Countdown to 2011-12 NHL Season

I'm anxiously awaiting the start of a new NHL season. In general, it's great to be able to anticipate something. Whether it's a long awaited movie, video game, holiday, gofl outing; I love the buildup. Maybe that's why Christmas was always my favorite holiday growing-up, it was all the anticipation.

 

So there are four more days until the regular season. But the LA Kings have already left for Europe and are playing a pre-season game tomorrow against a German pro team. Maybe that's why I'm a little more into the start of the season than normal. Well, that and the new additions to the Kings. There seem to be some hockey pundits, who once again like the Kings potential. That potential has only been met with consecutive first round playoff losses. Time to stop talking and start playing.

Doubty

So I found out late last night that Drew Doughty had a verbal agreement to re-sign a 8 year, $7-million/year, $56-million contract. The timing is ideal since it allows Drew to make the trip to Europe and start the season with the team. There has been a lot of back and forth about who "won" in the deal. Drew gets to be the highest paid LA King and Lombardi gets a long term contract and several of Doughty's UFA years. If the rumors are true, Doughty missed training camp for an additional $200K/year. That's a relatively insignificant amount on top of $6.8-million. But to someone like Westgarth, represents 40% of his annual salary.

The obvious question is how will Doughty perform in the future? Drew's quick success in the NHL has been the base for his contract leverage. I would argue that it takes defensemen 3-4 years to really learn the NHL game. And by that logic, Doughty could only get better. It's this potential that makes his contract a possible bargain. As a cautious fan, I have my doubts.

There is a guy on the Kings who had success early in his career, showed flashes of greatness, & signed a monster contract. There are questions about his work ethic. He didn't play so great at the end of last season. Who am I? Drew Doughty or Dustin Penner?

Pre Season

The NHL pre-season is in full swing. I've been waiting for it, what seems like forever. More importantly, the regular season is right around the corner. Which means the LAKings are off to Europe. They have two regular season games, one in Sweden and one in Germany. This kinda sucks since it is extra travel and puts off the home opener until October 18th. Maybe the extensive travel will help the team bond (more than tire them out). They have some new faces Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Ethan Moreau & Dustin Penner. I'm adding Penner to this list, since he is supposedly in shape now and should not resemble anything of the horrible player he was at the end of last season.

 

Not a whole lot of drama this pre-season. Which is unusual for the Kings. There aren't really any open roster spots for once. I'm glad that we're not counting on any prospects to make the team. I am discounting the unsigned Drew Doughty as drama. After the July 1 free agency period, it was clear that he wasn't going to get signed. I realize that most Kings fans see Drew as the future of the organization, but I do not. He has shown flashes of brillance, but also a lack of fitness and commitment. I'm coming from the viewpoint that petulant skill players should be rented at best. Doughty is going down that path. I'd take a lesser skilled Chelios type guy who is committed to the game, his health and his team.

 

If the Kings fall apart defensively and Doughty forces their hand, so be it. But I doubt that will happen. Right now I'm with Lombardi. I'd rather not pay now for Doughty's "potential" if it hijacks the team's salary cap. I believe that a team plays defense, not pairs of individuals on each line. Doughty's skill set will be difficult to replace, but I think the Kings will be fine on the back end. In the meantime, would love to see a young player like Slava Voynov get an extended audition. Or give Thomas Hickey a go. All I know is that the Kings power play needs something different than last year.

 

 

Playoffs

I had my first rec hockey playoff game; which we won. I have been on some brutal teams in the last year. The worst being a perfect 0-14 season. So, finally getting into the post-season has been refreshing, despite the fact that all 5 of the teams make the playoffs.

 

I had some bad news recently, my favorite shin guards finally broke. I have been using a pair of CCM SG400 shin guards, since I started ice hockey. They were super beefy at the time they came out, approx 1994. My college roommates got them for me as a birthday gift, since I took one too many pucks to the side of the knee. But these things were way ahead of their time. One of the first shin guards to have an articulated knee, with extended protection on the side of the knees, wrap around protection, and asymetrical fit specific to each leg. Pretty much all mid to high-end shin guards have these features now.

I had retired the SG400's later in my roller hockey career, since lightweight and protective shin guards came out that weighed half as much. They came out of retirement once I started my new ice hockey career. For the last year I've blocked shots at will and felt pretty much indestructible. But, last week I noticed that the plastic knee cap has cracked on the right side.

The search is now on to find a worthy successor. I will probably by the burliest shin guards available, because that's my style. I don't mind the extra weight, as long as I feel more comfortable in front of point shots. I also like the thickness of the SG400's. I never had to tape my socks on, as the socks could barely stretch around my shin guards and would stay firmly in place.

 

OGA & Blog FAIL

It's been a while since I've put anything out from here. I guess it's a mixture of summertime and disinterest. The NHL season is over, draft is over, free agency madness is over, so that leaves little for me to really blog about. I'm not really excited about the MMA scene right now. Facebook and Twitter have taken over as my daily social outlets. My family has been pretty busy with summer activities. These are my excuses. I think the real reason is that I lose interest in the blog from time to time. I know that there's nothing worse than an inactive blog, but it is what it is.

 

Some news worth blogging about. OGA 2011 is coming! It's been in the planning stages for weeks. The idea phase was months ago. That's when we start thinking about getting together to golf and just how long it's been since the last time. The next phase is the actual planning phase. Pick a month, then a weekend & location. Plan A was a visit up the coast to Poppy Hills. That didn't pan out. But we are all basically committed to the weekend, so it's just a matter of going with Plan B. I think that will involve a golf course that's more local to Arroyo Grande/Nipomo. It's still being worked out.

 

I'm excited. I'm trying to remember the last time we had an OGA event, and I think it has to be a couple years ago. Unlike the rest of the crew, I'm not an avid golfer. I do love to play, I am just not willing to commit 6-7 hours on the weekends to it. I tend to go through phases of getting out to hit balls and practice, but generally that's short lived. The moment I get too serious about golf and have any expectations about swing results, it all falls apart. So, I have a more Zen approach to golf now. I treat it as an adventure, don't expect much and play each shot as it comes. That usually involves dusting off the clubs and shoes before I play and going through a rough front 9. The rest of the round may or may not improve. That's the mystery.