Can The Kings Repeat Their Stanley Cup Success?
While many teams have made roster changes by trades or by losing and acquiring players through free agency, the Los Angeles Kings have kept their team the same as it was coming into the post season. The only exception is that forward Simon Gagne should be 100% and ready to start the 2012-13 season. The Kings had one of the most dominant and surprising playoff runs we have seen in quite some time and would love to do nothing more than to repeat that success. So can they repeat it?
Lets start with the offense. The top line of Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, and, Dustin Brown have shown great chemistry and is should continue to shine. It is the second line of Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Dustin Penner that will help the Kings repeat their success. Dustin Penner found his groove that he once lost and meshed well with the reuniting of Richards and Carter. If Penner can continue his success with this line, the Kings will have an outstanding 1-2 punch that many teams defense can not handle. Jarrett Stoll and Simon Gagne provide amazing depth in the bottom six, and the experience gained from the Stanley Cup win will help the younger guys like Dwight King, Kyle Clifford, and Jordan Nolan. If the chemistry remains, the Kings will do much better than 29th in goals for.
The Defense has a healthy mix of veterans and youth. Rob Scuderi, Matt Greene, and Willie Mitchell give great leadership to the younger guys like Drew Doughty and Slava Voynov. Drew Doughty seemed to have regained his confidence in the 2012 playoffs, and Voynov developed into the player which made it easier to let go of Jack Johnson. The defense had been strong all season and they played with much more confidence in the playoffs when the Kings offense was able to keep the puck in the offensive zone and score more than 2 goals a game. The defense is rock solid from the top pairing to the bottom pairing and gives the Kings the upper hand when having to match against the opponents forwards.
Jonathan Quick was the best player on the team all throughout the season and postseason. He earned a Vezina nomination and deserved the Conn Smythe trophy. What helps Quick and the Kings is that goalie Jonathan Bernier is a solid backup. Even though his name has been thrown all around the rumor mill, the Kings can keep him just in case anything happens to Quick. Bernier is still very young and only continues to develop. Bernier will continue to prove his worth as he fights to get out of the shadow of Quick
Things can change and the Kings can bring in even more talent if they decide to trade Bernier or make a separate trade in the future. With about $7.8 million in cap space, they have the room to make any moves if needed. Even though the team remains the same on paper, they have gained experience and chemistry which makes them much more dangerous.
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