Los Angeles Kings Fill 3rd Line Winger Spot: Alexei Ponikarovsky Signed

July 27, 2010 40 Comments

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On July 27, the Los Angeles Kings signed unrestricted free agent left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky to a one-year contract worth $3 million.

The deal also paid the 30-year-old native of Kiev, Ukraine a $200,000 signing bonus, bring his salary cap hit to $3.2 million for the 2010-11 season.

Last season, Ponikarovsky scored 21 goals and 29 assists for fifty points with 61 penalty minutes in 77 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The 6-4, 229-pound winger scored 19 goals and tallied 22 assists for 41 points with 44 penalty minutes in 61 regular season games with the Maple Leafs before being dealt to the Penguins on March 2, 2010, in exchange for forward Luca Caputi and defenseman Martin Skoula. Read more of this post

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John Stevens Looking To Fit Right In With Los Angeles Kings

July 27, 2010 4 Comments

EL SEGUNDO, CA — While fans of the Los Angeles Kings are up in arms over their team’s inability to improve themselves to this point in the 2010 off-season, venting their frustrations in no uncertain terms on virtually every Kings-related forum on the World Wide Web, life does indeed go on.

With the departure of assistant coach Mark Hardy, who resigned on June 11 (see LA Kings Assistant Coach Mark Hardy Resigns), the Kings strengthened their reputation as “Flyers West” when they hired John Stevens as an assistant coach on June 24, 2010 (see Los Angeles Kings Name John Stevens As Assistant Coach).

Stevens, 44, earned a 120-109-34 record as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, a position he accepted on October 22, 2006, after the Flyers got off to a 1-6-1 start that season. Read more of this post

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New On KingsCast: Still Waiting For Kovalchuk

July 26, 2010 Leave a Comment

The Ilya Kovalchuk Saga is still not over, as the National Hockey League has voided his 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils, and now the National Hockey League Players Association has filed a grievance against the league—they are now heading to arbitration. Read more of this post

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LA Kings Prospect Thomas Hickey Looking To Bounce Back In A Big Way

July 18, 2010 30 Comments

EL SEGUNDO, CA — The 2009-10 season could not have gone much worse for Los Angeles Kings defenseman prospect Thomas Hickey.

After completing his career in Canadian junior hockey in 2008-09 with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League, turning in his best season in the WHL with 16 goals and 35 assists for 51 points in 57 games, the 5-10, 182-pound native of Calgary, Alberta graduated to the American Hockey League.

But once Hickey donned the sweater of the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL [the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate] this past season, his hockey career was put mostly on hold due to injury—a shoulder injury suffered in late November, 2009 that required surgery, keeping him off the ice until April 1, 2010, just four games before the Monarchs began their run in the AHL playoffs.

“I got into four [games] before the regular season was over,” said Hickey.

But Hickey’s bad luck was not yet over, as he wound up on the shelf once again just before the playoffs began. Read more of this post

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LA Kings Sign All Restricted Free Agents For One Year

July 17, 2010 Leave a Comment

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On July 17, the Los Angeles Kings signed five players—all were their restricted free agents—including center Brad Richardson, who signed a one-year contract, rumored to be worth $900,000, avoiding arbitration.

The 25-year-old native of Belleville, Ontario scored eleven goals and added 16 assists for 27 points in 81 regular season games last season, setting career highs in assists, points and games played. He also set a new career high with four game-winning goals.

The Kings were 10-0-1 in games when Richardson scored a goal last season.

In six playoff games, Richardson scored one goal, the game-winner in game 3 against the Vancouver Canucks. He also added an assist for two points with two penalty minutes.

The 5-11, 195-pound center was the Kings nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.

In 112 regular season games with the Kings, Richardson has scored eleven goals and has added 21 assists for 32 points with 48 penalty minutes. In 248 National Hockey League regular season games with the Kings and Colorado Avalanche, he has scored thirty goals and has tallied 42 assists for 72 points with 96 penalty minutes. Read more of this post

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New On KingsCast: Waiting For Kovalchuk

July 17, 2010 1 Comment

If, like just about everyone else, you are sick and tired of the interminable Ilya Kovalchuk saga, the latest episode of Overtime by KingsCast is a must-see. Read more of this post

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