Don't Go There

Here at GameTime, TBD©, "our" readers are better than yours, and "we" know it.

As such, it did not come as any surprise when several of my avid readers inquired about the lull in Los Angeles Kings-related posts. Many noted that I had stayed relatively quiet while the Kings slid from the middle of the pack to last in the league. Several questioned why I never expressed concern over the Kings failure to move some of the bigger names on their roster at the trade deadline. Some even went so far as to (not so subtly) question my dedication to the franchise. That, my dear readers, is where I draw the line; no one EVER questions my dedication and loyalty to the Los Angeles Kings.

For starters, I never stopped following the Kings on this site. Sure, most of posts moved away from the Kings and more towards the UCLA Bruins and attractive women, but that does not mean I did not care about what was going on. [Speaking of attractive women, it turns out that Sports Illustrated's website has a section called "On Campus", which has an ongoing series of articles entitled "Cheerleader of the Week". For starters, I am a little disappointed that none of you out there gave me a little heads up on this, but I will let that slide. As it turns out, the series featured UCLA-fan favorite, and MOP of my NCAA Bracket breakdown, Brianna. Now, my expectations might have been a little high, but, as it turns out, Brianna is about as deep as a kiddy pool. Seriously, she wins the lottery and the first thing she buys is a blackberry? She grew up in Sunnyvale, I'm guessing daddy can get her one. Her best physical feature is her hair? Now she's just being modest; I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that when she goes for a guy, her hair is not what he notices first. Oh well, at least she's still easy on the eyes . . . but I digress.]

If work did not get in the way (ha, that's almost funny), I made it to every game for which we had tickets. I even made it to a couple of extra games thanks to my Brother-in-Law and his hook-up (read: job). You might have also noticed that, in the right-hand column, I tracked the Kings record for the entire season (though, admittedly, half way through the season I changed it from "Pacific Division Standings" to "Draft Watch: The Hunt for the Number 1 Pick"). This is not the first time in my life I have tracked the Kings record. You might remember way back in 2001 (February 21, 2001 to be exact), the Kings traded Rob Blake and a nobody to the Colorado Avalanche for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, a draft pick and the ever-famous "future considerations". Well, at that time I declared the Kings were better off without Blake and would make the playoffs (they were in 10th at the time). So, I took one of the dry-erase boards in my dorm room (I was a sophomore in college at that time), wrote "Kings Record Post Blake" and tracked it through the end of the regular season. Well, the Kings went 13-2-5-2 (wins-losses-ties-overtime losses) over the last twenty-two games of the season, earning the seventh in 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs. True fans do not just remember the amazing serious win over the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, they remember what the Kings did to get there.

Still want to question my loyalty and dedication to this organization? Well then, let us talk about this season.  This was one of those seasons when nothing went right.  I should have seen this coming a mile away, all the signs were there . . . well, actually just one sign.  As you may recall, the Kings opened the season in London, England for two games against the Anaheim Ducks and the first game was delayed about a half-an-hour because, well, because they could not get the lights to come back on after the national anthems were sung.  Then after a brief stint in first place, the downward spiral began.  Sure, there were some high points:  Anze Kopitar proved he is a legitimate superstar, Patrick O'Sullivan showed signs of being the great player he has been touted as for so long, Jonathan Bernier showed flashes of brilliance in his limited action, Brian Boyle showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with up the middle, and Dan Cloutier's contract expired.  There was even the surprise of Erik Ersberg, who was called up after Jason LaBarbera's season ended due to injury and posted respectable numbers (6-5-3, 2.48 GAA, .927 save percentage).  I even got to attend the Kings-Sabres game that the Kings won 8-2 and at one point had seven goals to the Sabres' eight shots.

But, in general, this season did not go well.  It is not like the Kings were predicted to be a division winner, or even make the playoffs.  They were, however, expected to compete for a playoff spot and it was not out of the realm of possibilities that they would make it in as an eighth seed.  Instead, the were competing for last in the league and the number one overall pick.  Now, most experts have stated for sometime that Steven Stamkos, the expected number one pick, is the only NHL-ready difference maker in this years draft.  Well, the Kings could not even lose right this season.  The Kings were out of it by early January and proceeded to go a decent run from the end of January to late February.  In the end, they finished tied for last with the Tampa Bay Lightening and lost out on the number one overall pick.  Yet there I was, to the bitter end.  In the stands, or in front of the television, I was cheering on my Kings.

Still want to question my loyalty and dedication?  I did not think so; just do not go there.  Now, if you will excuse me, I will be scouring the Internet between now and June 21st trying to figure out who the Kings are going to take with the number TWO overall pick . . . and if know Dean Lombardi, it will be someone with second-round talent . . . ugh, I will save that for another day.