Some Things Never Change

 Make no mistake, there have been some changes on the Kings roster recently.  However, despite the additions and subtractions, too many things have stayed the same.

The Kings have added what appears to be some reasonably useless players.  Lemieux isn't horrible, but he's hasn't shown us much yet, and definitely doesn't look like he is the guy to spark this team.  He does bring some needed toughness; I would like to see more of that on the ice though.  

Wolanin does not look ready for the NHL.  He isn't reading the game well, and regardless of ones skills (I honestly don't know if he has any yet), as a defensemen, if one can't read the game, Sweden might be a better option.  

Carts is gone.  I'm not shocked.  He is nearing the end of his career, and doesn't score like he did when he was younger.  However, he's a smart player, a good skater, and leaves a pretty big hole on this team.  There are some positives for this trade.  The Kings got a couple of decent draft picks, and cleared about half of Carters paycheck in cap space, whatever that means for the rest of the season.  If Carts retires, wich is a real possibility, I believe that they will save $5.4 million dollars against the cap.  This would give the Kings more options for free agency.  Mostly this trade is good for Carts, but I'm glad the Kings got something out of it.

Sadly, our young defensemen are still struggling.  Anderson is absolutely the worst passing defensemen I've ever seen in the NHL.  There have been moments where I was hopeful that he would outgrow his struggles, but as of right now, he's right back where he was at the start of the season.  Clague (Salad), despite his skating and hands, is making too many large errors.  Combine that with Wolanin's woes, and both Quick and Cal have to be wondering if the team is intentionally destroying their numbers so that the Kraken won't take either.   

For the upcoming offseason, the Kings need to acquire more than one consistent and tough defensemen, some toughness up front, and hopefully bring along the talented youth.

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