Malaise turns into rage
Sorry I haven't updated lately, oh faithful Hockeywood dezinens. A close friend of mine at the Press-Telegram, James Melroy, passed away on June 26, and it through me for a loop. I knew him for 20 years, and he will be missed.
It sort of pushed all things hockey to the back burner for me. So, things like Michael Cammalleri getting traded on Draft Day, Lubomir Visnovsky being traded and Rob Blake signing in San Jose... I really didn't care. I mean I normally don't pay much heed to the off-season to begin with. I mean, come on... IT'S SUMMER!
But when a report came out about the Kings ownership have been looking into potential "partners" with the implied intent to sell off part of the franchise, I felt compelled to come out of my summertime malaise and vent.
Now, I'm not naive. This is a business, and all teams face ownership changes. The Kings have certainly seen their fair share of them. But the timing couldn't have come worse for this. First, they fire Marc Crawford before the NHL Draft, Then, they trade their leading scorer and All-Star defenseman from 06-07. Then, they lose their captain, Rob Blake, to the Sharks. Now the news that the owners are formulating an exit strategy comes out... it just reeks of... well... of something that reeks really bad.
Other than the Blake defection, which really doesn't bother me, it seems that Lombardi might have pulled the trigger a tad too early on releasing Crow and getting rid of Lubo after one sub-par season. I sort of figured Cammy was gone, when he only got a one-year contract last season. But Lubo's departure worried me. Yeah, he he had an off season. But you can't tell me that L.A. is not going to miss Visnovsky's 19 assists for last season, let alone Cammalleri's 19 power play points. Now it seems Patrick O'Sullivan , the player that Lombardi himself brought in in a whirlwind trade of Pavol Demitra to the Wild, might be on the verge of being swooped away by another club. O'Sullivan is on the verge of breaking out, and will have a killer season next season. And on top of it all, they raised tickets prices again.
No, the news that AEG is starting the initial stages of Operation Stage Left has left me in a foul mood. After all, when the leading candidate is an ownership group (and for Stanley's sake, would it kill us to just get an owner rather than an ownership group?) that runs the Boston Celtics. The same ownership group that saw their NBA franchise plummet to last place a season ago only to go out and mortgage their future by trading away every last piece of furniture to bring in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett and BUY an NBA championship. And now, AEG is stating that the executives who have experience in the Celtics’ front office, would likely be imported to help run the Kings.
Huh?
What in the hell do NBA guys know about running an NHL front office? Isn't that why we brought Luc in? Surround him with the people necessary to help the Kings establish a true hockey front office? How are a bunch of NBA suits going to know about what a hockey team needs? Will this new ownership group's influence be to purge the young talent and gamble that will get the Kings back to the playoffs?
I know, I know... Nothing is imminent. But when you step back and look at the big picture, things look more murky than ever.
It sort of pushed all things hockey to the back burner for me. So, things like Michael Cammalleri getting traded on Draft Day, Lubomir Visnovsky being traded and Rob Blake signing in San Jose... I really didn't care. I mean I normally don't pay much heed to the off-season to begin with. I mean, come on... IT'S SUMMER!
But when a report came out about the Kings ownership have been looking into potential "partners" with the implied intent to sell off part of the franchise, I felt compelled to come out of my summertime malaise and vent.
Now, I'm not naive. This is a business, and all teams face ownership changes. The Kings have certainly seen their fair share of them. But the timing couldn't have come worse for this. First, they fire Marc Crawford before the NHL Draft, Then, they trade their leading scorer and All-Star defenseman from 06-07. Then, they lose their captain, Rob Blake, to the Sharks. Now the news that the owners are formulating an exit strategy comes out... it just reeks of... well... of something that reeks really bad.
Other than the Blake defection, which really doesn't bother me, it seems that Lombardi might have pulled the trigger a tad too early on releasing Crow and getting rid of Lubo after one sub-par season. I sort of figured Cammy was gone, when he only got a one-year contract last season. But Lubo's departure worried me. Yeah, he he had an off season. But you can't tell me that L.A. is not going to miss Visnovsky's 19 assists for last season, let alone Cammalleri's 19 power play points. Now it seems Patrick O'Sullivan , the player that Lombardi himself brought in in a whirlwind trade of Pavol Demitra to the Wild, might be on the verge of being swooped away by another club. O'Sullivan is on the verge of breaking out, and will have a killer season next season. And on top of it all, they raised tickets prices again.
No, the news that AEG is starting the initial stages of Operation Stage Left has left me in a foul mood. After all, when the leading candidate is an ownership group (and for Stanley's sake, would it kill us to just get an owner rather than an ownership group?) that runs the Boston Celtics. The same ownership group that saw their NBA franchise plummet to last place a season ago only to go out and mortgage their future by trading away every last piece of furniture to bring in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett and BUY an NBA championship. And now, AEG is stating that the executives who have experience in the Celtics’ front office, would likely be imported to help run the Kings.
Huh?
What in the hell do NBA guys know about running an NHL front office? Isn't that why we brought Luc in? Surround him with the people necessary to help the Kings establish a true hockey front office? How are a bunch of NBA suits going to know about what a hockey team needs? Will this new ownership group's influence be to purge the young talent and gamble that will get the Kings back to the playoffs?
I know, I know... Nothing is imminent. But when you step back and look at the big picture, things look more murky than ever.
Man, when you're right, you're right. And by golly, you're right. They're making it hard for me to drive out from the IE (past the new arena with the Ontario Reign) and plop down my bucks to see the product in LA.
Reply to this