Los Angeles Kings

Bringing in old favorites may help Ziggy zag, and an exiled Roman will be tested in net

By Brian Cazeneuve

Team Page | Predicted Finish: 11

Kings fans may need to dust off some of their memorabilia. Those posters of center Jozef Stumpel, L.A.'s leading scorer six years ago? Unroll them. The Kings reacquired Stumpel from Boston over the summer. And the Luc Robitaille number 20 jerseys? Dig them out of the closet. The 37-year-old free-agent left wing, who led the Kings in goals eight times, signed this summer for his third stint with the team. Those familiar faces should play well with fickle locals, a genuine consideration given that Anaheim's near miss in the Stanley Cup finals could lure fans from the Staples Center and down Interstate 5 to the Pond. "Salute the Mighty Ducks," says Kings coach Andy Murray. "It was good for hockey in Southern California."

Roman Cechmanek Brian Bahr/Getty Images/NHLI SI RANKING (1 best - 30 worst) OFFENSE 9 DEFENSE 16 GOALTENDING 15 POWER PLAY 14 PENALTY KILLING 16 G.M. AND COACH 15

To make their own Cup run, the Kings desperately need MVP numbers from left wing Ziggy Palffy, who had nearly twice as many points (85) as any teammate. (Mathieu Schneider was second with 43.) Moreover, added punch from Palffy could take the pressure off the defense, which is thin beyond Mattias Norstrom and Aaron Miller. The Kings do have high hopes for Joe Corvo, who spent the end of his rookie year manning the point on the power play after Schneider was dealt to Detroit.

The lack of back line depth puts a lot of responsibility on Roman Cechmanek, who had a stellar regular season in goal for the Flyers (33-15-10, 1.83 goals-against average, .925 save percentage) before blowing up in a second-round playoff loss to Ottawa. Kings G.M. Dave Taylor did well to snare Cechmanek for only a second-round pick this summer, but the Kings know that Cechmanek can be hit-or-miss. "Roman is very aggressive," says Taylor. "He gives up bad goals, but also gets to pucks no one else can."

The wild cards on this team are forwards Jason Allison (28 points in 26 games) and Adam Deadmarsh (13 goals in 20 games), both of whom are still sidelined after missing most of last season with concussions. If those two players don't return quickly, even more fans could defect to the Pond.

Insider

Adding veteran F Trent Klatt was smart -- he's a leader and an excellent forechecker.... New C Jozef Stumpel needs to play with more jam or the Kings will have a huge hole down the middle.... Watch 19-year-old rookie blueliner Tim Gleason. He has big-time talent.... Expect 20-plus goals from second-year F Alexander Frolov, who should get more ice time.... The team's playoff chances depend on the health of F's Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh (both out with concussions).

Issue date: October 13, 2003