by Roger Quinn

Created on: August 11, 2010   Last Updated: August 12, 2010

The Kings come into the season as a very solid contender, and one with some goalie controversy.  Jonathan Quick went from beginning the season last year as an Olympic candidate in net to ending the year with talk of Jonathan Bernier taking a game or two in the Vancouver series.  Bernier is a great prospect, and if Quick wants to keep his starting job he will have to play very well all season and into the playoffs.

Los Angeles did not get the high scoring forward they have searched for this off-season.  They went after Illya Kovalchuk but failed- twice.  Perhaps with Kovy back on the market they will take another swing at him, but this is a team with a lot of offense who do not want to end up in salary cap hell like Chicago.  They want to keep building with young players such as Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and Wayne Simmonds.  Around those young guys they have placed some key veterans, Ryan Smith, Michal Handzus, and Alexei Ponikarovsky.  They have built a tough, physical team that can score.  They may want to add some speed and it is easy to see why they want to add a premier winger, but they do have enough to compete for a Cup.

On defense the Kings have a couple of young all stars in Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson.  The addition of Rob Scuderi last off-season really added depth to the blueline and gives the Kings enough defense to shut down any team's top line.  One more puck mover would be a nice addition, but certainly should not come at the expense of that long sought after forward.  Even if the Kings stay put with their current defensemen they will be good enough to go all the way.

The Kings will need all the defense they can get.  Jonathan Quick seems to have a fragile psyche and could collapse at the first bit of trouble.  Jonathan Bernier is a good prospect, but the Kings do not want to place their Cup hopes on a rookie goalie who has never played in the NHL.

Expectations will be high in LA.  The Kings will need to make a long playoff run at the least to keep their fans coming to games.  They are a team that has been on the verge of a breakthrough for a few seasons now but just have not been able to break through.  If this is going to be their year Jonathan Quick will need to get his act together.  If he plays well all season and into the playoffs then the Kings are a very serious contender.

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