Team of the Decade: Los Angeles Kings

[LastWordArmy]

Last Word on Hockey brings our Team of the Decade series. We will dive into the best player at each position this decade for every organization. The biggest and best at each position, with the most memorable moments of the decade. Here is the Los Angeles Kings Team of the Decade lineup.

Los Angeles Kings Team of the Decade - Last Word on Hockey

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[Fishhead]

Hard to pick a 2nd defenseman behind Drew, but I probably would have went with Mitchell instead of Muzzin. Not that Jake isn't good, but Mitchell had that calming presence, stable, leadership, etc.

 

[Rusty Batch]

I'm not trying to knock the guys as they are some of my all-time favorite players (Brown and Williams). But it's amazing that we won two cups in a decade where our best two wingers are basically career 45-50 point per season guys. And our second best dman is Jake Muzzin who is a second pairing dman.

 

[KINGS17]

This team brought to you by Captain Obvious. In all seriousness, the Kings won two Stanley Cups with depth. They came at the opposition in waves. When you can run two or three shifts in a row in playoff games with the opposing team barely crossing the red line, it's is domination.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'm not trying to knock the guys as they are some of my all-time favorite players (Brown and Williams). But it's amazing that we won two cups in a decade where our best two wingers are basically career 45-50 point per season guys. And our second best dman is Jake Muzzin who is a second pairing dman.

Well, it's a testament to quite a few things--

1. Intangibles in hockey are a thing. All the depth in the lineup rose to the occasion, people made big plays. Colin Fraser opening Cup Finals scoring. Jarret Stoll OT hero. Even when people were deriding Mike Richards, he casually sidestepped Getzlaf and set up the game tying goal with seconds left in what became an OT win.

2. The Kings 'offense tax' is a thing.

3. Sutter's coaching was short lived but awesome, Kings were an absolute physical buzzsaw matched only maybe by the early 2010s Bruins, and the big physical in your face style was something to behold.

4. All those guys are better than this forum often wants to pretend, even/especially Kopitar and Doughty. Keep in mind that for many years there were only two players who got 50+ points and 200+ hits multiple times--Brown and Alex Ovechkin (Ladd did it once). And Muzzin was a top-tier #2 d-man (I might take Mitchell over as K17 said above). Kopitar's trophy case is massive and he very well could/should have a Hart, Conn Smythe in there too. And Drew Doughty has a case for top defenseman in the world for the decade as a whole, he was arguably the best player in the world in 2014. Duhatschek: Did Drew Doughty’s 2014 get enough respect?

5. Depth was insane. That 2014 Kings team looks like the 2000s NHL allstar team. But guys along the way like Scuderi, Mitchell, Greene, Regehr, Stoll, even Dwight King (your Kings WCF goal scoring record holder) were all quite unsung in their own rights, just mowing people down.

I know I've mentioned it before, but Regehr hitting Kucherov and just making him stop playing for the rest of the game is gonna be burned into my mind for the rest of my life. Some guys just have it. Some don't.

 

[BringTheReign]

I hadn't seen that article about Doughty's 2014, but I do remember the hockey media feeling like dummies in the summer when Doughty wasn't even a Norris finalist.

Wish we'd win 2 more Cups so Kopitar and Doughty could get their Conn Smythe's. And, you know, so we can win more Cups haha...

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Don't forget teams building specifically to go after us. Remember when the Ducks got Kesler specifically because they couldn't hide Getzlaf deep enough from Kopitar?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I hadn't seen that article about Doughty's 2014, but I do remember the hockey media feeling like dummies in the summer when Doughty wasn't even a Norris finalist.

Wish we'd win 2 more Cups so Kopitar and Doughty could get their Conn Smythe's. And, you know, so we can win more Cups haha...

I think that Canada performance really woke people up. "The Kings don't score enough," then Carter and Doughty go HAM, Doughty leading team Canada--Canada, with Crosby, Tavares, St. Louis, etc.--in scoring with 4 goals and 2 assists.

That's why I have no doubt if he were truly unleashed for just offense throughout his career, like Burns, he'd be a 70 point guy. But that's certainly not the best use of his talents, and like the rest of the Kings, some offense was the tradeoff.

 

[Rusty Batch]

This team brought to you by Captain Obvious. In all seriousness, the Kings won two Stanley Cups with depth. They came at the opposition in waves. When you can run two or three shifts in a row in playoff games with the opposing team barely crossing the red line, it's is domination.

We kinda did it with Depth. I mean our bottom 6 was made up of grinders, Nolan, Clifford, Lewis, King, Stoll, Richards, Frasier. Wasn't a very talented bottom 6 either.

I think what really happened is we had 4 lines that could apply a ton of pressure all over the ice. And we got hard carried by Kopitar, Doughty and Carter on offense. Those guys could generate offense and puck possession while not slipping at all defensively.

Not at all a talented team, but every player was well above average on the defensive side of the puck and together they were excellent at forcing teams into mistakes with pressure.

 

[KINGS17]

We kinda did it with Depth. I mean our bottom 6 was made up of grinders, Nolan, Clifford, Lewis, King, Stoll, Richards, Frasier. Wasn't a very talented bottom 6 either.

I think what really happened is we had 4 lines that could apply a ton of pressure all over the ice. And we got hard carried by Kopitar, Doughty and Carter on offense. Those guys could generate offense and puck possession while not slipping at all defensively.

Not at all a talented team, but every player was well above average on the defensive side of the puck and together they were excellent at forcing teams into mistakes with pressure.

In 2014 the third line in the playoffs was

King - Richards - Williams

They did a lot of damage. The Kings were deep at every position in 2014, and they needed it because that playoff run in the West was a war of attrition. I think any of the three teams the Kings defeated (San Jose, Anaheim, and Chicago) would have beaten the Rangers in The Stanley Cup Final.

 

[psych3man]

2014 = Gaborik Gaborik Gaborik

(14 goals, 11 even strength)

 

[KINGS17]

2014 = Gaborik Gaborik Gaborik

(14 goals, 11 even strength)

Gaborik was outstanding. He and Williams had most of the clutch goals, and Martinez, don't forget Martinez.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

In 2014 the third line in the playoffs was

King - Richards - Williams

They did a lot of damage. The Kings were deep at every position in 2014, and they needed it because that playoff run in the West was a war of attrition. I think any of the three teams the Kings defeated (San Jose, Anaheim, and Chicago) would have beaten the Rangers in The Stanley Cup Final.

Man, we lost Mitchell and brought in Jeff f***ing Schultz and he played lights out

 

[Jericho111091]

Man, we lost Mitchell and brought in Jeff f***ing Schultz and he played lights out

that's Stanley Cup Champion Jeff Schultz!

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

that's Stanley Cup Champion Jeff Schultz!