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2-17-18

FROM LA KINGS INSIDER: “Drury obviously was huge – a huge player I looked up to,” Iafallo said. February 16, 2017 By: Josh Cooper Iafallo has been one of the more pleasant surprises Iafallo Looking Forward To First NHL Game In for the Kings this season with 19 points in 55 games Buffalo while averaging 15:48 of ice-time per-game. Los Angeles signed Iafallo as a college free agent last Forward Alex Iafallo understands the decision by summer and he has found himself on Anze his parents to not attend his first NHL game at the Kopitar’s line for most of the season, often using his . speed to hunt down pucks on the forecheck.

Iafallo’s sister, Julianna, is a hockey player at Ohio “I’m just trying to go with things, you know, State and they opted to go to her senior weekend making sure that I’m always staying positive and instead. Plus they’ve been to several other games he making sure that I’m not being negative,” Iafallo has played with the Kings, so he figured it was OK said. “Obviously I worked hard for this and I have for them to skip this one. to keep working hard and keep learning obviously.”

“They had to make a decision, a tough one,” said As for Saturday, the team doesn’t seem worried Alex, a native of nearby Eden, N.Y. “I’d rather have about the requests for Iafallo’s time in his home them be with my sister, it’s her senior weekend.” area. He has proven himself to be a solid pro all year and shown an ability to concentrate on Still, Iafallo will have a large group of family at performing at a high level in any situation. Key Bank Center. He said there will be two buses taking people from his dad’s bar/restaurant in “To me at the end of the day, he’s done a really Hamburg, N.Y. to Buffalo for the 10 a.m. (Pacific good job of just focusing on the task at hand,” time) game between the Kings and Sabres. Coach John Stevens said. “He understands what he needs to do to be a good player and I’m sure if “Pretty big, you know,” Iafallo said when asked anything he’s motivated and excited to play in front about his ticket request list for the game. “A lot of of his family and friends here.” important people I want at the game and especially seeing them after and giving hugs and telling them Adam Pantozzi/NHLI ‘thanks for coming,’ it’ll be a really fun night tomorrow.” February 16, 2017 Iafallo said he played some youth games between By: Josh Cooper periods at Key Bank Center and a few “serious February 16: Kings Hope To Break Buffalo games” in the arena, but clearly his first NHL game Losing Streak in the building carries different significance. The Kings held an optional skate at Key Bank “I always had it circled. I’ve always wanted to play Center today in advance of Saturday’s 10 a.m. game in my hometown and play in front of my friends and at the Buffalo Sabres. family,” Iafallo said. “It’s definitely an honor and I have to keep doing my job to stay up and keep There was not much new to report other than Alex producing like you said.” Iafallo was the most popular person in the Kings locker room from a media perspective. Iafallo is Iafallo grew up watching the Sabres and listed his from nearby Eden, New York and his dad owns a favorite Buffalo players as , Stu Barnes, bar close to where the Buffalo Bills play. We’ll J.P. Dumont, Derek Roy and Dominik Hasek. have more on Iafallo later.

The Kings have not won at the Sabres since Feb. 21, so we know we have to be ready because they’re 2003. On that date Zigmund Palffy scored two goals probably saying ‘this is the game that can turn it and Jamie Storr made 31 saves as the Kings around for us’ so we have to be ready to go prevailed 4-1. Overall the Kings have lost eight tomorrow.” straight games at Buffalo. The only player from that game still in the NHL is goaltender – Lastly, check out Michael Amadio’s dad talking . about his son’s first NHL .

You can check out the boxscore here if you want to take a trip down Kings memory lane. February 16, 2017 By: Josh Cooper “We’re not worried about a losing streak, we’re Stevens On Kill Strategy, Practice Day trying to get two points because we need them Preparation desperately,” Kings forward Dustin Brown said. Below are quotes from Kings Coach John Stevens Notes following today’s practice at Key Bank Center. A small group of players skated and many worked out – The Kings are now officially over halfway off the ice. through their seven-game road-trip and a lot of the good vibes from the start of the trip have gone away On what the guys on ice were doing in regards to with three straight losses. The Kings currently have preparation: a 1-3-0 record on this trip, their only win coming in I don’t know if I describe it as preparation. Today’s the first game at the Florida Panthers. The team has preparation is about being ready to play tomorrow, tried to take an even-keel approach, though they so it’s important to get some touches just to get a understand if the losses continue to mount, the little bit of a sweat on and just really stay sharp for season could get away from them. tomorrow.

“It’s definitely not the best start to our road-trip but On the penalty kill and if its struggles are we’re also only three points out. We’ve been schematic or personnel related: through this, I’ve been through this before, where Well, the personnel has changed quite a bit with the you have to play good hockey down the stretch to different pieces of our lineup. I mean Trevor Lewis get in,” Brown said. “We saw a little bit of that last going out is a big piece. () when he was year when we were chasing and three points became here was a part of the PK and (Mitchell) has come six points, became 12 points and it is what it is, on board. (Thompson) we think can be a good right? It’s just being aware on a day-to-day basis penalty killer but I think our penalty kill has fallen where you are in the standings. Again, there’s still a off lately. I actually thought it took a step last night lot of hockey to play this year so it’s a matter of and turned into a lot more aggressive, challenging preparing to play better.” entries more, spending less time in our zone. I just thought the urgency was there last night. I thought – The Sabres come in to Saturday’s game as a team the guys were a little better positioned in the playing well. Though Buffalo has the NHL’s lanes but at the end of the day the big thing with the second-worst record, the Sabres have gone 3-1-1 in penalty kill is not taking as many. We took four last their last five. night against the top power play in the league and the fourth one kills you, so at the end of the day “We want to continue to win here and build that we’d like to keep that number down to two or three winning environment down the stretch. It’s a great at the most, but when we do have a penalty we want challenge for our group,” Sabres Coach Phil it to be momentum for our hockey team and I think Housley said. “There’s a lot of teams that we’re that number one thing is a sense of urgency and playing are either in the playoffs or in playoff removing the hesitation. So we’ve gone back over – contention so we understand where our opponent is we have a set of rules we run by just as a little bit of

a structure and discipline there that makes sure there’s a really good understanding and try and remove some of the hesitation and get a little more aggressive when we have an opportunity to pressure the puck.

Quotes on Alex Iafallo’s return to his home area withheld for later story

Lead photo via Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire

FROM LATIMES.COM

February 16, 2017 By: Curtis Zupke Kings' Alex Iafallo gives more than old-college try in surprising rookie season

One day Tom Iafallo looked out at his backyard and realized it needed a renovation, or maybe an upgrade.

His son, Alex, and daughter, Julianna, had taken to shooting pucks and street hockey balls on the tennis court paved in the rear of their home in Eden, a small suburb south of Buffalo.

"I said, 'We've got to get a rink,'" he said. "At the time it was a big ordeal. But I thought it was important." So Iafallo set about building one, using 4-feet-by-8-feet plywood as the boards. It was "nothing crazy," Julianna said, but it did its job for countless after-school sessions.

"It had lines, too," Alex said. "It's pretty fun. It was like when I was 10, so it was perfect. Go out there, stick handle and shoot."

The seeds of two hockey careers were planted in that backyard. Alex went from that tennis court to being an undrafted free-agent signing for the Kings, and he has played top line left wing almost all of his rookie season. His homecoming is Saturday when the Kings play the Buffalo Sabres.

"It will give me a little goosebumps," said Alex, 24. "I've got a bunch of fans coming from there — old friends, teachers from school. It will be a pretty cool experience going back."

Tom and his wife, Barbara, won't be able to attend because Saturday is senior night for Julianna, a forward for the Ohio State women's hockey team, so they'll be in Columbus, Ohio. After all, senior night only happens once. And judging by Alex's debut season, he should make return trips here in what has become an impressive college-to-the-NHL story.

When the Kings held a fan forum in August at the Microsoft Theater, a panel of the hockey operations department discussed the new era of Kings hockey. Asked for one name to remember among their prospects, director of player development Nelson Emerson gave one that few knew.

"Alex Iafallo," Emerson said. "This kid gives us another swing."

Iafallo was an outlier: He played four years at Minnesota Duluth. Most upper-tier prospects get drafted before they finish college, so it was a red flag that Iafallo wasn't.

"At that time, it didn't click for him," Emerson said.

Iafallo wears that as a chip on his shoulder. He participated in several development camps, including the Sabres', and didn't catch on. The extra year of college allowed him to develop, and he helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA championship game.

"I've always wanted to play in the NHL," Iafallo said. "It's always a dream, so I knew I could make it there. But I didn't know when. I always thought about that, especially over summers, seeing kids I worked out with, skating with, that they're drafted. It was always a motivating factor. My parents always instilled that in me."

The Kings were high on Iafallo's list, and vice-versa after amateur scout Tony Gasparini initially scouted Iafallo, who signed two weeks after Minnesota Duluth lost to Denver in the Frozen Four.

He was one of many prospects competing to crack the roster as the Kings transitioned to a quicker offensive game under first-year coach John Stevens. Iafallo stood out with his forecheck, instincts and long reach. He won the job out of camp and, outside of a two-game benching in January, has been a regular beside Anze Kopitar.

"He deserves the credit," fellow rookie and roommate Adrian Kempe said. "I'm glad he made the team. He's such a good worker and hard worker. It's pretty hard when you come out of college right away to come into the NHL, especially our team too. We have a really good team and I wanted to crack the roster too. I'm glad we both did it."

Tom still cringes when he sees Alex go into a corner to fight for a puck. Today's NHL wingers are typically 6- foot-2, 220-pound wrecking balls. Alex is listed at 6-feet, 185 pounds, and much of his game is built around finesse. But Tom also can see why Alex emerges with the puck, because he did so many times when Tom played hockey with his kids.

"We used to play in the basement," Tom said. "That's the only thing I can credit it to. Back then I could control the game. As he got older, I said, 'I can't do it anymore.' "

Julianna watched Alex come home from school and go directly to the backyard. His career sprouted from there, and knee surgery in 2012 made him take hockey more seriously. Few were prouder than Julianna when Alex made his NHL debut on Oct. 5.

"I was the little sister that saw him achieve so much," said Julianna, who is two years younger than her brother. "I aspired to do that. He was probably one of the best role models I had growing up. He put on a good show as far as what it meant to be an athlete. He overcomes [adversity] daily. I want to do that. I want to be just like him."

Brother and sister just missed seeing each other when the Kings went to Columbus in October, but Julianna was able to see Alex play in Detroit. What she saw looked familiar.

"People say that we skate alike," she said. "We stole styles from each other, but I pretty much stole from him."

The evolution, from the backyard to the NHL, is surreal for Tom. He runs a tavern in nearby Hamburg, The Town House, which is family-owned since 1962. It's a hangout for Buffalo Bills fans, but lately the restaurant has turned some of its regulars into Kings fans, none bigger than the owner.

"Pretty amazing," Tom said. "It was so much fun last year with the college season … I was sweating those games. But here, you're just amazed to be here. It doesn't settle in yet. It just doesn't settle in."

Alex would like to give his family a going-away gift by sticking it to his hometown team. The Kings haven't won in Buffalo since 2003, a string of eight straight losses.

Said Alex, "We've got to break the curse."

KINGS UP NEXT

AT BUFFALO

When: Saturday, 10 a.m. PST.

On the air: TV: FSW; Radio: 790.

Update: Buffalo leading scorer Jack Eichel is out indefinitely with an ankle injury and winger Evander Kane is a frequent name in trade talk for Buffalo, tied with the for the NHL's worst home record at 8- 16-4.

FROM DAILYNEWS.COM

February 16, 2017 By: Robert Morales , impress Kings coach

Kings coach John Stevens on Thursday took his first look at defenseman Dion Phaneuf and forward Nate Thompson as members of the Kings during a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh.

Phaneuf saw 18:56 of ice time and scored a power-play goal. Thompson was on the ice for 12 minutes, 41 seconds without a shot on goal.

Stevens liked what he saw from the two, who were acquired Tuesday from the Senators for forwards Nick Shore and Marian Gaborik.

“I think they both help us,” said Stevens, whose team has lost three consecutive games and will next play Saturday at 10 a.m. at Buffalo. “I think Dion’s got a really good personality and brings a lot of energy to the bench.

“He’s a big guy who can skate, defend and move pucks.”

Phaneuf, 32, is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds.

Thompson had not played since Feb. 4 because of a lower-body injury.

“(Thompson) looks like a guy, he’d been out for a little bit here, so he got his legs back under him,” Stevens said. “He did a good job on the penalty kill. He’s a smart guy, he looks like he’s big in the shot lane and has a good understanding of the game.”

STANDINGS Prior to Friday’s slate of games, the Kings (30-22-5, 65 points) were in fifth place in the Pacific Division, three points behind third-place and two points behind fourth-place Anaheim. The Kings have one game in-hand on Calgary, two on the Ducks.

A third-place divisional finish guarantees a team a playoff spot. After the three each from the Pacific and Central divisions of the Western Conference, there will be two wild-card spots available.

There are three teams not in the top three in the Central with more points than the Kings.

ICE CHIPS The Kings are 1-3-0 on this seven-game trip. … They have played Buffalo once this season, defeating the Sabres 4-2 on Oct. 14 at Staples Center. … Buffalo (17-30-11, 45 points) has the second-fewest points in the league behind Arizona (16-32-10, 42 points).

– Kings Insider Josh Cooper contributed to this report

FROM .COM

February 16, 2017 By: Sean McIndoe Down Goes Brown: Penguins-Leafs showdown a measuring stick in the East

We’ve got 11 games on tap tonight, including six of the seven Canadian teams in action. With the races tightening and the trade deadline looming, it’s getting tense out there. So let’s try to keep things calm by starting with two teams that are pretty much already in the playoffs… Marquee matchup: Front office change vs. front office stability On paper, this afternoon’s meeting between the Sabres and Kings doesn’t seem all that interesting. The Kings are flailing around the edges of the playoff race, while the Sabres never even got close to it. It’s an interconference game between two teams without much history. It would be an easy one to ignore.

But it’s also an interesting matchup to come across at this time of year, because it’s a meeting between the league’s two newest GMs. Buffalo’s Jason Botterill and Los Angeles’s both took over last off- season, and both are holding a GM’s job for the first time in the NHL. And while you obviously can’t judge the results of a GM switch based on two-thirds of a season, so far the results have been decidedly mixed.

Botterill’s biggest trade so far came in the off-season, when he shipped Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis to Minnesota for Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville, and while that deal has turned out OK, in hindsight his roster clearly needed a bigger overhaul. Blake’s biggest move was probably this week’s Dion Phaneuf trade, which was as much about cap hits and salary as it was about improving the actual roster.

Again, both guys deserve and will get far more time to show what they can do. But with it seeming like half the league’s GMs are under the gun as we head towards the deadline, today’s Sabres/Kings matchup serves as a reminder that quick fixes usually aren’t all that quick.

By contrast, the schedule also brings a meeting between the two longest-serving GMs in the league. Nashville’s and Detriot’s have both been on the job since July 1997, by far the longest tenures in the league. That’s about where their similarities end. Holland inherited the reigning champions and went on to win three more championships, but these days he’s feeling the heat in Detroit, with more than a few fans wondering if it isn’t time for a fresh set of eyes.

Meanwhile, Poile took over an expansion team and has had to navigate a long and winding road to contender status. But he’s there now, his recent record in trades is exceptional, and he’s the reigning GM of the Year. There have been times over the last two decades where you wondered if Poile might be on the way out in Nashville, but right now he might be the most respected executive in the game.

In one game, you’ve got two guys with a combined 40+ years of experience at their current roles; in the other, two guys who’ve barely been on the job 40 weeks. It’s a reminder that there are different ways to approach building an NHL contender, and that whichever direction you decide to go, there are never any guarantees.

FROM CBSSPORTS.COM

February 16, 2017 By: STATS Kings hope Phaneuf sparks playoff push vs. Sabres

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The are hoping that a blockbuster trade will propel them back into the thick of the wild-card playoff race in the Western Conference.

They'll have a good shot at picking up two points this weekend with a Saturday matinee game on the road against the struggling Buffalo Sabres.

On Tuesday, the Kings (30-22-5) acquired defenseman Dion Phaneuf and center Nate Thompson from the in exchange for forwards Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore.

"Dion brings to our club a great deal of experience and leadership. He also plays with a physical edge, which complements our lineup well," Kings vice president and Rob Blake told the team's website. "Nate has a good reputation of being a high-energy player on the ice. Both guys are also high character guys."

"We also wish Marian and Nick well. Marian has enjoyed a tremendous career to date and has played an integral role with our team over the years, including a Stanley Cup Championship. Nick is a hard worker who came up through our system and has developed into a solid NHL player."

The Kings lost their first game with Phaneuf in the lineup on Thursday in a 4-1 defeat to Pittsburgh, but Phaneuf kicked off his fresh start with the Kings on a positive note. He had Los Angeles' lone goal, which evened the score at 1 on the power play.

Phaneuf, 32, is a three-time All-Star and is nearing 1,000 games played in his career. He has also played for the and the Maple Leafs, serving as of the Maple Leafs for six seasons.

"I'm honored to be going there," Phaneuf said, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. "I'm excited about the team they have, where they're at in the standings and I'm going to go there and do my best to do whatever I can to help their team."

Heading into Friday night's action around the league, the Kings sat three points behind the for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They've endured a difficult stretch, losing three straight games on the road after picking up three wins in a row.

It has been that kind of season overall for the Kings, going back and forth between winning and losing streaks.

After a rare stretch of positive play in the past seven days, the Sabres (17-30-11) fell 3-2 in overtime to the Senators on Thursday. The Sabres have shown some signs of life without top center Jack Eichel, who might miss the rest of the season because of a high ankle sprain.

But Buffalo has have struggled for most of the season.

"I think the guys have done a terrific job rallying around it," Sabres coach Phil Housley said, according to the team's website. "Obviously, when you miss your best player, it's tough to fill that void. But our guys have done a really good job. It's been leadership by committee. It's been production by committee. And we need more of it."

Copyright 2018 by STATS. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS is strictly prohibited.

FROM NBCSPORTS.COM

February 16, 2017 By: Adam Gretz Short on talent, Kings are in need of overhaul

With their teams falling out of the playoff race and the NHL trade deadline just around the corner the and Ottawa Senators have sent the message to their fansthat changes are probably coming to their roster.

The mindset is simple: The team’s aren’t good enough to win as currently constructed and it is probably time to hit the reset button and start over. It might mean a step backwards in the short-term for what will — hopefully — be a stronger, more consistent and competitive organization in the not-too-distant future.

There’s another team in the NHL that should look into hitting a similar reset button.

The Los Angeles Kings.

This week they swapped undesirable contracts with the Ottawa Senators when they sent Marian Gaborik packing in exchange for Dion Phaneuf. Phaneuf might be able to give the Kings a little more than Gaborik would have over the next few years, but it is probably not enough to move the needle in any meaningful way.

It’s not that the Kings are terrible. They are not one of the bottom teams in the league and even after losing in Pittsburgh on Thursday night they are still very much alive in the playoff race, sitting three points out of a playoff spot (both a Wild Card spot and the third spot in the Pacific Division) with a couple of teams ahead of them.

Even though they are still “in it,” this season just seems like a re-run over the past three. They’ve missed the playoffs in two of those seasons (and if they fall short this season would be three out of four without a trip to the postseason) and have not won a playoff round since 2014.

After falling short of the postseason a year ago the Kings made some significant changes off the ice by letting go of coach and general manager Dean Lombardi. The organization said all of the right things about wanting to But the results on the ice are very much the same. A well-coached, well-positioned defensive team that is tough to score against that does a lot of things well but just doesn’t have the high-end talent throughout its roster to take advantage of it and win.

They can’t score. They do not generate a lot offensively. They seem to just lack … excitement. And creativity. And just anything that makes them even somewhat dangerous with the puck.

The big three that was the foundation of their Stanley Cup teams in 2012 and 2014 is still in place.

Anze Kopitar is still one of the great players in the league, but he can’t do it alone. At age 30 he is not getting any younger, either.

Drew Doughty is still a top-tier defenseman, but his contract is up after next season and it is not known if he will re-sign with the team. If he leaves a lot of what makes their defense work goes out the door and there is really no way to replace that.

Jonathan Quick is capable of going on hot streaks where he is unbeatable in net, but he also has stretches where his play dips significantly.

Beyond those three, what else is there here to really get excited about it you’re a Kings fan? Or the Kings as an organization?

You could to Jeff Carter being sidelined for most of the season and how much his absence has hurt and you wouldn’t be wrong. But he also appeared in all 82 games last season and the Kings still missed the playoffs by eight points.

Dustin Brown had a nice bounce-back season at the start, but his production has cooled considerably in recent months and he’s still 33 year sold and signed for four more years at more than $5.5 million per season. This season will be the first time since 2011-12 he will record more than 36 points in a season. And that required a rather unsustainable hot streak of production at the start of the year to get him there that isn’t likely to be duplicated in future seasons.

Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli represented a next wave of young talent, and they are pretty good players, but now that they are both in the middle of their age 25 seasons this is probably the level of production (maybe 20 goals, maybe 45 points) that should be expected from them on a regular basis. Maybe they are capable of a bigger season on occasion, but probably nothing more than that consistently.

The NHL is getting younger, faster and more skilled every day and the Kings are lagging behind in all of those areas. They are one of the oldest teams in the league, they still try to live through “heavy hockey,” and they just don’t have enough high-end skill outside of their top two or three players. Even worse, there doesn’t seem to be much hope on the horizon that it will be any different unless they make some significant changes to the roster and the way they play.

It doesn’t necessarily need to be a scorched earth, Buffalo Sabres-style tank-fest for the next five years, but the current formula and structure in Los Angeles is no longer working with the current cast. They seem to be more than just one or two tweaks away from fixing it.

The longer they wait on hitting the reset button, the worse it is probably going to get.

February 16, 2017 By: Joey Alfieri A deeper look at how Phaneuf, Gaborik did in first game with new teams

The Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings didn’t have to wait long to see their new players produce for them. Both Marian Gaborik and Dion Phaneuf managed to find the back of the net on Thursday night, but scoring one goal in one game isn’t always a great indicator for how a player did.

Here’s a deeper look at how Gaborik and Phaneuf performed:

Dion Phaneuf vs. Pittsburgh Penguins:

Phaneuf finished the night with one power play goal, three shots, three hits and three blocked shots in 18:56 of ice time. On the surface, his numbers look pretty strong, but the advanced stats say otherwise.

Of all the players on the Kings roster, Phaneuf had the second worse Corsi number on the team at five-on-five at minus-9. The pairing of Phaneuf and Alec Martinez finished with a combined Corsi number of minus-21 against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

In fairness to both players, they started outside of the offensive zone more than any of the other two pairings (they started in the offensive zone around 30 percent of the time). And, of course, that doesn’t include the time both spent on the power play.

“They’re both guys who play lots on the power play,” head coach John Stevens said after the game, per LA Kings Insider. “Dion, to me, looks like a guy that wants to shoot the puck all time, which is a really good thing. When he gets the puck he’s always looking at the net and if there’s not a lane to the net he’s still trying to get it in behind, either off the end wall or look for a stick in front, so to me that’s a great asset to have on a power play.”

Phaneuf’s FF% was at 40.74 percent, which isn’t great, but it was the third highest one on the team for defenseman behind and Jake Muzzin, who were at 56 and 53.57 percent respectively.

When Phaneuf was on the ice at even-strength, the Kings had six scoring chances, while the Penguins had 16.

Marian Gaborik vs. Buffalo Sabres:

Gaborik actually came away with a two-point night in his first game as an Ottawa Senator. Not only did he score the game-tying goal (1-1) at the 5:15 mark of the third period, he also registered the primary assist on Derick Brassard‘s equalizer with 31 seconds remaining in regulation. Not a bad night, right? Let’s see what the advanced stats say.

He spent most of his time on a line with and Mike Hoffman, which must have been fun. Overall, he had the third best CF% on the team at 70 percent at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick. When he was on the ice, the Senators had 12 scoring chances for and just three against.

He finished the night with two points, a plus-1 rating, two shots on goal and one hit in 18:12 of ice time.

“I felt pretty good, right from the get-go,” said Gaborik, per the Ottawa Sun. “It worked out well. I created some chemistry with (Duchene and Hoffman) and I think we battled right to the end. We were the better team and we had quite a few chances and their goalie held them in there.”

FROM THEATHLETIC.COM

February 16, 2017 By: Eric Duhatschek Duhatschek Notebook: What do Gaborik and Phaneuf have left, revisiting the draft class of 2003

At 36, and with three years remaining at the end of this season on a contract with a $4.875 million annual salary-cap hit, Marian Gaborik is a prime candidate for a buyout at some point in what’s left of his NHL career. But does it happen this summer? This past week, Gaborik was traded to the Ottawa Senators as part of a four- player deal that saw Dion Phaneuf land in Los Angeles with the Kings. Gaborik and Phaneuf were both struggling with their former teams, and the desire to give each a fresh start was a big part of the exchange – not as important as the salary considerations that also changed hands, but a factor in the deal for sure. The question is, can they take advantage of the move to resurrect their respective careers, even if in Gaborik’s case, it’s just for a short time. Let’s start with him. In his debut, Gaborik showed why he’s played over 1,000 NHL games and was part of two Stanley Cup championship teams with the Kings. He has great hands and good hockey sense and with the right players, in the right atmosphere, can be a useful supporting player. Gaborik’s reputation around the league is that he’s a high maintenance player. Injuries that some players play through will sideline Gaborik. (This, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing. Ultimately, players should be far more cognizant of their own health issues; the era of tape-an-aspirin-on-it-and-play is slowly disappearing). But for coaches, especially coaches with an old-school mentality, the unwillingness to play hurt (as opposed to playing injured, an important distinction) can occasionally cause friction. Over the final third of the season, Gaborik has a chance to demonstrate to the Senators that there is still enough left in the tank that he can make a positive contribution as a top-six forward. Ottawa will be tempted to exercise its buyout option this summer. Gaborik needs to coax them into bringing him back into the fold for at least one more year. Financially, that would be the preferred course. The actual dollars paid on Gaborik’s salary drop over the final three years of his deal – from $4.575 million next year to $3.175 million the year after and then $3.075 million in the final year of the deal. If you’re only buying out two years rather than three, there’s less of a financial penalty down the road. Depending on what Ottawa does with all the players they’re shopping (and if the net haul for GM Pierre Dorion is more on the side of draft picks and prospects), they might need another year of Gaborik anyway, just because every team needs a handful of proven NHL players just to stay competitive. Phaneuf is in a slightly different category. He’s younger, for starters (33 in April). This coming June, we’re coming up on the 15th anniversary of one of the greatest draft classes ever – 2003, when Marc-Andre Fleury and went one-two, but more than a dozen players from that draft are eventually going to play 1,000 games or more, and many will be legitimate Hall of Fame candidates once their careers are done. Phaneuf was the third selected that year – just behind Ryan Suter and Braydon Coburn – but the draft class also included Brent Seabrook, Brent Burns, and Dustin Byfuglien. In 2003, Phaneuf was considered a prototype – big, strong, physical, great shot, reasonably skilled at handling the puck. In the past 15 years, however, the NHL’s defenceman prototype shifted as the game changed. Now, more and more smaller defencemen are all the rage. Quickness has replaced size as the premier skill set teams identify. Hockey sense is at an absolute premium, too. The key for any of the older, bigger, slower defenceman is to adapt to changing times. Maybe Phaneuf can do that with the Kings. For sure, after playing his entire career for three Canadian teams, and the scrutiny that involved, it will be interesting to see if playing in the relative anonymity of Los Angeles makes a difference for him. I think it did for Jeff Carter, another class of 2003 player, who was floundering with the 2011-12 Blue Jackets, but found a fit with the Kings and helped them win those two Stanley Cups. Carter’s play in the 2014 playoffs was especially strong – 25 points in 26 games, as the Kings found ways of winning a lot of tight playoff series.

Phaneuf, like Gaborik in Ottawa, got his Kings career off to a promising offensive start, scoring for them in an otherwise forgettable loss to the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. But they have been desperate for a decent No. 4 to play behind Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez and if Phaneuf can go in and give them 21 solid minutes per night, then that’s a significant upgrade over what they were getting from Gaborik, who was in and out of coach John Stevens’ lineup toward the end of his Kings’ tenure. Ultimately, the onus is on both Gaborik and Phaneuf to take advantage of the opportunities they’ve been given. In Gaborik’s case, this final stretch of the season could ultimately determine if he has an NHL future beyond this season. Phaneuf clearly does. It’s just a matter of how much of an impact he can have on the Kings now, and in the years ahead.

Solving the bad contract dilemma The Gaborik-for-Phaneuf swap made me ponder the question what to do with a bad contract if a team is not prepared – or able – to offer a buyout. Or to put it another way: If it’s not working out for a player in one place, can it possibly work somewhere else? The answer is, sometimes, yes. Eric Staal has been completely revitalized last year and this year in Minnesota, after struggling in the previous year, divided between Carolina and New York. It raised the further question: If the Kings and Senators can find a way of doing a deal in which they each roll the dice on a diminishing player on an expensive contract, are there other similar matches out there to be found? I thought of two: (Feel free to poke holes in both scenarios below in the comments). The first involves and Vancouver. One could conceivably argue the two worst contracts in the NHL right now belong to the Oilers’ Milan Lucic and the Canucks' Loui Eriksson. What if Oilers’ GM Peter Chiarelli and Canucks’ GM swapped them for each other? Lucic would go back to Vancouver, his hometown, and play for a team he considered when pondering his free agent options two summers ago, and Eriksson might be the sort of responsible player that can help the Oilers develop a better overall defensive identity. I’d certainly be willing to give Eriksson another chance to play a top-six role with the Oilers. Lucic’s contract is for seven years at a $6 million cap hit, Eriksson is for six years, at $6 million. Both, interestingly, are in the second years of their respective deals, making $8 million in cash and bonuses. Yikes, scary numbers for both. And both contracts decline as the years click off. If the alternative is just sticking with Lucic and Eriksson, knowing that it probably isn’t going to work out, or doing something creative to move them along and hope that both get re-energized by a new team, which option would you choose? Something to think about. And though I don’t see it as likely, I wondered if Minnesota would ever think of taking on Marc Staal from the Rangers in exchange for Zach Parise. Staal would get to play with his brother, and maybe Marc could follow the same rejuvenating path as Eric. Parise would return to the New York area, where he had his best years playing for the Devils. Lots of risk on both sides there, but again, is it any worse than maintaining the status quo? Me, I’d almost always opt to roll the dice and make the change, if I could.

Revisiting the draft class of 2003 It’s amazing how distracted you can when fact- a story. After thinking about Phaneuf’s ranking among defencemen in ‘03, I started to run through all the names and imagine how you might re-order them if you could, with 20-20 hindsight. In all, 16 players drafted after the first round ended up having significant NHL careers. But wow, the misses early on. Columbus took Nikolai Zherdev fourth overall; Montreal took Andrei Kostitsyn 10th; and the New York Rangers took Hugh Jessiman 12th, which represent the three teams that would most desperately want a do-over.

You could re-rank that draft class on the basis of a number of different criteria – and most times, when people go through that exercise, they assess career accomplishments to date, which might leave Fleury on top because of the three Stanley Cups he’s won in Pittsburgh. I’m inclined to do it differently. In the context of Phaneuf, and what he may or may have left to give in the current era, who would you most like to have on your team based on current form? My top 15 would look like this: 1. Patrice Bergeron (45th overall) 2. Brent Burns (20th overall) 3. (19th overall) 4. Marc-Andre Fleury (1st overall) 5. Joe Pavelski (205th overall) 6. Corey Crawford (52nd overall) 7. Ryan Suter (7th overall) 8. Shea Weber (49th overall) 9. Dustin Byfuglien (245th overall) 10. Eric Staal (2nd overall) 11. Ryan Kesler (23rd overall) 12. Corey Perry (28th overall) 13. Jeff Carter (11th overall) 14. Zach Parise (17th overall) 15. Dustin Brown (13th overall) Interesting exercise, however, you may want to look at it.

The Isles have it Most of the criticism directed toward the this year has focused on the goaltending which, statistically, is the worst in the league. Every other team down there with the Isles in terms of overall GAA is hopelessly out of the playoff mix, but they are not, thanks to a potent attack that sometimes contributes to their struggles defensively. Of late, goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been doing yeoman’s work in the nets. The other night, for example, he became the 11th goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout while facing 50 shots or more (since the 1955-56 season, when shots on goal became an official NHL stat). The record incidentally belongs to ’s men’s Olympic team goaltender Ben Scrivens, who made a 59-save shutout playing for Edmonton in a January 24, 2014 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks. The other Islander goaltender to record a shutout facing 50 or more shots was our old friend Glenn Healy back in 1990. Facing 40-plus shots is an occupational hazard for Islanders’ goalies this year. Just since Feb. 1, in Halak’s six starts this month, he has faced 50, 51, 42, 47 and 49 shots in five of them. Earlier this year, Thomas Greiss faced 57 against Montreal. Incredibly, the Islanders are still in the mix for an Eastern Conference playoff spot and, in their defence, do play some of the craziest, most entertaining hockey going in the NHL. Part of that is how the second line has evolved, with Mathew Barzal just absolutely killing it as their second-line centre behind . Barzal had his seventh three-point night of the season in Halak’s shutout win over the Rangers; he and Jordan Eberle have been an excellent pair, ever since the Islanders abandoned the Eberle- Tavares experiment early on; and moved Josh Bailey back with Tavares, where they’ve been lights out great too. The Islanders traded away Travis Hamonic to Calgary last off-season, on the grounds that they had young defencemen ready to step in and pick up the minutes. Presumably, though, they didn’t expect to lose both Johnny Boychuk and Calvin de Haan for extended periods this season, which is what happened. Boychuk is

back now and his minutes have inched up – from 15:30 on the night he returned to almost 24 minutes in the shutout win over the Rangers, his fourth game back. De Haan, who was projected to eat up most of Hamonic’s minutes, had shoulder surgery in mid-December and may not return at all this season. When defensive zone play is so inconsistent, sometimes, it’s hard to know how much to blame on systems and how much to blame on personnel. Maybe the only way to know for sure is to see if an experienced upgrade helps. Islanders’ GM Garth Snow has the trade chips to possibly make a move at the deadline and though it is probably heresy to suggest a Manhattan to Brooklyn transfer, the best, easiest and most useful pick-up would be Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh, who would further solidify that Islanders’ blueline and maybe take some of the pressure off Halak down the stretch. McDonagh's purported availability fascinates me. When the Rangers asked him to submit his list of the 10 teams that he wouldn’t accept a trade to, I don’t know if the Islanders or the New Jersey Devils were on it. But when you think of all the players who might be changing addresses before the start of next season via trade, is McDonagh the most useful? He plays the most minutes of any Ranger, just under 24 per night. He is their captain and leader. He doesn’t turn 29 until June. He has this year and next left on a contract, so if you made a push to acquire his rights before the deadline, you get him for two playoffs minimum. He has played 96 playoff games over the past seven years. Last year, he averaged 27:21 of playoff ice time per night as the Rangers advanced to the second round. I don’t see much risk there. I get the acquisition cost might be high, but if you’re Boston or Tampa and think you can get to the final this year, and he’s the missing piece, I’d bid high on him. If I’m the Devils, I think a McDonagh could stabilize my improving young blueline in a meaningful way. And I think he would make more of an impact on the Islanders than either Boychuk or Nick Leddy did when GM Garth Snow added them – and they were both valuable additions in turning that franchise around. For me, there’s always one or two strategic trade deadline moves that usually get lost in the larger shuffle, but can make a huge impact on the franchise going forward. I think about how little attention was paid to that trade between Boston and Atlanta almost exactly seven years ago, when the Bruins traded Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart to the Thrashers for Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik. Put it this way: If there was one player out there I’d overpay to get at the trade deadline this year, it would be McDonagh.

February 14, 2017 By: Craig Custance NHL Trade Grades: Dion Phaneuf for Marian Gaborik

The trade Los Angeles gets: Dion Phaneuf (Senators retain 25 percent of his salary) and Nate Thompson Ottawa gets: Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore Ottawa Senators: C-minus I mean, I guess a grade here depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re trying to make trades to save the owner money and create more cap flexibility, this deal accomplishes that. One source summed the deal up quite nicely by putting it this way: “Only way to get rid of a bad contract is to take a bad contract.” Gaborik has an annual cap hit of $4.875 million through 2020-21, but his actual salary earned declines again after this season. This was a contract negotiated with the Kings during a time in which every salary cap dollar

was huge so there were a couple years tacked on to drive down the cap hit with the thought being that they’d deal with it later. Which they ultimately did. The Senators owe Gaborik just over $10.8 million in actual salary over the next three seasons, a number that drops to $7.217 million if they buy him out after this season, according to CapFriendly.com's buyout calculator. Ottawa might not want to buy him out simply because his is a contract that may help them or another team get to the salary cap floor down the road without spending the actual money. At this point in his career, he doesn’t bring much else to the table. He has seven goals in 29 games and hasn’t exceeded 12 goals since the 2014-15 season. “I just saw Gaborik a couple of days ago, he was terrible,” texted one NHL scout on Tuesday night. When asked how much Gaborik has left in the tank at this point, an NHL assistant coach texted back: “Not much.” Phaneuf is owed $18.5 million in actual salary over the next three seasons, with the Senators on the hook for 25 percent of that. So there’s the potential for nice savings for the Senators. Ultimately, they got out of a contract that was only going to look worse in the next couple years while opening up playing time on defense for younger defensemen. Shore brings a little something for the Senators’ fourth line, so they also have that going for them. “A fourth-line worker with OK hands,” said the scout. Los Angeles Kings: C One Western Conference GM expressed his frustration for the high price of doing business right now on the trade market during a conversation earlier in the day. “The prices … are out of this world,” said the GM. Especially for defensemen. The rental market on defense is really thin, which means teams will likely end up overpaying for a rental defenseman. It’s a mistake the Kings have made in the past, most notably the 2015 trade that sent Carolina’s Andrej Sekera to the Kings for a first-rounder. With the organization in need of young talent even after a strong 2017 draft, Kings GM Rob Blake can’t afford those kind of mistakes with high draft picks. There’s something to be said for being a little bit creative in an attempt to make marginal upgrades to your roster. For that, we’ll give Blake some credit. It just comes with a long-term financial cost. The Kings, a borderline playoff team, aren’t in position to be true buyers, so this at least gives them some re- enforcement in an area of need if they make the playoffs. Last spring, Phaneuf played more than 23 minutes per game during the Senators’ run to the Eastern Conference finals. You may not be crazy about Phaneuf as a player, but at the very least he is of more use to the Kings than Gaborik. Defensemen tend to age better than forwards and, at 32 years old, Phaneuf’s got more game left in him than Gaborik at a slightly higher cap hit with the Ottawa salary retention. One scout who saw Phaneuf play lately wasn’t impressed but wondered what toll the deteriorating situation in Ottawa was taking on the veteran defenseman. That’s the bet the Kings are making here, that a jolt to a contending team in the West will ignite Phaneuf, a player Kings management has liked for awhile.

“(He) still has some game left and should get a spike going out there,” texted an NHL coach. “Long term, I’m not sure he’s a good fit.”

FROM BUFFALOSABRES.COM

February 17, 2017 By: Jourdon LaBarber Nolan, Falk return to lineup against Kings

Jordan Nolan will get another chance to play his former team when the Buffalo Sabres host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon. Nolan, a healthy scratch the past two games, will enter the lineup in place of Nicholas Baptiste. Justin Falk will be in for Josh Gorges on defense. Baptiste scored a goal against Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, his first game since being recalled on Sunday. He was held without a shot in his next game, in Ottawa on Thursday. "I thought Nick took a little bit of a step back against Ottawa," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "I didn't see the tenaciousness that he had in his last game, using his speed, his wall play. I think he could have been a little bit hungrier in the battle, but I can see him getting back in the lineup soon." Robin Lehner will be back in net for the Sabres following a 33-save performance in Ottawa. Housley credited the goaltender with keeping the Sabres in that game, a 3-2 overtime loss, long enough to salvage a point. "I think the last two outings have been really good for him," Housley said. "It's good to see him bounce back. In that game if it wasn't for Robin, we wouldn't have been in the game. He made some key saves, especially on the penalty kill and even down the stretch. It's good to see him find his game back." The Kings have lost their last three games and fallen to three points out of the second wild card berth in the Western Conference. They're playing the fifth game of a seven-game road trip. "They're going to be a desperate team. Obviously, they're trying to get back in the playoff picture and this road trip is going to tell the tale for them really. They'll be looking at this game to turn things around. We know that." Coverage on MSG-B begins at 12:30 p.m. with the GMC Game Night Pregame Show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. The puck drops at 1 p.m. Projected lineup

9 Evander Kane - 90 Ryan O'Reilly - 23 Sam Reinhart 67 Benoit Pouliot - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 21 20 Scott Wilson - 22 Johan Larsson - 29 Jason Pominville 28 Zemgus Girgensons - 10 Jacob Josefson - 17 Jordan Nolan 82 Nathan Beaulieu - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 6 Marco Scandella - 8 Casey Nelson 41 Justin Falk - 93 Victor Antipin 40 Robin Lehner 31 Chad Johnson