Kings Krowned

The LA Kings won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history last week, and the city went...? Well, I saw a few people celebrating. At least Jonathan Quick, the Conn Smyth winner as playoff MVP, spiced things up with an R rated speech at the celebration. He was deservedly the winner of this award and while the team in front of him played solid defense and finally was able to score some goals, he was always there should the need arise. The kings work ethic and constant effort was a deciding factor in the series as they generated more opportunities and won more battles than the Devils. New Jersey's Martin Brodeur showed he still has what it takes to lead a team but in the end he wasn't given enough support by the guys paid to put the puck in the other net as New Jersey just could not find a way to generate enough offense. The Kings look poised to be a solid team for years too with a young core of players locked up for a number of years, they have a legitimate shot at a repeat. Though in today's NHL there are no guarantees they will even make the playoffs in the ultra competitive western conference.

Dean Lombardi the GM and architect of this team took some risks in the off season bringing in guys like Simon Gagner, Mike Richards and eventually Jeff Carter before the trade deadline, but these moves proved to be key to their success and I think it's safe to say paid off. The emergence of their young defencemen like Voynov and Martinez along with their solid core of veterans back there was a huge difference throughout the playoffs. Dustin Brown, who was almost dealt at the deadline, lead this team and was determined to show what they had the ability to do. Darryl Sutter and his group now have an off season to enjoy before getting back to business but they will certainly be a threat again come October....that is if the NHL starts on time.