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I don’t think it’s a good idea to draw any kind of conclusion from pre-season games. But what the h***, that’s all we have right now

  • If Frolov is anything less than stellar in his contract year (i.e. if he takes nights off), he will get dealt sooner rather than later. And Frolov is especially vulnerable the first 10-15 games, I think. If he plays like an “enigma,” I think DL will have a few chances to ship him to someone looking for offense on a more run-and-gun team.
  • If Bernier plays like a pro in Manchester, Ersberg will get traded, sooner rather than later.
  • If the Kings have any problem scoring 5-on-5 — by which I mean, if they are in the bottom third of the league in that stat — hello Oscar Moller second line center. Stoll will end up centering the fourth line for awhile.
  • If there is any problem on the power play (which I think is less likely), we will see Hickey.
  • Murray may have his lines “set,” but I think the only lines set in stone are as follows: Kopitar is the first line center. Handzus is the third line center. That’s it.
  • Frolov will probably move between the first three LWs all season or as long as he stays with the Kings.
  • Smyth will bounce back and forth between Kopitar’s line and the line of whoever is the second line center.
  • I say “whoever” because unless the Kings are playing their A game, I think Stoll is vulnerable and we could see Lewis or Moller (or Azevedo) in that spot.
  • Any faltering from a 90 point pace, and I think DL looks to move either Frolov or Stoll or both. Everyone else (Kopitar, Williams, Brown, Handzus, Simmonds) is more or less secure (unless he can find someone to take Handzus’s salary).
  • Purcell probably wouldn’t get moved, just swapped out for Moller or whoever is the best in Manchester at the moment.
  • Simmonds could easily end up being RW2 or even RW1 before the season is done. I think he’s about to become a star.
  • Players I’m not worried about: Quick, Doughty, Johnson, SOD, Greene, Purcell, Handzus, Simmonds, Lewis, Williams, Kopitar, Brown, Smyth. Players with asterisks: Frolov, Stoll, Ersberg, Drewiske, Scuderi, Westgarth. Players I wish would move on: Ivanans, Richardson, Zeiler, Calder, Armstrong, Preissing, Gauthier, what? Oh, cool. Okay. The first two then.
  • I really hope, a month from now, we’re not all talking about how much we are missing Kyle Quincey./

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