Sometimes I look at this team and I'm like yeah, 2010 Kings. Will take off and get 100 points and get wiped in the playoffs but learn valuable lessons.
Then I look at some of the VERY correctable issues and I'm like, are these guys 2012-ing?
The strength of schedule/home games certainly 'favor' them but it almost seems like they need against-all-odds to show. The special teams are junk. The goalies fell off after being hot, so we started winning games differently. They sucked against the west, and at home. A lot of those things are sloooowly trending in the right direction....at exactly the right time. Can you imagine if the special teams catch fire in March, or if a Grundstrom-Byfield-Brown line really starts firing, or if some 'little' trade (Boeser?) or BIG trade (JT Miller?) happens to really throw things up?
Not advocating for said trades at all--I guess I"m just saying this team started the year needing a FULL systems rehab/makeover, like a new engine and exhaust, but have since moved to a team needing only minor adjustments...to a spot where we may only need a small tweak to push it this year and reallly come out as a Ferrari next year.
For sure when feel you don't need to add much to the roster, you know you're good.
Suddenly the Kings are starting to look deep. Blake added two top 6 forwards in the offseason. Kempe became a 1st line winger. Lizotte and Lemieux became top notch 4th liners. Grundstrom/Moore/Iaffalo are ideal middle sixers. If Byfield finds his game, you really only have 1 weak forward spot (3rd line RW).
Similar situation on D. Doughty is Doughty. Roy has become an absolute rock. Durzi has come in and become a more than adequate NHLer with lots upside. Bjornfot and Anderson are hitting their stride. This group is a Maatta away from being very solid.
I guess the big concern would be Kopitar and Quick because of their age. Quick has had injury issues and Kopitar could fade down the stretch.
Blake can essentially have whatever player he wants on the trade market. He has the ammo. If you add say Gio and Miller to this roster, and Byfield is contributing, and Quick is playing well, are you a contender? As crazy as it sounds, the answer might be yes.
Or perhaps we're just being overly optimistic fans because of the teams recent success? If the Kings lose to NYI tonight everyone will be back at each other's throats around here.
As for next season, I'm not sure we're going to be better. This team is heavily dependent on vets who will all be a year older. Kempe won't repeat this season's production, and most of our prospects probably won't be that impactful yet. This season could be somewhat of an aberration. Progress isn't always linear of course.
