My First Assessment

As a fan of the most successful hockey franchise of the past decade, it is easy to take things for granted. The Detroit Red Wings have won 3 Stanley Cups in my lifetime, and have come close several other times. The playoffs are a lock year in and year out, a Red Wing always wins a major individual award (Lidstrom with his Norris hardware in particular).... it is great to be a Wings fan.

I will always be a Detroit Red Wing fan. Taking on the Los Angeles Kings as my new primary team does not disqualify the Red Wings from my heart. I will still root for the Red Wings 95% of the time, with the only exceptions being their games against the Kings. Many people ask how I can root for the Kings "all of a sudden".

As much as I love the Detroit Red Wings, I don't personally know any of those guys. Why would anyone cheer on a bunch of complete strangers if their best friend was on a different NHL team? I grew up with Jack and rooting against him in life or in hockey (which for him, are now intertwined) is something that I cannot fathom. The only time I root against him in anything is when I am the opponent.

The first comment this blog ever received was critical of me for "abandoning" the Wings, so-to-speak. This simply could not be further from the truth. I honestly believe that most anyone in my position would be the exact same way: you continue to support the team you grew up on, but you first and foremost want to see your best friend's team succeed.

The funny thing is, Jack and I were talking about how talented the Kings were BEFORE HE EVEN GOT TRADED THERE. In our casual hockey conversation, I noted that LA was stockpiling young talent and was going to be a real threat to knock Detroit out in the first round very soon (it happened before, in 2001). Jack agreed, suggesting that Michael Cammalleri and Alexander Frolov were a dynamic duo up front and any team with one of our personal favorites Rob Blake has a chance. OK, we're both overboard with our support of #4... guilty as charged.

I will be straight with you and say that I was not looking forward to rooting for the Hurricanes. I really did not like their team all that much, and Karmanos is a fierce rival of Wings' owner Mike Ilitch. Still, I would have rooted for the Hurricanes if Jack had ended up there. The trade to Los Angeles bailed me out of this problem, as the Kings were a team I could see myself liking with or without Jack.

Either way, Jack believes he will begin and end his career in LA. He wants to grow with the franchise and help bring the first Stanley Cup to Los Angeles. One thing people out there will fast learn about him is how honest and straight forward he is. Jack means it when he says he is thrilled to be with the Kings organization, and the way that team is looking, I think it will be an easy transition rooting for them.

Re-signing Michael Cammalleri is essential. Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov, Michael Cammalleri.... there are not many better trios of forwards in the entire league. Those are 3 young, dynamic talents that could help lead LA to the ultimate prize. Frolov reminds me a bit of his comrade Sergei Fedorov. Both are immensely talented, but Fedorov would take shifts (and sometimes games) off. I saw some of that in Frolov in the few games I saw the Kings play. I will be able to give a more accurate assessment on this particular subject when I watch more Kings hockey this upcoming season.

Assuming Cammalleri is retained, this team will be loaded for a while. The defense looks very strong for this upcoming season, especially if Jack is able to perform at a reasonably high level. I know Jack has noticed a certain feeling going around the organization that this team is going in the right direction. The pieces are slowly starting to come together, and most of the players are realizing it.

If the Kings can get average goaltending this year, they will make the playoffs. I could see the Detroit Red Wings (who WILL be the 1 seed again, book it) taking on the Kings in the opening round of the NHL playoffs. You look around the Western Conference, and it is extremely difficult to find 8 teams that are more talented than Los Angeles. As far as pure talent and upside goes, the Kings are among the Top 7 or 8 in the NHL. The problem is inexperience and the gaping hole in net.

Any way you look at it, this core has "champion" written all over them. It will not happen this year, but if the goaltending situation is partially resolved, I would not be surprised to see LA go to the Western Conference Finals in 2009. It is a vastly talented group assembled by a GM with a solid track record in Dean Lombardi.

I am excited to be a Kings fan, and hope that more people can understand my reasoning for supporting them first and foremost.