POLL: Where will the LA Kings finish in the standings?

The Los Angeles Kings last played a game in April.

You've had all summer to contemplate how the additions of Mike Richards, Simon Gagne and others will impact the team's offense.  Plus, the last month has provided multiple looks at the revamped Kings, via eight different pre-season games.

And earlier this week, predictions for the 2011-12 NHL season were posted here on MayorsManor.

Now, it's your turn...



Poll closes Monday morning at 8am PST.

The Mayor
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NHL 2011-12 season predictions - timing is everything

Predictions - everybody loves them and if you're correct about half the time, you're doing pretty well.

Two years ago I had the Los Angeles Kings finishing sixth in the Western Conference. Nailed it.

Last season, I slotted the Kings at fourth during my NHL season preview article. That's certainly where they should have finished, if not for their horrible losing streak in November. As such, they ended up seventh - three notches back.

Further, as noted at the time... If GM Dean Lombardi added a high-end player before the trade deadline, the Kings would challenge the Sharks for the Pacific Division.

Which sort of brings us to this present.

Sure, Lombardi added Dustin Penner at the deadline last February. And getting a guy to play on the top line with Anze Kopitar definitely qualifies as a big move. However, the addition didn't net the desired results. Couple that with a power play that saw a huge drop off from the year prior and the aforementioned losing streak to dig out of - well, the timing wasn't right for a run at the Sharks.

Things have now changed.

Penner spent the summer committing himself to conditioning. Check.

Lombardi went out and acquired the long-needed second line center in Mike Richards. Check.

With Ryan Smyth's departure to Edmonton, the Kings had a new hole at left wing.  They could have moved a prospect in - an unproven commodity - or have relied on a role player to fill the hole, essentially asking somebody to try and overachieve. Instead, Lombardi signed veteran forward Simon Gagne.  Second line, check.

On defense, all six starters from last season - and arguably the best collective unit of six in the Western Conference - return and are back on the blueline. Check.

In net, it's Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier reprising their roles in Battle of the Goalies part II. Quick has spent two years rewriting the Kings record book and Bernier was lights out in the second half of the last season. Coach Terry Murray says he's going with the hot hand this year, rather than a planned 60 games-22 games split. So, goaltending - check.

What does this mean for the Pacific Division and the Western Conference?

After hearing bits and pieces leaked over the last few weeks during various radio appearances and on twitter, here are the official MayorsManor predictions for the 2011-12 NHL regular season...

FULL VIDEO: LA Kings preview show on Fox Sports West

If you missed last night's LA Kings preview show on Fox Sports West, fear not - Kings Vision has you covered. The video below features Kings captain Dustin Brown speaking to fans at HockeyFest, Kings analyst Jim Fox giving some predictions for the new season, they identify the x-factors for success this year and much more.

To read more about some of the off-season topics discussed in the video, check out these links:

Welcome to the Dustin Penner comedy hour

No June Gloom for Kings LW Dustin Penner

Matt Greene pulls no punches about Penner's conditioning

Kings GM Dean Lombardi - 'Anze Kopitar may be the new Blake Griffin'

Anze Kopitar is training in one of Europe's most beautiful cities

I'll have my predictions for the 2011-12 NHL season posted later today.

The Mayor
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www.facebook.com/MayorsManor 

Terry Murray helps temper high expectations for this season

You can call him the voice of reason.

While some fans wanted to pull their hair out as Kings coach Terry Murray calmly stood behind the bench during two disastrous losing streaks last season - lost points that ended up costing the team home ice advantage in the playoffs, but more on that later...GM Dean Lombardi didn't share the same opinion.

Once the season was over, Lombardi praised Murray's composure and calmness when reflecting on those tough times.

If nothing else, Murray has at least been consistent in most areas since talking over as coach here in Los Angeles a few years ago. He drives his points home (defense-first, shot mentality, etc.) until they're heard and his demeanor is usually led by a large degree of patience.

Meanwhile at Hockey Fest yesterday, many of the players were running around talking about the team being talented enough to win the Pacific Division or the Western Conference. Some sounded like they were on the verge of saying 'Stanley Cup or bust.'

And it may very well be true that this year's roster has the depth and mix to win it all. However, Murray didn't want any part of that when we chatted for a few minutes following this morning's Rookie Camp drills.

"We're looking to be a playoff team," Murray began, after I asked for his expectations. "In this league today, with 30 teams, and this Conference - which I think is the most competitive of the two - at the end of the day, on the last day of the season last year, you had Dallas out and Chicago in. The year before it took a shootout for the Flyers to get in and they ended up going right through to the Stanley Cup Finals. It is that close, that competitive and that level of a playing field right now. So, our goal is to be a playoff team. We want to shoot for home ice advantage. We recognize the importance of it."

RECAP: Kings GM Dean Lombardi on NHL Live

Los Angeles Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi was a guest on NHL Live this morning.

Below is a recap of what was discussed (as always, these are near exact quotes, with selected paraphrasing for brevity)...

* [topic: Kings have been good on the road lately] True. However, I think a lot of that is when you're a young team it's easier to keep your players focused. I think there is a lot more structure in their day when they're on the road. I also don't think there are a lot of buildings anymore that are intimidating to play in.

* [What was the hot topic at the GM meetings today?] We spent a lot of time on the shootout, defining when the spin-o-rama crosses the line between being a good play and going backwards. I think the biggest issue is we just have to define it. We just want to know what the rule is and there is a bit of grey area right now. I dread the thought of that Flyers-Rangers game (last regular season game of last season), where a season is determined by that play. They'll get on it though. It came to the forefront and we realize the importance of getting some structure in there.

* [Concussions and the Drew Doughty situation earlier this season] That's the problem, 'Should your decisions be based on the identity of the player?' We all know the reality is if it's a top player, it comes to the forefront more. I thought the league did a tremendous job the first two days here of getting all the facts out there. I'm pretty proud of the fact that people are saying we're ahead of the NFL right now. We were the first ones to have a protocol. The amount of data that went into analyzing where these concussions come from, the science of it, what's causing them, etc. I thought the background information was fabulous. There are two things involved here. It's not only what you do, it's how you do things. I thought procedurally the league was excellent. This does not lend itself to an easy sound-bite answer. I love the fact that we took the time to look at the science and have data to back up our thinking. There's no doubt we're ahead of the NFL here and as a league we can be proud of that.

Point Break at 50 Games

It's not uncommon for coaches to break the NHL season down into 10-game segments. Things are just easier to digest that way.

Last year there were several articles on MayorsManor that followed the progression of the Kings throughout the season using this simple approach - which also helps even out the highs and lows that may come with a few wins or losses.

Given the strength of the Western Conference this year, 96 points is a good benchmark to use when drawing a line in the sand to determine a minimum number of points needed to make the playoffs.

For easy math, that means a team needs to average about 12 points per 10 games (using eight ten-game segments you'd get 96 points, then use games 81 and 82 for seeding purposes).

So, where are the Kings? And more importantly, what's needed on the current road trip?