles and radio appearances - you keep coming back for more! Additionally, thanks to all the players, General Managers, coaches, scouts and everybody associated with the NHL, AHL, ECHL, college and junior leagues for their endless cooperation, quotes and insight provided through the years. And a special appreciation to Mike Altieri, Jeff Moeller, Mike Kalinowski, Jeremy Zager, Aaron Brenner, Jim Fox and the staff of the LA Kings for their ongoing support.

What can you expect going forward? Well, the all new site is brand new from head to toe - just with lots more coverage.  We'll have more interviews, more stories, additional audio and exclusive video and much more.


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LA Kings prospect report - checking in with Nick Shore

Shore at Kings Camp, July 2011 (photo: Ikiri)

Nick Shore has scored 13 goals for the Denver Pioneers this season.   And in the 11 games he's found the back of the net (there were two multi-goal games), his team has won all 11.

"I guess we need to do a little more of that then," he jokingly said when we talked last night.

The WCHA Tournament - better known as the Final Five - begins later this afternoon, with DU set to take on Michigan Tech in their opening game. Asked if winning that match-up was as simple as making sure he scored then, Shore was quick to look at the bigger picture.

"As a team, if we just have a good effort and play the way we can, I think we'll have a pretty good chance of winning."

Their determination was certainly tested last weekend when tournament play began. In a best-of-three series vs. Wisconsin, they dropped the opening game 1-0 and then took the next two. Things came right down to the wire though, as the last game needed overtime to decide the outcome.

"Nothing came easy that entire series," Shore noted. "But, I thought we did a pretty good job of bouncing back."

He also played a big factor in the series. While the score sheets show that he had two goals, the first one on Saturday was into an empty net. The big goal came on Sunday, with his team trailing.

MayorsManor LIVE call-in show tonight 3/14 8pm PST

MayorsManor LIVE returns tonight at 8 pm PST. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period will join me as co-host for another night of hockey talk galore. Call us up - (347) 426-3754 - we want to hear your questions and opinions.

Among the items on tonight's show:

- Full discussion around the players and teams impacting playoff races in the Eastern and Western conferences.

- Legendary punk rock guitarist Greg Hetson (of Bad Religion and the Circle Jerks) will join us to share some stories. The self-proclaimed 'Gordie Howe of Punk' is a life-long hockey fan and has watched games all over the world while on tour.

- A recap of last night's Kings win vs. the Red Wings and a look ahead to Friday's game vs. the Ducks.

- A possible 'surprise caller' from the Manchester Monarchs to discuss their playoff hopes and a new player set to join the team tomorrow.

UPDATE: If you missed the show, here's the replay...

Listen to internet radio with MayorsManor X Hockey Chirps on Blog Talk Radio

We'll be back with another show next Wednesday at 8pm PST.

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LA Kings sign one of the top college hockey free agents

In something that's becoming quite the norm around this time of year for Kings GM Dean Lombardi, he added another college hockey free agent today.

Forward Brian O'Neill, who just finished his senior year at Yale, has reportedly signed a one-year deal with the team. According to reports, O'Neill was offered a similar deal last year, but chose to return to college for his final season.

Over the last three years, O'Neill has been remarkably consistent, scoring 45, 46 and 46 points. He also picked up a hat trick last February against Clarkson - where Dave Taylor and Willie Mitchell played their college hockey. This season, he posted 21 goals (one better than his previous best from last year) in 35 games.

Some additional highlights from his NCAA career:

- As a freshman he only missed one game and led all newcomers with 12 goals and 26 points.

- The following season he led Yale in points (45) and his 1.32 points per game ranked 7th in Division 1.

- Last year, he was a first-team All-ECAC player and led the Bulldogs in goals and points.

- After finishing his college career with 163 career points, second best in Yale history (Jeff Hamilton had 173), his coach Keith Allain told the local paper, “As the total package, I can make the argument that he’s the greatest player in Yale history...In terms of what his teams produced, leading the team in scoring three years in a row — and he’s so much more than just a scorer. I could go on and on about the contributions he’s made to our hockey program."

On a side note, the kid appears to have personality too - he was voted "most humorous" by his Yale teammates

The 5-foot-9 Ivy League Player of the Year is apparently on his way to Manchester (AHL) today for practice and will make his pro debut on Saturday vs. the St. John's IceCaps.

Other college free agents signed during Lombardi's tenure include Kevin Westgarth, Davis Drewiske and Ray Kaunisto.

UPDATE: O'Neill did not make it to Manchester in time for practice today.  However, he is expected on the ice for Thursday's session and we should have an interview with him up on MayorsManor a few hours after that. Stay tuned.

NOTE: Information from the Yale University website, including the photo, was used to prepare this article.

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Special announcement re: first goal and ticket contest

First off, a huge thank you to all who have entered the First Goal Contest over the last few seasons. And a special congratulations to those who have won some of the myriad of prizes to be given away - from t-shirts to Kings tickets and much more.

Don't worry though, this isn't an announcement that it's ending. In fact, it's quite the opposite! Later this week, MayorsManor.com will go through a complete upgrade to our new website, call it MM v3.

One of the most common pieces of feedback we've received of late is the difficulty in leaving a comment on the current platform. The 'issues' don't seem to happen for everybody, so you may not have experienced the same thing as other users. That said, among the many reasons we've spent the past few months creating a new site is to make things easier on you - including better navigation, flexibility of content (i.e. audio, video, etc.) and, of course, the entire process of commenting on articles.

To kick things off, we're going to have a 'soft opening' today (to use a retail or restaurant term). The full site will launch later this week.

However, we'd like all readers wanting to enter the First Goal Contest tonight to post their guess here.

After submitting your entry - which should be SUPER easy with the new form - feel free to take MM v3 for a test drive. You can click around, see what you like, see what's there, explore away. The only thing we ask in return is that if you have ANY feedback (good or bad, doesn't matter), please send it over via the CONTACT tab on the new site. We've even made that easy now too and we'd like your input!

Please note, this is a COMPLETELY new website. In many ways we've tried to keep a similar look to the current site. But, you'll quickly notice many changes - like all new navigation, a new logo, a new layout on the home page and improvements to the 'article' pages. There are LOTS of changes.

Get started by clicking HERE.

Good luck!

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VIDEO: What type of music do the Kings players listen to?

You might have seen the tweet we posted a few weeks ago of Colin Fraser taking a lap around the Kings locker room with a microphone and camera in tow. Here's his report, as he finds out what type of music his teammates listen to on the way to the rink...

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VIDEO: Jeff Carter's 200th career goal

In yesterday's win over the Blackhawks, LA Kings forward Jeff Carter scored the 200th goal of his career. It was game number 508 for Carter. As a comparison, Anaheim's Corey Perry has scored 202 goals in 519 games and Mike Richards has picked up 147 in 514.

If you missed Carter hitting the milestone, here's a replay...

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Can Jeff Carter get five tonight for the LA Kings?

Five seems to be the magic number for the Kings newest forward, Jeff Carter.

In seven games since being traded to Los Angeles, Carter has scored in two of them - and both times he had five shots on goal. The other games saw zero shots on goal (vs. Columbus), one (vs. Nashville, the 3/6 game), two (vs. Minnesota and Nashville) and four (vs. the Blackhawks).

With Carter in the line-up the Kings are 4-3. However, the biggest change has been an overall increase in scoring by the team as a whole. For the first time in a quite a while, LA has two legitimate lines for their opponents to worry about. And guys on the Kings top unit have taken notice of another key element Carter has added to the team's offense.

"He definitely has wheels," said Anze Kopitar. "In the middle of the ice in their zone, that's where he makes the most damage. He gets open in a hurry. Then, he gets rid of that puck in a hurry and that's what makes him such a goal scorer."

It hasn't taken Dustin Brown long to like what he sees as well.

"The biggest thing that stands out is his speed," said the Kings captain, when talking about Carter. "(Against Anaheim), he broke around and had that breakaway after getting the puck in stride, probably a step behind or even with the defenseman from the redline, and separated himself. When you have a guy finding holes...they create a lot. Having those jump-though-hole opportunities is a (direct) result of him being big and fast."

Can he generate at least five shots on goal tonight? That seems to be the magic number for Carter.

VIDEO: Bernie Nicholls and Charlie Simmer on After Hours

Charlie Simmer and Bernie Nicholls share some funny stories during a recent edition of Hockey Night in Canada's After Hours program...

The Mayor
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POLL: Who should the LA Kings honor next season?

It's been confirmed to MayorsManor that the LA Kings will keep the same jersey rotation for next year, including the purple (Forum blue) and gold version for three Legends Nights. As of now, the names haven't been finalized. However, a list of possible candidates is being pulled together. So, let's take a break from the playoff races for a moment and see what you guys think...

Over the course of 45 years, a lot of names have come through the organization. In an attempt to make things a little easier, we'll break this up into three eras. First up, we'll give you a list of pre-Gretzky stars (see below). In the next poll, we'll look at the 1988-2000 era (i.e. Kelly Hrudey, Marty McSorley, etc). Then, later in the week, we'll look at the Staples Center years (i.e. Ziggy Palffy, Ian Laperriere, etc.).

Most of the names on the list are obvious - such as Dave Taylor, who played more games in a Kings uniform (1,111) than any other player and has his number retired by the team. Yet, if you're not as familiar with some of the guys from the very early years, Brian Kilrea scored the very first goal in LA Kings history (something he talked about here). And Eddie Joyal was probably the first superstar hockey player in LA (discussed here).

Please select three people you think the Kings should honor next season:



Poll closes Wednesday at 8pm PST.

The Mayor
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Matt Greene on Kings v Red Wings, plus tonight's ticket contest

For the Kings, their last visit to Joe Louis Arena wasn't pretty. An 8-2 loss in mid-December stands as perhaps their worst game of the year. However, to be fair, it came just a few days after the firing of Terry Murray - at a time when the team was in limbo wondering what would happen next, while John Stevens stood in as interim coach.

Prior to that game, LA had experienced rather unusual success in a building that's normally tough for most opponents. They were winners of three straight there, including a 5-0 shutout last year that was one of Jonathan Quick's best games in the NHL. He stopped 51 shots that night, something he's not likely to have to repeat tonight.

The Kings will be facing a banged up Detroit team - playing without Nicklas Lidstrom, Jimmy Howard, Pavel Datsyuk, Todd Bertuzzi, Jonathan Ericsson and a few others.

Still, it's the Red Wings. Just ask Matt Greene, who shared the following comments with MayorsManor about tonight's game...

"Detroit in Detroit? It is what it is - everybody knows that. Those aren't easy points," said Greene, who leads all Kings defenseman with 201 hits.

On Wednesday night's MayorsManor LIVE show, Greene talked about what it's like to play in front of friends and family back in Michigan. Dustin Brown also shared his thoughts on the challenges younger players have when going to Detroit for the first time. If you missed the show, you can hear their interviews here.

The Kings are expected to make one line-up change tonight, with Brad Richardson joining the fourth line in place of rookie Jordan Nolan. Last weekend, Richardson took himself for 'first goal' vs. the Ducks - saying he had 'a pretty good feeling about himself.' However, he was a healthy scratch that night, so we'll have to see if his confidence is still in place vs. the Red Wings.

If you'd like to participate in the MayorsManor First Goal contest, we'll be giving away a free pair of tickets to an upcoming Kings home game. It's easy to play, simply leave a comment below with the LA player you think will score first vs. the Red Wings...or reply to the facebook / twitter updates that will be posted around 4:00pm. All correct answers will be pooled together and one random winner will be awarded the tickets. Good luck!

The Mayor
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Mike Richards reacts to recent praise from Ian Laperriere

After Mike Richards was traded to LA last June, his former Flyers teammate Ian Laperriere came on MayorsManor and spoke very highly of him. Soon thereafter, Richards shared some memories of their time together in Philadelphia.

Then, Laperriere was back last week - this time, to talk about Jeff Carter coming to the Kings. As part of that interview though, Laperriere was again talking up Richards - saying if he was to start a team, Richards would be on his short list of five players he'd have to have.

Here's how Richards reacted upon hearing the comments...

"Coming from him, that means the world to me. He's a guy who helped me out a lot, just being a professional. You take a lot of things from a lot of different players that you play with. But, he's - I don't even know the word to describe how awesome he is in the dressing room and on the ice, how much care and how much effort he gives. If you take half the knowledge that he put out there the year I played with him, you're going to have success. So, coming from him, that means a lot. I have a lot of respect for him. It's sad the way it ended for him. But, he's a hell of a guy and I really appreciate that."

To read more from Laperriere's visit to MayorsManor and/or subsequent comments from Richards, please see the original articles linked below.

The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:

Ian Laperriere on Richards vs Pronger feud

Mike Richards - Laperriere guided me in the right direction'

Laperriere on the newest King, Jeff Carter

Simon Gagne - 'Mike Richards is the type of guy I want on my team'

Trevor Lewis dishes on his new roommate - Mike Richards

MayorsManor podcast with Ian Laperriere - health update and memories of his time in LA

Audio: Coach Darryl Sutter post-game comments vs CBJ

Kings coach Darryl Sutter usually provides some great quotes during his post-game pressers. Last night wasn't one of them. Following his team's disappointing loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, few Sutterisms were offered up. Basically, he's looking for a better effort and a more focused game from just about everybody except goalie Jonathan Bernier. Take a listen...



The Mayor
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Audio: Anze Kopitar post-game, Kings lose 3-1 to Jackets

After the Kings loss to the Blue Jackets in Columbus, here are some of the questions Anze Kopitar was asked in the media scrum. He wasn't offering any excuses for losing to the last place team in the NHL...



The Mayor
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Audio: Jeff Carter post-game, Kings lose 3-1 to Jackets

After the Kings loss to the Blue Jackets in Columbus, here are some of the questions Jeff Carter was asked in the media scrum. For a good laugh, be sure to listen to his answer about the promotion run in the arena last night where fans could get their Carter jerseys converted to a Jack Johnson version for free...



The Mayor
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VIDEO: Johnson post-game vs LA - 'I wanted to get this win'

Jack Johnson continued his hot play of late for Columbus last night. With his tenth goal of the season, he now has goals in back-to-back games and points in three straight for his new club. After the Blue Jackets downed the Kings 3-1, he sounded like a guy taking a few subtle shots at his time in LA as much as he was pumping up his current environment...

The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:

Matt Greene and Dustin Brown pre-game comments

Daryl Evans previews Kings/Carter vs. Blue Jackets/Johnson

Doughty on the Kings trading Jack Johnson to Columbus

Jack Johnson reacts to the trade

Why the LA Kings should trade for Jeff Carter and not Rick Nash

Greene on Blue Jackets, Westgarth on tonight's 1st goal contest

Tonight marks the fourth and final meeting between the Kings and Blue Jackets this season, but none of the prior games had the same feeling as this one. Of course, the big story line coming in surrounds Jeff Carter and Jack Johnson. However, Columbus can't be taken lightly, they've won three in a row and the records for the two teams are pretty similar since February 1st - the Jackets have gone 8-7-1 and the Kings 7-7-2.

Columbus has only managed one win in the previous three games vs LA this year, it was a 1-0 victory in LA in early January. That was the Kings only regulation loss in the first month of Darryl Sutter's tenure behind the bench.

Defenseman Matt Greene shared these comments with MayorsManor about tonight's game...

"They have some juice right now," he began. "They have guys who are playing for roster spots and playing hard. I've been in that situation. They're not giveaway games. Guys are getting ready for next year, tyring to solidify their spot on the roster. It's going to be another tough game."

Here's Dustin Brown on the match-up...

"When a big trade like that happens, everybody understands everything surround the game. But, at the same time, I think everybody understands, it's pretty minor in comparison to (us getting) two points at this time of the year," said LA's captain. "In Columbus, the headlines might be about Jeff Carter coming back, but for this team it has to be about winning the game."

As for who will help get the Kings on the scoreboard first, Kevin Westgarth predicts it will be Drew Doughty picking up LA's first marker of the evening.

If you'd like to participate in the MayorsManor First Goal contest, we'll be giving away a free pair of tickets to an upcoming Kings home game. It's easy to play, simply leave a comment below with the LA player you think will score first vs. the Blue Jackets...or reply to the facebook / twitter updates that will be posted around 4:00pm. All correct answers will be pooled together and one random winner will be awarded the tickets. Good luck!

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/MayorNHL
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor 

RELATED ARTICLES:

MayorsManor LIVE - Stoll, Westgarth and Mitchell share funny Jack Johnson stories

Daryl Evans previews Kings/Carter vs. Blue Jackets/Johnson

What I've learned so far this season... by Matt Greene

2011-12 Season Predictions - timing is everything

Daryl Evans previews LA Kings Carter vs CBJ Johnson

LA Kings radio commentator Daryl Evans helps preview tonight's game vs. Columbus. As you'd expect, much of the talk has to do with Jeff Carter and Jack Johnson.

Click here if you want to see what Johnson - now wearing number seven - had to say after scoring his first goal in a Blue Jackets jersey the other night. At the end of the video he also refers to tonight's match-up as 'just a game.'

Also, on last night's MayorsManor LIVE show, we featured Jarret Stoll, Willie Mitchell and Kevin Westgarth sharing some funny stories about Johnson.  If you missed it, click here to listen to the replay now.

The Mayor
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MayorsManor LIVE call-in show tonight 8pm PST

MayorsManor LIVE kicks off a five-week run on Wednesdays later this evening. We'll be talking about all of the players and teams impacting the playoff races in both the Eastern and Western conferences.

Tonight, we'll also recap last night's Kings win in Nashville and look ahead to tomorrow's big game in Columbus - where Jeff Carter returns to town and a familiar face will be in a strange sweater, as Jack Johnson is now wearing #7 for the Blue Jackets.

To help us preview that game, Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell will stop by with some funny stories about his former D-partner. And Jarret Stoll will share one of Johnson's quirks when traveling, something that always made Stoll laugh. Plus, Kevin Westgarth will talk about a little pre-game ritual he and Johnson used to perform and who was injured when things went awry.

Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period will join me as co-host for another night of hockey talk galore. Call us up - (347) 426-3754 - we want to hear your questions and opinions.

UPDATE:  If you missed tonight's show, give it a listen in the player below...

Listen to internet radio with MayorsManor X Hockey Chirps on Blog Talk Radio

Also, if you missed our trade deadline special from a few weeks ago, it's available for free right here.

We'll be back next Wednesday at 8pm PST with another show!

The Mayor
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Marcel Dionne on Jonathan Quick and NHL goaltending

Jonathan Quick in retro gear (photo: Ikiri)

Fresh back from a five-day trip to Russia, Marcel Dionne arrived in LA last week to participate in the LA Kings Fantasy Camp. The night before he joined several other members of the Kings Alumni and this year's campers, I met with Dionne for a one-on-one interview, where we covered a wide range of topics.

[note: His thoughts on Anze Kopitar were posted here]

On his trip to Moscow, Dionne spent time with another Hall of Famer, Phil Esposito. They were there to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Russia-Canada Summit Series - including an outdoor game on legendary Red Square, a contest that featured former NHL greats Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny.

Dionne's 735 goals alone were enough to give some goalies nightmares. But, add in the more than 1,500 scored by that trio of companions and you're talking about an unlimited highlight reel of how to pick up points in the NHL.  Yet, in this feature, we'll take a look at the other side of putting pucks in the net - the guys wearing pads and a mask and trying to stop those snipers.

We began with an obvious one, Jonathan Quick - is he the real deal?