Tonight was Dodgers Pride Night at Staples Center, which celebrated two Los Angeles franchises that haven't won anything since Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Kings. 

What a couple of losers.

How bad is it for the Los Angeles Kings right now? When they fire Coach Murray tomorrow morning, they didn't even pick a coach that knows anything about hockey to replace him.

I would have gone with Ted Nolan.

Blues 3, Kings 1, Western Conference Basement, 12 points away

Since when did young Bill Murray become such a big Kings fan?

Awful. Just awful. No Pride. No Passion. And certainly no Power. And now they are looking to trade for the only player in the league older than Ryan Smyth? There is no way George Steinbrenner would stand for this. 

No wonder that the Los Angeles Kings are struggling to find their Team Identity. Coach Murray is changing the lines left and right. GM Dean Lombardi is cashing in his frequent flier miles in an effort to shake up the roster. And Kings fans... well Kings fans are just being Kings fans. But how can you believe that your favorite NHL team is going to get its act together quickly... when then can't even print their logo correctly on a $68 sweatshirt?

Oh what's that, you ask? Just a simple little LA Kings sweatshirt with the team logo on the chest?
Take a closer look.

The Kings can't even get their own logo right. 
Last I checked, there were purple dots in that crown.

Yep, there they are.

So we can sit here and debate which overpriced forward the team should trade for, or which former NHL coach to hire or why is the teams once powerful defense... not so powerful anymore. But at the end of the day, this franchise can't even get the logo right. How the hell are they going to go 24-17 in the last 41 games to earn 95 points? 

An IM transmission between myself and Half Season Ticket Holder Buddy from exactly 1 year ago today...

I shit you not. 1 year ago today.

Same shit. Different day. Getting the Kopitar, Smyth and Williams line from last season back together is fine. Putting Handzus, Clifford and Brown together? Remember when you were a kid and you would take your cup at 7-11 and put a bit of every single drink from the soda fountain into it? Yeah, that's the new 2nd line. And for the 3rd line of Stoll, Sturm and Simmonds? Well, let's just say based on the Los Angeles Kings and their injury issues with the letter "S"... I can't imagine this line will be together long. Rumor has it that Dean Lombardi is taking in the Bruins-Senators game tonight in Boston. Just relax people and don't jump to conclusions. He's simply there to see if Luke Richardson or Doug Houda is ready to be an NHL coach.

(Again, I'm in the "Don't Fire Coach Murray" camp.)

As Los Angeles Kings founder Jack Kent Cooke once said in reference to the 300,000 former Canadians living within a three-hour drive of Los Angeles... "Now I know why they left Canada... they hate hockey." But tonight, at Staples Center, as the Toronto Maple Leafs were in town to battle the Los Angeles Kings in the Canadian Pride Night Winter Classic, I was actually excited to see an influx of our neighbours to the north come to the arena... as Canadians tend to be some of the most knowledgeable hockey fans around.

And then there was this guy. 

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There really hasn't been a young player in the Los Angeles Kings system that's been as bi-polar to fans as Jack Johnson has been over the last 5 years. Everyone thinks that Dean Lombardi stole him from Carolina in 2006, giving up only Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason… but people don't realize that the Kings actually got the bad end of that deal. They had to take on Oleg Tverdovsky for 26 games. 

This was the only action Tverdovsky and Sopel had near the net during their Kings tenure.

Kings fans were ecstatic with the trade and the legend of JMFJ was born. And then… he actually started playing for the Kings. 

It's not that Jack Johnson is a horrible NHL defenseman. Don't get me wrong. He's far from it. In fact, I even singled him out as having the potential for the biggest breakout on the Kings this season. I mean, for fucks sake… he's 6th in the league in scoring!

Way to salary dump, Chicago. 

It's just that when you are drafted 3rd overall and have been a poster-boy for the rise in the development of the American hockey player… there is a certain expectation of play. And some nights Jack Johnson looks like a sure-fire #1 NHL defensemen.. and some nights he looks like Thomas Wilson on skates. 

The thing to remember is that Johnson is only 23 years old. And his skill level is only going to increase. It turns out that Dean Lombardi knew exactly what he was talking about when he called out Johnson last year for his lack of hockey pedigree. Johnson has taken a huge leap forward but still struggles on a nightly basis to understand the basic defensive responsibility of an elite NHL defenseman. But then the next moment he does this. 

So 30 million over 7 years, with a 4.3 million dollar cap hit each year. I'd say it's a pretty fair deal, considering what other defensemen in the NHL will be making between 5 and 4 million a year the next few seasons.

That Komisarek deal just gets better and better each game.

And the best part of it all? It's a very tradable contract. Even if this is the top of Jack Johnson's talent ceiling… if that elusive NHL white whale, the scoring left winger, becomes available the next few seasons… and the Kings young defensemen mature as they are supposed to, 4.3 million dollars is a very easy cap number to navigate in a trade. 

"Jack, I'm very happy you re-signed. But don't fuck up, I have my eye on you. Until I'm fired."

I'm not saying that I'm upset with the extension of Jack Johnson at all... I'm just saying that as a fan, I'd rather watch Drew Doughty struggle horribly through a season than watch Johnson throw a puck up the middle in his zone again. But for now, Dean Lombardi has locked up Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Matt Greene and Jack Johnson all through the 2013-2014 season at decent rates. Now just lock up Kyle Clifford to a lifetime contract and we've got ourselves a team. 

"Marco!"

"Stollo!"

"Fish out of the doghouse!"

Oh yeah... the Los Angeles Kings ended a 5 game losing streak with a questionable win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sharpen your skates, have a piece of loyal toast and put on your favorite Tom Cochrane record… cause Monday night at Staples is Canadian Pride Night!

Think the Los Angeles Kings current 5 game losing streak is bad? Then you haven't been a Kings fan for all that long. Remember 2004?

Oh, Anson Carter, you are sorely missed. 

And if an 11 game losing streak 7 years ago isn't enough for you... then remember 1970? Cause I totally do. 

I really thought Johnny Wilson was going to turn it around for us that year.

So what does it mean? It means that firing Coach Murray isn't the answer. (Even though all of Twitter is calling for it.) It means that this current losing streak is a great wakeup call halfway through the season that this team is still 1 or 2 impact players short of a competing team. But realistically, who is available to trade for? Every team in the West except for Edmonton and Calgary have a horse in this race... and the Kings already have half of the Edmonton roster from the last time they made the playoffs. And from the East... take your pick from Toronto or New Jersey. But again... who would you want? 

I'm on the East Coast till Sunday and I have to watch the Kings on NHL GameCenter.
It's just as sad as watching it at home. But at least I didn't have to actually go to the game like the rest of you suckers!

Let's not panic. 2 more points and the Kings are 5th in the West with a few games to play. But lose Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets... and Edmonton is chasing our tails. 

The Royal Half has returned from its Winter Vacation and thanks to the magical NHL GameCentre app for the iPad... I was somewhat able to follow the Los Angeles Kings over the past 13 days. And it seems that the record of the Kings in those 6 games directly paralleled the situation I was in during my vacation.

In New York, concrete jungles where dreams of a beach vacation are covered in horrible, horrible snow.

For example, when I was stuck in Brooklyn during the crazy blizzard that hit New York City last week, the Los Angeles Kings went 3-0, with victories over the Oilers, Ducks and Sharks. 

This is me walking on 2 feet of snow down 9th Street in Park Slope. 
You can tell it's me from the old school Kings beanie.

And when I finally arrived at my tropical beach winter vacation destination that was amazingly relaxing? 3 straight losses to the Coyotes, Flyers and Sharks.

If you look closely, that is Dan Cloutier on the beach living off his buyout money. 

When I returned home to Los Angeles for Monday night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Staples Center... I figured I'd be able to see exactly why the Kings had been playing so poorly lately. But instead, I saw this. 

Which is even worse than a 4 game losing streak.

Kings 3, Blackhawks 4, NHL Guardians Project 0

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Screw this rainy city. I'm getting my ass out of Los Angeles today and heading to a Winter Vacation on the beach. It will look something like this:

So that means very little posting over the next 10 days although I will be watching the Kings games when I can. And, yes JeanShorts, that sadly means I won't be at Thursday's Kings-Oilers game to take photos of as many Kevin Lowe jerseys as I can. I had planned on doing a "Best of Pundays 2010" but then this past week, the good boys at NHL.com came up with the 2 greatest NHL pun headlines of 2010... so there was no need for a countdown.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from The Royal Half! LONG LIVE THE MARCO STURM ERA!!!!

After having two Russian Heritage Nights, two Armenian Heritage Nights and one Latino Heritage night... the next logical step for the Los Angeles Kings Marketing Department seems to be... Canada!

So let me get this straight...
A Q and A with Captain Canada himself, Ryan Smyth? Okay, that makes sense.
A Q and A with the Rhode Island born, Minnesota raised, Harvard educated General Manager of the US Olympic team?
Not so sure about that one. 

And let's be honest here... if you are Canadian and living in Los Angeles... are the Maple Leafs really the team that you wanna show your pride for? I mean, if I were the Kings Marketing Department, I might just have Canadian Pride Night be against Vancouver... and that way you could still have Brian Burke do a Q and A.

"Well shit, son. I thought the maple leaf meant this team played in Vermont."

"Um, no... Can I go now?"

Remember what Los Angeles Kings founder Jack Kent Cooke said about the 300,000 former Canadians that lived within a three-hour drive of Los Angeles in the 70's... "Now I know why they left Canada... They hate hockey!" Actually, the Kings did a similar promotion last season in an attempt to celebrate all things Canadian in Los Angeles...

Surprisingly, the Toronto Maple Leafs are a huge improvement over The Tragically Hip.

On the other hand... since we've given up overtime to the corporate sponsorship of Air Canada... maybe having Brian Burke appear during Canadian Pride Night is just our country's way of taking a little bit of hockey back from our neighbours to the north. 

On second thought... you can keep hockey.

Hopefully next season the Montreal Canadiens will come to town, and the Kings Marketing Department can combine Canadian Pride Night with Jewish Heritage Night featuring Mathieu Schneider, Michael Cammalleri and Jeff Halpern. 

"Michael, a couple of shiksa's in the crowd tonight, huh?"

"Hey Jeff, we've been over this a couple times, I don't really practice Judaism..."

"Oy... enough of your mishegas."

And just because... this AMAZING video came up during a search for "Ryan Smyth Captain Canada."

Forget about the fact that the Los Angeles Kings lost a tough game against the one team in the Central Division they can't seem to beat. No, forget about that, because Kyle Clifford did this tonight. And Coach Terry Murray's jaw almost dropped. 

"Wow. Nice goal, Cliffy."

The Los Angeles Kings Marketing Department better hurry... for with Christmas coming up this week they only have a few days to get their newest holiday item out into the market...

The Tickle-Me Clifford.
or, The Kyle Clifford Blow-Up Doll, depending on who the gift is for.

Blackhawks 3, Kings 2 

There is only one question I have after this game... who is this woman, and how fast can someone on the internet track her down so I can interview her? Please. 

Because I have to know what is going through her mind at this exact moment. 
Because I've seen love before, and that, my friends... is love.

How hard was it to score on Corey Crawford tonight in Chicago?

This hard.
Tuuuuuuuuuurrrrrr-co... aw, forget it, it's not fun anymore.  

It gets easier on Tuesday right? Colorado has only won 6 in a row while Matt Duchene and Tomas Fleischmann only have like 22 points together in 8 games. No biggie. When do the Kings play Edmonton again, Thursday? Thank god. At least we have the peaceful nature of the holidays to take our minds off the up and down play of the Kings. 

Happy Holidays, Bitches!