Bob Miller Tattoo?

Just got back from Dodges Spring Training in Arizona. After three days in the sun I'm ready for some hockey tonight.

I'll have more articles up later. However, I had to get this one up right away. I'm standing in line yesterday and I run into a woman who has Vin Scully tattooed on her forearm (pictured)!

It got me wondering, do you think there's anybody out there with a Bob Miller tattoo? That's some serious dedication.




The Mayor

www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Tuesdays with Teubert

By now everybody knows about Drew Doughty. Taken second overall in the 2008 NHL Draft. Made the Kings as a teenager and just won a gold medal with Team Canada at the Olympics.

Yet, the Kings did something else later in the first round that same day in 2008. After several trades they ended up with the 13th pick too - where they took 6'4" defenseman Colten Teubert of the Regina Pats (WHL).

When the Pats missed the playoffs last week Teubert was sent to the Kings ECHL affiliate in Ontario - the same place he ended up last year too.

After his game on Sunday Teubert covered a variety of topics with the Mayor, like - Was he worried about being traded in a possible Kings deal for Ilya Kovalchuk or Ray Whitney? What does he think about Thomas Hickey? His memories from the epic Canada-USA games at this year's World Junior tournament and guys taken below him in the draft already playing in the NHL.

It's another MayorsManor exclusive interview...first round draft pick Colten Teubert:

.500 Days of Spring...or is it still Winter?

So yesterday we officially kicked off Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. I can't really confirm this 100%. However, that's what the internet says...and we all know by now - if it's on the internet, it must be true.

The Kings meanwhile have decided that .500 hockey is the trendy thing to do. I have yet to uncover why they think it's so cool yet...and yes, I've scoured the internet for the explanation.

After last night's 1-0 win over the surging (really?) New York Islanders a buddy turned to me and said 'That win was ugly as Thursday's loss.' Which I think is what tipped me off to this whole .500 trend the Kings are trying to prove is en vogue.

The shutout versus the Islanders at Staples Center Saturday night moved the Kings all-time record versus the 'other team' from New York to an even 41-41-12. A win to pull their overall record even was inevitable I guess.

Now, when you remove the extra point awarded for for overtime losses and just consider straight wins/losses, this is what you're left with...

Since February 4th, the Kings have played .500 hockey...winning 7 games and equally losing 7 games.

Four games ago Justin Williams returned from that horrific leg injury he received the day after Christmas in Phoenix. In those games the Kings are...you guessed it...2-2, a perfect .500!

Either newly acquired Freddy Modin hasn't bonded enough with his teammates yet or isn't buying into this whole .500 craze. Since joining the team the Kings are 3-5 in those eight games. They'll need a few more wins this week to reach the Freddy Five Hundred line.

On the other hand, Jeff Halpern sat out the loss to Chicago on Thursday...so, with a win Monday against the Av's he'll reach the .500 mark with the Kings.

When the Kings have packed their bags and hit the road this month they've played .500 hockey. The schedule shows them playing two games on the road later this week. So, if you like to gamble...perhaps you should bet the opposite of the result of game one...because chances are they'll have a .500 roadtrip.

Monday's game vs. the Av's will wrap up this mini homestand. It's a big one for sure. The outcome will be a four point swing in the ultra tight Western Conference standings. Just as important...a win would bring the Kings to an even .500 since the Olympic break.

Over the last 10 games the Kings have played .500 hockey. While playing out the remaining 12 game stretch at that clip would give them an impressive 99 point season, is that the type of momentum Dean Lombardi and Terry Murray are looking for as the team (hopefully) heads into the playoffs?

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

The Hockey News, Tanguay & The Mayor

A buddy of mine emailed me an old Hockey News article I had almost forgotten about...


Click on the image to the left to enlarge the scanned article.


Apparently, I must have really gotten under the skin of Alex Tanguay (then of Calgary). He called me out in The Hockey News, even saying I was 'world-renowned."

Am now!

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Modin on NHL Radio/TV - How the trade went down...

Kings newly acquired winger Freddy Modin was on the NHL Power Play earlier this afternoon and had the following to say:

* The transition to the Kings has been easy (3 goals in 6 games, what do you expect him to say?). Lots of good young kids.

* Anybody impress you or that's been better than you expected? Kopitar and Doughty. Playing with Wayne Simmonds has opened his eyes to how good he is too.

* Injuries have hampered him the last few years. He's feeling great right now and knock on wood he'll be in good shape for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

* The Kings were doing well before he got there. The team has several great leaders in the room, that's one area where the Kings aren't lacking. Come playoff time, he thinks he is one of the guys that some of his teammates will lean on (because of his experience).

* Some of the veterans that helped him in Toronto were Doug Gilmour, Larry Murphy, Wendel Clark, Kirk Muller, etc. Mats Sundin came in later and he learned a lot from him too.

* He had a no trade clause in Columbus, so how did the deal go down? Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson approached him saying he had some calls from some "peeps" (real quote) and Modin said he was willing to work with him. The deal with LA came up right at the last minute and he had to make a decision quickly. He said it was a "no brainer" to come to LA, even though he and his family only had a few minutes to think about it.

* They had a lot of expectations in Columbus this season after their success last season. He got off to a rough start and the coaching change was difficult. He still believes in goalie Steve Mason, who has struggled this season.

* How was your Olympic experience? It was a lot of fun, Vancouver did an amazing job with the games. It was an amazing atmosphere. Having Peter Forsberg back was fun and "I thought he played well for us."

* How important is it for LA to finish in 4th place in the West and get home ice in the first round of the playoffs? Its huge. That's what we're shooting for.

* When he was in Tampa Bay Phil Esposito was always on him to shoot the puck more. In fact, he still tells him every time they cross paths.

You can listen the full segment by clicking here.

Not the most in-depth interview ever...but, hey - at least the Kings are getting some national attention for a change.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Question of the Day

Now that the Regina Pats have been eliminated from the WHL playoffs, where will 'Mr Nasty' Colten Teubert end up? The Kings 2008 first round draft pick was sent to the Ontario Reign after last season.

The Reign are currently battling for the final playoff spot in the ECHL's National conference. A player of Teubert's caliber would sure be a shot in the arm for the 'proud affiliate of the LA Kings.' He's won back to back medals at the World Junior Championships for Team Canada and finished this season as the Pats captain...not to mention the physical presence the 6'4" defenseman brings to the ice.

That said, the AHL's Monarchs - the Kings top minor league affiliate - have lost a ton of players to injury this season. Additionally, they've been sliding a bit recently, having fallen to third place in their division. On paper this would seem like his most likely landing spot...especially for his development.

The answer should come in the next few days.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

PROSPECT: Brandon Kozun wins WHL scoring title

Brandon Kozun, drafted in the 6th round by the LA Kings last June, capped off an incredible regular season for the Calgary Hitmen earlier today. He had four assists to pass Jordan Eberle for the WHL scoring title, winning the Bob Clarke Trophy!

Eberle was a first round pick back in 2008 by the Edmonton Oilers.

Kozun, a 5'8" right wing, has twice been named the WHL player of the week this season...in addition to playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships - winning a silver medal.

His teammate on the Hitmen, fellow Kings prospect Martin Jones, had quite the season himself - also being named WHL player of the week back in February. Like Kozun, he too earned a silver medal with Team Canada at the World Jrs and has been the best goalie in the 'Dub this season (by far) - leading in nearly every statistical category. Hard to believe the Kings were able to pick him up as an undrafted free agent last summer. Another solid goaltending prospect, just adding to the riches the Kings are currently experiencing in net.

Many of the Kings top young prospects are playing in the WHL this season - besides those listed above, 'Mr Nasty' Colten Teubert of the Regina Pats and Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kings are also there.

Along with Thomas Hickey, who was assigned to Manchester this year, the trio represents three straight years of first round draft picks from the WHL by Kings GM Dean Lombardi.

Calgary and Brandon were the top two teams in the WHL this year, the only two teams in the league with 100+ point seasons. Both will begin the playoffs later this week. More on that in the days ahead.

The Mayor
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ADDITIONAL UPDATES:

* Read the official WHL press release on Kozun winning the scoring title by clicking here.

* MayorsManor interview with Brandon Kozun from training camp

10 Tidbits - The Story of Zeus

According to Greek mythology, the God Zeus is often depicted by images of him striving forward with a thunderbolt in his hand.

Times have changed through the years, yet Michal Handzus is often seen skating forward, stick in hand...increasingly, the stick has been raised in the air as the Kings just scored another goal.

Things have never been better for Handzus here in Los Angeles. He's about to put a bow on his 3rd regular season with the Kings - one that will most likely see him in his first playoff series with the team. Today, on his 33rd birthday, he's the latest subject in our 10 Tidbits series.

Enjoy the Story of Zeus...

* While the God Zeus is known for his many children, Handzus may be known for his collection of jerseys - having played for a handful of NHL teams...five in all - St. Louis, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles.

* Perhaps Zeus was destined to sign with the Kings...not only because of Greek mythology, but because of former Kings owner Bruce McNall. While it's unclear if McNall sold or collected Zeus coins as part of his massive collection, there is a link nonetheless. According to various New York Times articles from back in the day, McNall sold several ancient vases to the Hunt brothers, one depicting the death of the Lycian prince Sarpedon, a son of Zeus.

* Almost immediately after signing a four year, $16 million contract in the summer of 2007 the criticism began. Fans and media alike thought that was a lot of scratch to lay out for a guy coming off of major knee surgery...and having played only 8 games the season prior. Did it work? Well, after Michal's first season in LA, Kings GM Dean Lombardi had this to say in an interview with the Daily News "We expected him to be better. He started skating better in the second half. He's not the fleetest afoot anyway. He got himself in a rut and started pressing. He'd be the first to tell you he wasn't where he expects to be. Until the last couple months his skating wasn't where he expected to be. Next year, I expect him to be more like we expected him to be when we got him." Yep - 7 goals, 21 points and a minus-21 rating is probably not what everybody had in mind.

* If year one was a failure, year two was more what Lombardi had in mind. For the second straight season with the Kings Handzus skated in all 82 games - this time netting 18 goals and 42 points (fourth best on the team, behind the big three of Kopitar, Brown and Frolov). Equally impressive was that he increased his shots on goal by 61%.

* Has worn #26 in each of his NHL stops, with one exception...during his brief stay in Phoenix he wore #16. Mike Sullivan was already wearing his number when he was traded to the Coyotes late in the 2000-01 season. Ironically, it wasn't like Sullivan was married to the number...he'd played on four teams in his career, each time wearing a different number. Maybe Zeus didn't want to 'compensate' him for changing.

* Thrives in international competition. When he's represented his home country of Slovakia the numbers are impressive - 9 points over 12 games at the World Jrs, 17 points in 25 games at the World Championships (note: he's represented Slovakia 4x at the WC) and 7 points in 9 Olympic games. He's earned two medals for his efforts, a silver at the 2000 WC and gold at the 2002 WC. Many of those teams included former Kings like Ziggy Palffy and Jozef Stumpel.

* On December 5, 2002, he became only the second player in NHL history to score a penalty shot goal in overtime when he beat the Rangers Dan Blackburn with just 37 seconds left in the extra frame. Coincidentally, the only other player to do it also beat the Rangers (when Nashville's David Legwand put one past Kirk McLean on December 23, 2000).

* Awards: Was runner-up for the NHL's Selke Trophy in the 1999–00 season, given out to the top defensive forward. Selected by the media as the Kings Best Defensive Player for the 2008-09 season, an award he may win again this year. Last season he also received an award from his teammates. The Unsung Hero award goes to the player they deem "contributed the most to the team yet did not get the proper recognition for their contributions."

* Was drafted by the St. Louis Blues and recorded his first two milestones with the team. 10/22/98 - first NHL point (an assist) at Ottawa. 11/28/08 (the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend) - first NHL goal in a home game vs. the Washington Capitals. The Blues won both games.

* In Monday's 6-0 win over the Blue Jackets Handzus recorded his 400th NHL point and his 100th point as a member of the Kings.

Zeus, per Greek mythology, is the King of the Gods. Handzus is primed for a triumphant return to the playoffs next month. And the Kings are hoping he can wreak havoc and put that thunderbolt to good use.

The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:

10 Tidbits on Wayne Simmonds

10 Tidbits on Drew Doughty

10 Tidbits on Dustin Brown

10 Tidbits on Willie Mitchell

10 Tidbits on Alexei Ponikarovsky
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Dean Lombardi live from the GM Meetings

All 30 NHL General Managers descended on Boca Raton, Florida this week for a round of meetings...as well as some golf, fishing, fine dining and a roast for former Flyer Bobby Clarke.

The topic de jure was the violent head shots that have been taking place around the league this season. Additionally, the group was divided up into four mini panels for intense debates on key topics, like - the playoff format, tie breaker procedures, etc.

Kings GM Dean Lombardi was part of a breakout group that discussed the rules involving the goalie crease and the application of the IIHF regulations on play in the crease. In the group with him were fellow GMs Stan Bowman (Chicago), George McPhee (Washington), Larry Pleau (St Louis), Darryl Sutter (Calgary), Bob Murray (Ottawa) and Greg Sherman (Colorado).

Lombardi stopped by the set of NHL Live this morning to discuss his experience in Florida this week. Here are some highlights of what he shared:

* He was impressed with the research presented on head shots. He likes the methodical approach they're taking now to making changes because you have to be mindful that every change you make has a counter impact someplace else.

* They looked at clips from the '40s to present year. The game was fast, then it slowed down for a period of time...now it's fast again.

* They're still talking about Brett Hull's foot in the crease goal from the '99 Stanley Cup Finals...and how they didn't think of all the ramifications down the road when they made previous rule changes.

* When they asked him about changes to the playoff seedings...he joked he has no thoughts about it right now...he's just happy to be in the thick of things.

* He thinks the current group of Kings might be the finest group of guys he's ever been around. They're playing with expectations...expectations they put on themselves...he likes that. They have a lot of pressure on them and he's enjoying it.

Another topic that made the media rounds yesterday was a proposal made to the GMs for a one game 'playoff tournament' for the 8th seed in each Conference, rather than the current rankings based on points.

Lombardi told NHL.com yesterday "It really cheapens the regular season. I think you have to have some reward and some distinguishing factor during an 82-game season for going through the grind. That just sounds way too gimmicky for me. This isn't socialism where everybody gets another shot."

He wasn't alone in his thoughts. The idea was universally panned by the group.

You can view the entire seven minute segment by clicking here.

The Kings return to action tonight in Chicago at 5:30pm PST vs the Blackhawks.

Final note - get ready for the playoffs...order your IN DEAN WE TRUST t-shirt today. All of the various styles will be on sale for a few more days. Visit the store by clicking here and use coupon code TSHIRTS10OFF to save 10% per shirt.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Erik Ersberg, Larry Murphy and Doughty?

It's all in a day.

Happy Birthday to Kings back-up goaltender Erik Ersberg. The now 28 year old netminder has had extremely limited action this season, having played in just eight games. Since arriving in LA for the 2007-08 season Double E has only seen action in 50 games. Not exactly the veteran presence the Kings may need come playoff time, causing some Kings fans to wonder why GM Dean Lombardi didn't shore things up at the trade deadline.

When asked about this at yesterday's meeting with season ticket holders Lombardi shared a few thoughts...first, who was really available that would be much of an improvement...two, Ersberg shouldn't necessarily be judged on his performance this year (having to sit for long stretches at a time, sometimes more than a month - and then having to play)...three, if need be, they can always call up Jonathan Bernier from Manchester. However - HOLD ON before you Bernier lovers start ordering your new Kings jerseys from Team LA.

Lombardi and assistant GM Ron Hextall have made it perfectly clear on multiple occasions that the plan has been to keep 'the other' Jonathan in Manch' all year (including any possible playoff run by the Monarchs). So, it remains highly unlikely he'll be up in LA this season...unless there is an unfortunate injury...and if you're a Kings fan, you don't even want to think about something like that happening so close to the playoffs.

Now, on to the other birthday today...

Seems that Ersberg shares a birthday with not only a former Kings defenseman, but a legendary one...a guy who went on to have a Hall of Fame career - Larry Murphy.

Murph turned 49 today, which means he should be playing along side Chris Chelios for the Chicago Wolves. That's a different story though.

This story is about the uncanny similarities to Murphy and a current Kings defenseman - one who is pretty damn good himself...Drew Doughty.

* Both are guys are from a similar part of Canada - Doughty grew up in London, Ontario...about 2 hours from Murphy's hometown of Scarborough (Wayne Simmonds hometown coincidentally)

* Doughty played junior hockey for the Quelph Storm, less than an hour north east of where he grew up...Murphy played for the Peterborough Petes - yes, less than hour north east of where he was raised.

* Both have represented Team Canada in the Olympics - Murphy in 1980 and Doughty in 2010.

* Doughty was a first round draft pick in 2008 (taken second overall). Murphy was a first round pick too, having been picked fourth overall by the Kings in 1980.

* Both debuted for the Kings as teenagers - Murphy was 19 when he first suited up for LA in the fall of 1980...Doughty was just 18 when he played his first game as a King in 2008.

* Doughty wears #8 because his birthday is the 8th of December. Although Murphy started out wearing #5 with the Kings, he went on to wear #8 with the Washington Capitals (1983-89) and Minnesota NorthStars (1989-90).

* Both were offensive minded from the very beginning - Doughty's 27 points tied him for first among all rookie defenseman, while Murphy set the record for most assists and points by a rookie dman.

The list of comparisons could continue...however, just know this:

Murphy won four Stanley Cups and retired having played more games than any other defenseman in NHL history up to that point.

One can only hope that Doughty goes on to have that type of career...with just one major difference - let's hope he accomplishes those things wearing a Kings uniform!

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119