Jewels from the Crown: for Los Angeles Kings fans

The Los Angeles Kings finished with the meekest of mehs to end their season. Instead of going out with a bang to prove they were fighters, they quietly disappeared about four games before the year officially ended. James and Robyn reflect back on the good, the bad and the woof. Joining them is special undead former BOC writer Ryan Dunn to discuss what went right with the Kings and where they can improve in the future. Plus, they look at potential trade targets (no, Jack Eichel is not a good fit for the Kings) and predict whom the Seattle Kraken might take in this year's expansion draft (probably not Jonathan Quick, despite the rumors). One name thrown out there? Joe Pavelski. If he's available this summer, should the Kings look at trading for him from the very cap-strapped Dallas Stars?

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The Kings and Ducks are playing a mini playoff series with only pride at stake since neither are making the actual postseason. That said, these "rivalry" games are always treated intensely and there's even more at stake with hot prospects Trevor Zegras and Quinton Byfield (possibly) seeing NHL time. With CJ's help, we go in-depth on the Ducks' problems, the Shea Theodore trade, and how youth does not equate automatic success. He defends Frederik Andersen, stating that the Toronto Maple Leafs actually did get a good goalie in him, but much like Carey Price, is overworked and feeling the burden.

Anaheim is also in desperate need of a full rebuild, but GM Bob Murray seems to be in denial about that while his counterpart in LA, seems to be going about it in the right way. Come for the sad Ducks fan, stay for CJ's piping hot prediction about who will their next Stanley Cup Championship first.

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In somewhat of a surprising move, the Los Angeles Kings traded Jeff Carter to the Pittsburgh Penguins just ahead of the NHL's official trade deadline. While Carter was the most expendable veteran who could be moved, fans were still disappointed to see him dealt away, signaling what is likely the final crushing blow to the team's (extremely slim) playoffs hopes for this year. It's also the end of an era as all the members of 2014's famed "'70s Line" are no longer with the Kings. On top of that, Carter's exit leaves only four players from 2012 and 14's Cup wins: Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Jonathan Quick.

But, it's not all doom and gloom for the team. There's hope on the horizon as the kids are starting to look comfortable, even as they struggle for consistency. Alex Iafallo signed a nice extension, that could prove to be a huge boon to the Kings down the road.

Finally, in other Deadline Day news, the Ducks did... something, Kyle Dubas worked cap loopholes like Swiss cheese, and Steve Yzerman swindled Brian MacLellan out of a lot of stuff for Anthony Mantha. How is he so magical??

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Inconsistency is the name of the game for the Los Angeles Kings as they frustrate and falter in their attempts to make the playoffs this year. Some nights they look incredible while other nights, they don't look like they've ever played a single game together. Will Brendan Lemieux's gritty presence help the Kings in any way on the ice? He's great at drawing penalties, but that seems to be his only skill. Rob Blake also traded Mike Amadio for Christian Wolanin in what appears to be a minor league swap. Should the Kings look at trading their big name veterans of Jonathan Quick, Dustin Brown, or Jeff Carter? These questions and more answered on the podcast!

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With 28 games in the books, it's time to pull out the spreadsheets and do some math. Or, rather, use a rudimentary understanding of hockey statistics to analyze the Los Angeles Kings' performance so far this season. The Kings are notoriously streaky (thus, the nickname Cardiac Kings), but sometimes corsi and xG (expected goals) can give a pretty clear overall picture of how a team is doing.

In short: Not bad; not good, but not bad, either. No longer Corsi Kings of the past, this team with a lot of inexperienced young players has seen its share of struggles in attempting to close out close games or even generate offense, despite James' assertion that Todd McLellan seems to be tailoring his system to fit guys better. However, as the NHL hits the midpoint of this weird, short season, the underlying statistics paint a very different picture than the eye test. That is, the Kings appear to be trending in the right direction.

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We are back with another fantastic episode! Sorry it's been so long, but life gets in the way sometimes. We take a look at the Kings' youth--is it experience or size that the team truly lacks? James is insistent that the line of Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and Alex Iafallo is the only one with size and that's why it's succeeding (despite the fact that Gabe Vilardi and Adrian Kempe are both 6'0 or taller, so maybe, as Robyn believes, it's not "size" but inexperience)?

Plus, we discuss Rasmus Kupari's first game and the rotating door of players going from NHL roster to taxi squad to the AHL and back to the NHL.

There's a rumor floating around Canada that Jack Eichel could land either in Los Angeles or New York. Does it make sense for the Kings to try and trade for him?

Then, we go down a rabbit hole of wait, what year is it? No really, what year is it?? Will the Flames trade Johnny Gaudreau? Should Calgary be the ones to trade for Eichel? What year is it again? Matthew Tkachuk: Friend or foe to his own teammates? Will James please stop trying to make division rivals better?

And finally, James gives everyone more disturbing imagery to end the podcast.

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The Los Angeles Kings are off to a disappointing start. So instead of focusing on them, Robyn (sans James, who was busy working today, womp womp) chatted with Erica Ayala, journalist and media member covering all things NWHL. Erica joined Crown Conversations to preview the #NDubble season which kicks off this Saturday, January 23 when newcomers Toronto Six take on hearty fan favorite Metropolitan Riveters.

Erica and Robyn also reflect back on the business aspect of the persistence of the NWHL and how they’ve not only managed to survive thus far, but are actually thriving. It’s an amazing story of perseverance and a determination not to fail in spite of all the odds stacked against them.

Then Erica lays out the NWHL’s bubble situation (two weeks, five games each, plus a sort of “pre-playoffs” round) and discusses whether or not the Connecticut Whale finally have the mojo to make an impact. Plus, are the Buffalo Beauts now the low-key underdog? Can anyone topple the mighty Boston Pride? Will any team be able to slow down the extremely speedy Minnesota Whitecaps? Will Digit Murphy, one of the winningest coaches in women’s hockey, be able to guide her dark horse team (the Six) to a victory? All these questions and more pondered on the podcast.

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New year, new podcast! On this episode, James and Robyn delve deep into the IIHF World Junior Championship and some of the notable Los Angeles Kings prospects playing for a chance at glory, among them being Alex Turcotte, Quinton Byfield, and Alex Kaliyev. James makes note of Turcotte and Kaliyev playing on a line and thinks they almost look like they’re auditioning for a spot on the NHL roster. TSN said Drew Doughty sucks and that made him mad—but is this really “fired up” Drew Doughty or merely irritated on a typical level Drew Doughty? Plus, James introduces a new segment called “James on Jamsen”. Then stick around until the end for a new game of NHL, taxi squad, or Ontario Reign.

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It’s (the end of) December, which means that the holiday season has come and almost gone by this point. ’Tis to be merry and mad! How ever you plan to celebrate with friends and family, be it in person or virtually, there’s sure to be someone who says something stupid and starts some kind of argument with everyone else.

With only New Year’s Eve as the other big holiday remaining, James and Robyn take a look back at some of the most memorable fights and best chirps. Kyle Clifford getting dropped, Anze Kopitar dropping the gloves the one and only time in his career, and Dion Phaneuf tripping over his own skates make the top highlights. Plus, James tries to turn the podcast into a Patrick Maroon Appreciation Lovefest.

What are your favorite fights? What smack talk gets your goat when you hear it? Comment below, we’d love to hear from you!

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Hope everyone had a lovely (holiday) weekend. We dropped the first part of our discussion on the NHL’s latest cash grab shortly before (American) Thanksgiving, so here we are again with the rest of the teams we didn’t discuss the first time around! On this episode, we chat about whatever it is that the Edmonton Oilers are doing, the forgettableness of both the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators ‘ jerseys are as well as the Philadelphia Flyers ‘ disappointing miss (hello, Bernie Parent anybody?)

James also has a dirty suggestion on what former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt should eat for the rest of his life and then we cover the latest news (up to that point) on the NHL’s potential January 1 start date (which is looking more and more unlikely by the hour).

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