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Crown Conversations Episode 42: Mascot Lawsuit and Draft Preview

On this episode, Sarah Avampato joins me to discuss Tim Smith, the man inside the Bailey costume, and the lawsuit brought against him. In a Friday news dump, the organization quietly announced that Smith “has been terminated by the organization following an internal investigation” after a former member of the Ice Crew filed a lawsuit against Smith, AEG, and the Kings in August. Smith was subsequently suspended on August 14 pending an internal investigation before eventually being fired on Friday.

There is no word yet on who, if anyone, will play Bailey or if they’re even going to have a mascot at all. It could be a moot point as fans (at the moment) aren’t even be allowed in the building. And no one is really sure when the NHL will actually return to play. Again.

Then we chat about the impending NHL entry draft coming up soon. We chat about which top prospect the Los Angeles Kings could possibly grab at second overall and wishing for some chaos. We go into depth about what the Kings need and if Quinton Byfield or Tim Stützle is the right kid to fill it. Should they go with their prototypical Large Boy (Byfield is listed at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds) or should they go the kid with dazzling playmaking skills with a high hockey IQ? If the Tampa Bay Lightning are now the model (and to be fair to the Dallas Stars, they matched up pretty well in terms of high-end skilled players) being the most recent Stanley Cup winners, does that mean that Stützle is the right pick? Or does LA’s desperate need for a center outweigh the potential of the German? Or, plot twist: the next Drew Doughty?

Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you’ll never miss an episode and leave a comment below. Got questions or want to be on the pod? Hit me up at crownconvopodjftc@gmail.com.

(Note: I know I said that the last podcast would be penultimate, but I had wanted to address the Tim Smith stuff and Sarah is super knowledgeable, so we got to learn a bit about the coin flip headed LA’s way. Barring any additional breaking news, the post draft podcast will be the last one[s] until the NHL season starts back up.)

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