LA Kings trade for a kid with more questions than answers

So, Kings GM Dean Lombardi made another trade with the Philadelphia Flyers today. At least that's how it's going to read in some places. Yet, there is so much more to this deal. Or is there?

Jammed by the salary cap and total number of player contracts under contract, the Flyers needed a little breathing room. No problem. They called up their old buddy for some help. And in exchange for the always popular 'future considerations' the Kings picked up a sixth round draft pick and Stefan Legein.

Which is where things get really interesting.

Normally, people wouldn't be talking much about this deal. It would be more like a shuffling of paperwork than a real hockey trade.

However, upon further investigation you'll see that Legein is one of the most interesting stories to come out of the NHL Draft in years.

He was an assistant captain on the gold medal winning Team Canada squad at the 2008 World Junior Championships - a team that also featured Drew Doughty, Thomas Hickey, Jonathan Bernier and Wayne Simmonds.

Legein hurt his shoulder during the tournament and some have claimed he's never been the same since. He came back months later to finish out the OHL season and made his AHL debut, playing two playoff games for the Syracuse Crunch, once his junior club had been eliminated from the playoffs.

That summer, he announced his retirement from hockey - yes, at the age of 19 - essentially, walking out on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who had drafted him 37th overall in 2007.

What went wrong?

At first, some speculated it was just a prank. After all, this was the kid known for terrorizing his teammates with practical jokes.

That wasn't it. He was serious.

Is there a Hockey News curse?

Sports fans know all too well about 'the curse' and what it can do to their favorite team or player. The Red Sox had the curse of the Bambino. The Cubs still have the goat. Entire seasons have been lost due to the Sports Illustrated curse. Plus, you have the Madden Football video game curse. This year it was a two-fer, with both Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu showcased on the popular game...and, yep, they both were injured.

Hockey fans take note, because there may be some negative karma brewing in the print world north of the border too. It's possible The Hockey News is the latest sports related curse to be rearing its ugly head.

Perhaps it isn't Ryan Smyth's fault after all that Anze Kopitar has lost his mojo.

Case in point - November 2008 Av's captain Joe Sakic is featured on the cover of The Hockey News. Three weeks later he injures his back, then some fingers and hand injuries. That's it, he's lost for the season and then retires.

You want more? The very next issue showcased young Maple Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn on the cover. Less than a month later he gets the famous lower body injury (knee) and misses a month of action.

Fast forward to this season. One of the best goalies in the world, Roberto Luongo, gets the cover for a late September issue. A month later, he injures his ribs and has to miss a handful of games.

OK, so you say injuries are just part of the game and it's a coincidence. Well, how about playoff performance?

April 16, 2009 Joe Thornton was the Playoff Preview cover boy. By now, everybody knows what happened to his Sharks in the first round after entering the playoffs as the top team in the West.

The following issue featured Zdeno Chara, captain of the East's top team - the Boston Bruins. What happens? Done, bounced in the second round by Carolina.

Not good enough for you? Let's look at some recent stats then...

Chris Pronger, Flyers defenseman, poses for a cover of The Hockey News in early November. The issue was released on 11/9/09. Prior to that he was a +11 with 14 points in 14 games. Since that time he is a -1 with just 11 points in 27 games. Cursed!

The next issue focused on three rookies playing for various New York teams. Last year's number one draft pick, John Tavares of the New York Islanders had 18 points and was a -1 in the 20 games prior. His numbers gave gone south since: -7, 10 points in 23 games. Another New York kid, Michael Del Zotto of the Rangers, was getting early Calder Trophy pub with his pre-cover play of 15 points in 20 games. Man, have times changed - only 5 points in 21 games since and a terrible -16 rating.

Which brings us to Kopitar. What's wrong with Anze? It's the million dollar question right now. Many people speculated it was the absence of Ryan Smyth. However, Rhyno's back now and things haven't really changed.

Kopi was The Hockey News cover boy for the December 14th issue. Ignoring his red hot start to the year - for the sake of trying to factor in the Smyth impact - in the 20 games prior to the issue being released on December 7th Anze had 16 points. The Kings have played 12 games from that point forward, a strech where Kopitar has just 5 points.

Is there a new curse to worry about in the world of hockey?

It's one possible explanation.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

WJC Recap: Day Four

It was a day of hats, hats and hits. Chris Kreider scored a hat trick for Team USA. Hours later Ryan Ellis had a had trick for Team Canada. Slovakia and Latvia, undermanned in the offensive department, decided to dish out hits by the dozen instead. And several Kings prospects had shining moments on Tuesday.

Czech Republic 7, Austria 1
Hard to believe, but this was the first win for the Czechs in three games this year. Seven different players scored for the Republic, led by 2010 draft eligible defenseman Vladimir Roth, who had four points (1g, 3a).

United States 12, Latvia 1
Mike Lee was back in net for the Americans after Jack Campbell's stellar performance in game two vs. Switzerland. This was a little bit of a surprise. Lee looked shaky at times in the opening game vs. Slovakia, although he eventually got the win. Campbell, on the other hand, was brilliant vs. the Swiss and was probably more deserving of the start here.

Prior to the game Danny Kristo (Montreal Canadiens) was moved from the top line to to the fourth line. Obviously, he wasn't happy about it and played like a man possessed. He scored the first of his two goals less than three minutes after the puck dropped.

The second goal of the game was a sweet one. Ray Bourque's son, Ryan, set up Team USA's youngest player - Jason Zucker (who also finished with two goals).

Chris Kreider (New York Rangers) had a fairly dramatic hat trick, getting his third on a penalty shot late in the game.

Overall, Team USA continued to get goals from guys taken in previous NHL drafts: Derek Stepan 2 goals (New York Rangers), Danny Kristo 2 goals, A.J. Jenks (Florida Panthers) and Jeremy Morin (Atlanta Thrasher).

Jordan Schroeder picked up two more assists, moving him within 3 points of Jeremy Roenick's all-time USA points record.

Sweden 4, Russia 1
The machine that is Team Sweden just keeps rolling on. Oilers prospect 'MPS' Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson backed up his five point performance in the last game with three points vs. the Russians (1 goal, 2 assists). His linemate (Ottawa Sens prospect) Andre Petersson also had a pair of goals. In net for Sweden was 6'5" Florida Panthers prospect Jacob Markstrom.

Canada 8, Slovakia 2
Coming into this game Jake Allen was in goal for both of Canada's games in this tournament. Both were shutouts. Kings prospect Martin Jones got the call for this game and gave up two goals. However, that's a bit deceiving. He was brilliant at times and neither goal were really his fault. One was on the powerplay after Team Canada captain Patrice Cormier had taken a stupid penalty.

And don't let the final score fool you - this was one of the most exciting 8-2 games you'll ever see. Slovakia was banging bodies all night long and the physicality of the game was reminiscent of a good NHL playoff game.

While much of the Canadian press will be gushing about Hall's hat trick and this being his probable coming out party - that will probably lead to him being taken number one overall at the June NHL draft - one of the best moments in the game involved two Kings prospects. 2009 sixth round pick Brandon Kozun came flying down the wing and dished it off to '09 first round pick Brayden Schenn for one of the prettiest goals scored in the tournament so far.

What's next?

Wednesday will be an off day for most of the big boys - the only two games scheduled are Finland-Austria and Switzerland-Latvia.

Thursday features four games, but to be honest, the only game everybody will be talking about is the big one...Canada vs. USA. With both teams at 3-0 in pool play the winner will get a bye into the semi-finals on Sunday.

Since the USA beat Canada for the Gold Medal in 2004 the two teams have met five times...with Canada winning all five, including last year's thriller on New Year's Eve where John Tavares scored a hat trick to beat the Americans. Yeah, him - the guy that went on to be the #1 overall pick in last June's NHL draft.

Team USA vs. Canada can be seen live New Year's Eve on the NHL Network at 5pm PST. See two teams stocked with current NHL prospects and 2010 draft picks. Enjoy the stars of the future putting it all on the line for international bragging rights.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119