RudyKelly (www.battleofcali.com) and I agreed to each dream up our own roster for LA 2011 opening night, and then exchange and comment. Neither of us consulted the other while dreaming.
[Rudy picks apart my line-up here]
Here’s RudyKelly’s line-up:
Ryan Smyth – Anze Kopitar – Wayne Simmonds
Alexander Frolov – Jarret Stoll – Andrei Loktionov
(Random Veteran) – Brayden Schenn – Dustin Brown
Rich Clune – Marc-Andre Cliche – Kevin Westgarth
Alexander Frolov – Jarret Stoll – Andrei Loktionov
(Random Veteran) – Brayden Schenn – Dustin Brown
Rich Clune – Marc-Andre Cliche – Kevin Westgarth
Rob Scuderi – Drew Doughty
Jack Johnson – Viatcheslav Voynov
Davis Drewiske – Matt Greene
Auto-Link doesn’t like Voynov.
I’m just staring at Rudy’s roster and thinking out-loud. No Williams or Handzus, who would have been UFA that summer. No Hickey or Teubert, which I assume means they’re ripening in Manchester. No Moller (!). No Clifford, Richardson or Parse. Cliche and Westgarth instead. Loktionov on the wing.
Rudy, here are my questions:
- I notice you have retained Stoll and let go of Handzus. I did the same thing in my roster. But I felt bad about it, because I can also imagine a world in which Handzus re-signs for peanuts and becomes a forward version of Sean O’Donnell. What do you think about having two kids down the middle (I have Loktionov and Schenn; you have Cliche and Schenn) and having to lose one of Handzus or Stoll?
- Johnson and Voynov as a pair? Are you trying to sabotage Voynov?
Drewiske has been re-signed in your version of reality. Does this mean you don’t think Teubert, Hickey, Muzzin or Campbell will be ready a year and a half from now? There obviously isn’t even room for all of them, but I have to think at least one of them (I chose two: Muzzin and Hickey) will crack the line-up by then.
Simmonds and Moller will have been RFA the previous 7/1. Moller is not in your line-up. Does he get traded before next year’s deadline then? Also, a related question: HOW COULD YOU!
Doughty and Johnson are both on the team (yay). They both will be sporting new contracts? How much will each get? - You have Westgarth making it, over Clifford and Nolan, both of whom will have had a year in Manchester by then (unless Clifford makes the big club in 2010). Is it a youth/experience issue? Am I overvaluing the unknown quantities over the known one in selecting Clifford and Nolan and ignoring Westgarth altogether?
- Given the way Lombardi works, I have to believe some trades will have been made in the year before this team hits the ice, since DL is going to get something for Ersberg, Moller, Richardson, Parse and maybe Williams and/or Handzus. Obviously, neither of us added any big names from other teams to our rosters, because that’s beyond the pale of the exercise. But what do you think will actually happen? Trades for picks and prospects? Or a bigger trade for a bigger single piece?
We also appear to have tacitly agreed not to trade away any of the Kings big names who would be still under contract in 2011. However, what do you think the chances are that Kopitar, Brown, Frolov Stoll and Quick — the remaining Dave Taylor picks — are all on the team two seasons from now?