Expectations haven’t been met, injuries have haunted him, Justin Williams is entering a season which is both huge for the Kings offensive success and his NHL future, as he is slated to become an Unrestricted Free Agent next season. Williams has more on his shoulders heading into the 2010-2011 season with the lack of off-season activity from the Kings front office. Chances are, Williams will be provided another shot to skate alongside Ryan Smyth and Anze Kopitar on the first line. Williams was a huge part of this trio’s success early last season, tallying 24 points in 33 games. However, after being struck by the injury bug, an obstacle he has been hit with more often than not, Williams struggled in his comeback to the lineup. Williams only played three games in the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Vancouver Canucks, and had little to no impact when in uniform. This was no surprise, as he provided little help to the offense in his return late in the regular season, recording a lowly 2 goals and 3 assists in 16 contests. When healthy, which hasn’t been the case most of his career, Justin Williams has produced numbers that fit the bill of a premier forward. Justin Williams was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes on March 6th of 2009 in part of a three-team deal that has amounted to inconsistency with health and point production that have damaged his reputation in Los Angeles.

Early Success: It’s unfortunate that most of my frustration toward Williams, and I’m sure with many others, is his history to being prone to injury. Williams hasn’t had too much luck escaping bad breaks, but survived to find glory in Carolina. Williams found himself on top of the 2005-2006 NHL season, netting the final goal in the clinching game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, putting the nails in the coffin to the Edmonton Oilers, who had finally regained hope for the Cup for the first time since the late 1980′s. Williams was a force when healthy, playing complete 82 game seasons from 2005-2007. In two seasons at full force, Williams recorded 143 points, eclipsing the 30 goal mark in both seasons. He had labeled himself as a reliable first-line winger; And more importantly, on a team that won the Stanley Cup. In 2009, the Kings acquired Justin Williams for Patrick O’Sullivan and the Calgary Flames 2nd round 2010 Entry Draft Selection.

Career in Los Angeles: Dean Lombardi snagged the veteran winger, coming off of two productive seasons, and a third hampered by injury, in March of the 2008-2009 season. Williams resume had him noted as a forward who had success under his belt, and more importantly, a Stanley Cup. In an agreement that cost the Kings Patrick O’Sullivan, who had expressed frustration with the Kings, hopes and expectations were high for Williams as the Kings made their first serious push for post-season play in seven years. When healthy, Williams proved himself as a valuable asset to playoff-caliber rosters. Unfortunately, injuries have followed Justin to Los Angeles.

The Justin Wiliams Factor: There’s no question, especially with the lack of additions this summer, that Williams health and production will be a major factor in the Kings success this season. Williams never seemed to regain confidence after sitting out three months with a broken leg last season. The big question is how Williams’ off-season conditioning and training camp factor into his comeback. He proved to work well with Smyth and Kopitar, but his consistency in that department is the biggest worry. At only 28 years old, Williams still has the opportunity to rejuvenate his career. Whether he is able to do so this season is one of the biggest question marks the Kings face this season. Proven to be the most consistent line-mate with #11 and #94, a healthy, productive season is key.

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty is slowly dolling out the interviews he did at this summer’s prospect camp. Here are his quotes from Oscar Moller who’s had several cracks at the NHL roster. Enjoy!

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Two seasons ago, forward prospect Oscar Moller made the Los Angeles Kings’ roster out of training camp and after putting in some effective minutes where he showed a good scoring touch, it appeared that he could be on his way to solidifying a spot at the National Hockey League level.

Fast forward to 2010 and Moller now finds himself just trying to make the Kings roster.

The 5-10, 186-pound native of Stockholm, Sweden started the 2009-09 season with the Kings and showed some ability to finish right from the start, including his first multi-goal game in the NHL against Calgary on November 1, 2008.

Moller, who played in forty NHL games that season, also captained Sweden’s team in the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships, but suffered a fractured clavicle during the tournament, forcing him out of the Kings’ lineup upon his return to the NHL.

For all intents and purposes, that injury finished Moller’s season.

Last Fall, Moller, 21, was assigned to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate, to start the 2009-10 season, a demotion of sorts. He played in 43 regular season games with the Monarchs, scoring 19 goals and adding 28 assists for 47 points with 26 penalty minutes.

Moller also scored two goals and tallied five assists for seven points in 16 AHL playoff games as the Monarchs advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

“The first year, when I made the [Kings], the team wasn’t as good as it was this year,” said Moller, who was selected by the Kings in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. “Then I got hurt at Christmas my first year and I didn’t really make the lineup after I came back from injury. The year after, I didn’t make the team out of training camp.”

“It was tough,” added Moller. “It sucks to get sent down after playing up pretty much all year. But that’s the business, I guess.”

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

Alexander Frolov‘s tenure as a Los Angeles King officially came to an end yesterday, as he reportedly agreed to terms with the New York Rangers on a one year contract. The 20th overall pick of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft spent 10 seasons in the Kings organization, 7 of those years in a Kings uniform. Last season, the final year of his contract, was a huge disappointment. Held to his lowest point total since the 2005-06 season, Frolov became the centerpiece of criticism. Other than a couple of offensive spurts, Frolov never was the offensive powerhouse scouts and fans alike knew he could be. His drop from the first line to the third was well deserved by many, and his inefficiency to work with Terry Murray‘s offensive gameplan didn’t help his cause. His departure is no surprise, as Kings GM Dean Lombardi noted earlier in the off-season there was a “slim chance” Frolov would return as a King next season. However, there was an offer on the table for Frolov after the failure to lure in Ilya Kovalchuk. The meetings were short, with both sides understanding it was time to move on. The 28 year-old winger out of Moscow, Russia leaves a small imprint on Kings history, recording 169 goals and 217 assists for the franchise. Was I frustrated with him the majority of last season? Yes, as I’m sure most of you were. However, the contributions Frolov attributed to the Kings franchise cannot be ignored. Here is a look at the career of Alexander Frolov in a Los Angeles Kings uniform:

2000 NHL Entry Draft: Alexander Frolov was selected 20th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. A talented winger out of Russia, Frolov’s expectations weren’t low. His ability to handle the puck in the offensive zone was intriguing. Here, you had a player that was able to create chances for linemates, as well as finish opportunities himself. Frolov knew how to create a comfortable offensive presence, giving teammates ample opportunity to find open space, and always dependable with puck presence behind the goal line. The Kings had a sure winner, a skilled winger with offensive smarts, and the strength to do so. I’ll continue to say it, Alexander Frolov may have the best puck protection skills behind the goal-line I’ve ever seen. Frolov chose to play in Russia for two seasons instead of opting for the American Hockey League. Frolov joined the Kings in the 2002-2003 season.

LA Kings Debut: Alexander Frolov made his debut for the Los Angeles Kings in 2002, making the team out of training camp. In his seventh game, Frolov tallied his first career goal against…who else? The New York Rangers. Frolov immediately made an impact on struggling Kings rosters recording 31 points in his rookie season, and eclipsing that total in 2003-2004 with 48 points before the 2004-2005 NHL lockout sent him to CSKA Moscow to join them in the regular season and Dynamo Moscow for a short playoff stint.

2004-2009: Frolov came out with a vengeance after the lockout, with a 54 point season, again with a struggling Kings roster. His future always looked bright, as he often sparkled surrounded with a roster of average at-best players. He continued to grow into a blossoming NHL star, recording his career high in points with 35 goals and 36 assists. Frolov had stapled himself as a face of a Kings roster that was beginning to look toward a bright future full of young talent. Frolov’s point production went down the next two seasons, as the Kings began to dump veterans for young prospects. It may have not been obvious at the time, but Frolov didn’t seem to mesh well with the incoming core of young players. Frolov began to show signs of his nonchalant play that slowly began to turn heads. Heading into the 2009-2010 season, Frolov was playing for his contract. A one year option was up in the air with the Kings front office as well as his value to other teams if he was granted Unrestricted Free Agency.

2009-2010: You’d expect a strong season from Frolov, especially in a contract season coupled with the talent around him. Talk about playing under expectations, Frolov continued his trend of disappointing from seasons before. Lackluster effort may have been the biggest problem with the fan-base. With the organization? Terry Murray felt the need to bench Frolov out of frustration with his play, and Kings GM Dean Lombardi expressed a lack of communication between him and the Russian winger. The relationship between the team and Alexander was falling apart, even amidst a playoff season. Frolov showed signs of life in the second half with a couple of 4-game point streaks, even carrying the offense at times. However, he wasn’t consistent. That’s what you need if you’re going to be pay 4 million a season. The season ended in the 1st round of the playoffs and so did Alexander Frolov as an LA King. To have a gut feeling a player is gone before it actually it happens is not a good sign. It was clearly time to move on for this player and this organization. I wish the best of luck to Alexander Frolov with the New York Rangers, as well as hoping the signing of Alexei Ponikarovsky is a solid substitute. What do you think?

Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty had an opportunity to sit down with new Kings assistant coach John Stevens at Development Camp this summer. Here’s his interview.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — While fans of the Los Angeles Kings are up in arms over their team’s inability to improve themselves to this point in the 2010 off-season, venting their frustrations in no uncertain terms on virtually every Kings-related forum on the World Wide Web, life does indeed go on.

With the departure of assistant coach Mark Hardy, who resigned on June 11 (see LA Kings Assistant Coach Mark Hardy Resigns), the Kings strengthened their reputation as “Flyers West” when they hired John Stevens as an assistant coach on June 24, 2010 (see Los Angeles Kings Name John Stevens As Assistant Coach).

Stevens, 44, earned a 120-109-34 record as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, a position he accepted on October 22, 2006, after the Flyers got off to a 1-6-1 start that season.

The native of Campbellton, New Brunswick began that season as an assistant coach and wound up leading the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007-08, before being fired on December 5, 2009, after the team was shutout in two consecutive games.

Coming from the Flyers, Stevens was familiar to Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi and Vice President/Assistant General Manager Ron Hextall, who both worked for the Flyers before joining the Kings.

Stevens should be able to mesh well with Kings head coach Terry Murray, who was a Flyers assistant coach under Stevens.

“Terry and I worked together for a couple of years,” said Stevens. “When you work with another coach for that length of time, you’re pretty comfortable with the way things are run.”

“It’s a great organization,” added Stevens. “Development Camp has been pretty neat for me to be involved with, to see how things are run. It’s only been a few days, but it’s been great.”

Although Stevens has only had a couple of months to get his feet wet with the Kings, so far, so good.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.

The push for Ilya Kovalchuk to become an LA King officially came to an end today. Kovalchuk reportedly agreed to terms with the New Jersey Devils, with an official announcement to come tomorrow afternoon at the Prudential Center. Fans held their breath for almost three weeks in hopes of acquiring the most coveted free agent on the market. Up until the first day of free agency, the Kings were considered the front-runner to sign the 27 year old Russian. However, Dean Lombardi and the front office never seemed to offer a contract to Kovalchuk’s satisfaction. Multiple times the Kings cut talks with the winger, and multiple times they were back in the hunt, even hosting Kovalchuk last week for negotiations in Los Angeles. In the end, Lombardi clearly wasn’t ready to commit the money or years Kovalchuk demanded. And why not? There’s a young core to build for the Kings, and that should be top priority. The Kings still need a top-caliber forward, and there’s no question that vacant space will be filled via free agency or a trade before the season starts. Below I’ll break down the possible free-agent options the Kings have to acquire the missing piece in their offense:

Frolov now an option? Before I start with the attractive free agents still on the market, and possible trade bait, Alexander Frolov suddenly becomes an interesting topic. Coming off of an average year, with a few bumps along the way, many feel he and the Kings are parting ways. However, does Kovalchuk’s decision to sign with New Jersey put Frolov back in the picture for the Kings? Maybe. Maybe not. His lackluster effort has been his biggest downfall, but have we taken his point production for granted? Terry Murray made a point in sitting him last season, stressing his need to follow the “system”. Frolov was mum on responses to his benching, but came back solid. You can expect 50 points from the winger, averaging near 20 goals and 30 assist a year. Bottom line: The KHL is appealing to Frolov, which would offer more money, a lengthier contract, and provide an opportunity to play in his home country.

Free Agents that could fit:

Alexei Ponikarovsky: Ponikarovsky, at 30 years old, is coming off of a pretty productive season. Dealt to the Penguins at the trade-deadline from Toronto, Ponikarovsky never really meshed well with his new team. He had a career high 61 points in 2009, and recorded a combined total of 50 points with Toronto and Pittsburgh last season. At 30 years old, a lengthy contract may be desired, which may scare Lombardi away. Ponikarovsky is a great fit to a 2nd or 3rd line, and has a very impressive two-sided game, recording 18 takeaways, 43 blocked shots and 146 hits.

Sean Bergenheim: I like the guy. I see this as low risk, high reward. Bergenheim, only 26 years old out of Finland, is coming off of his third NHL season. Bergenheim, another winger who plays well on both ends of the ice, would be a great fit for the young roster we have. Many won’t find Bergenheim enticing, as he won’t provide instant star power, but his upside is very pleasing. In his three seasons, Bergenheim has hit the 20 point mark, and recorded 10 goals each year. A big plus, much like Ponikarovsky, are his stats in his own zone. Last year Bergenheim recorded 57 takeaways, 37 blocked shots, and 127 hits.

Ruslan Fedotenko: Yet another UFA winger out of the Ukraine from the Penguins. Fedotenko is about the same player you’re going to get out of Ponikarovsky. Physical, solid two-way game, and good for about 30 points. Fedotenko’s -17 rating is a bit scary. Quite frankly, there’s not too much to be excited about with Fedotenko, except being one of the best available UFA wingers still on the market.

As for Restricted Free Agents, there are a few on the board, but the problem is acquiring them. The Nashville Predators have yet to agree on terms with Patric Hornqvist, who would be a great fit. Young in age, and coming off of a 51 point season. Steve Downie, who’s rights belong to Tampa Bay, would also be a spectacular fit. Also 23 years old, and coming off of a 46 point season, I’m surprised Tampa Bay has yet to agree on a contract. I’m only throwing a couple of RFA’s out there, because I could list them all day long. The big factor is the team who owns their rights. They hold the key, and players such as Downie and Hornqvist demand higher pay than their current club, and often times, draft picks as well.

Trade possibilities? Free agents may not be the option for Dean Lombardi and the front office. In fact, the possibility of acquiring a winger via trade could very well be a better deal. I want to hear your thoughts on possible trades. Who do you have your eyes on? Who would you be willing to give up? Any other free agents catch your eye? The page turns on Ilya Kovalchuk, let’s get chatting on new options.

The Los Angeles Kings have been active in the front office the past couple of days, re-signing five players. Are they the moves fans have been hopefully anticipating? No, but building a solid roster does not entail glamorous front office activity. What Dean Lombardi and Co. have done is extended the progress of young talent in the Kings system for one more year. More importantly, the Kings agreed to terms with RW Brad Richardson before taking the the route of arbitration to court. Below I’ll break down Richardson’s deal, and the four RFA’s who were recently granted new contracts:

Richardson Signed: On Saturday, the Kings announced the re-signing of Brad Richardson to a one-year deal, paying the right winger $900,000. Not a surprising move here, and I never expected the Kings to take this to court. In two seasons with the Kings, Richardson has recorded 11 goals and 27 assists. His first season was marred by a foot injury. However, Richardson proved to be a key player last season, contributing by finishing offensively and creating chances for others with his hard work low in the zone. You’re not going to find a better 2nd/3rd line winger who can grind to create opportunities like Richardson.

Reports have shown that the Kings recently signed Trevor Lewis, Rich Clune, Corey Elkins, and Marc – Andre Cliche to one year deals. In no position to negotiate a lucrative deal, each player is said to have taken Lombardi’s initial offer.

Trevor Lewis, the 2006 1st round Entry Draft selection, has the clock ticking on his development in the Kings organization. Lewis missed the majority of the season last year with Manchester with an upper body injury. However, his comeback was strong, and may have been the clincher for the Kings in holding on to him for one more season. Lewis had a solid post-season for the Monarchs, and needs to continue to build on that in training camp.

Rich Clune provided some energy and intensity to the Kings roster for 14 games last season. Clune recorded a measly two points, but scoring isn’t his role. He quickly made his presence as an enforcer, and his quick uprise with the big club last year made it no surprise to me that the Kings allowed Raitis Ivanans to walk, especially with Kevin Westgarth developing as well. I’d bet on Clune making the team out of training camp as a 3rd/4th line enforcer. Westgarth is clearly his biggest competition.

Corey Elkins is the oldest of the RFA’s, but showed plenty of promise last year with the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL. In his first year of professional hockey, Elkins recorded 21 goals and 22 assists. His post-season performance was impressive as well, tallying 8 goals in 14 games. His opportunity of making the Kings out of training camp is up in the air, although I fully expect Elkins to start the season in Manchester to continue to develop in only his second year of professional hockey.

Marc – Andre Cliche, the Alternate Captain for the Manchester Monarchs last season, has yet to separate himself from the rest of the talent in the AHL. I don’t expect Cliche to start the season in Los Angeles, but wouldn’t be surprised to see a lengthier NHL appearance (one game) than last season, to truly test his stature as a centerman.