One for the road
.
For an accomplishment you’ll celebrate for a lifetime, the first week’s been quite the thrill.
The Kings’ first Stanley Cup in the franchise’s 45-year existence has called for a slew of celebrations the past seven nights, and that still doesn’t do the award justice – not even close.
And talk about the spotlight, they own it. Stemming from the parade celebration, to the appearances on numerous TV shows and dialogue with the President, the attention and respect has never been higher.
Many more perks in between. Like getting drunk, getting sh*tfaced, and also getting real f*cked up. This, on the regular. This, much deserved.
The majority of the team has taken some time with the Cup in Las Vegas, having top run of any night-club of their choosing straight up to tomorrow’s NHL Awards Show.
Because it feels like this
You’re talking about the Draft?: And it hits Kings fans in the face this time around, the 2012 NHL Draft slated for this weekend in Pittsburgh. Usually, well most of the time, the NHL Draft was something to look forward to for this franchise, another glimmer of hope in drafting the next prospect to push the Kings to the top.
Now that it’s happened, and it’s still so damn fresh, this annual commencement of the NHL‘s new youth will be in the back of most Kings fans’ minds.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t important, however. The Kings truly built the core of this season’s club through the draft, twelve players to be exact. Don’t expect this year’s draft to be too exciting anyway, the Kings have seven picks, with only one in the first round – that being the last selection.
At least draft analysis hasn’t been the centerpiece to writing this time around. There’s something new, one of the perks.
To say the least, I don’t even see Dean Lombardi acting on a draft-day trade, unless it’s in the later rounds, and very favorable to the Kings. Highly unlikely all together.
Got the Cup
But where’s the puck?: It’s always nice to keep a few artifacts from such a great moment, such as the puck used up to the final horn in the Kings’ Cup-clinching Game 6 affair. It’s bears little value in comparison to the Kings victory, but still makes for an intriguing mystery.
Is this Chris Pronger -esque?
The extremely mild issue of the lost puck has been studied quite well, honing in on Patrick Elias as being the biggest, and only suspect in the “puck-gate”. Elias, who has a very good reputation in the league, and could even be considered one of the classiest players in the game, is a surprising player to see do this.
Who knows, and that puck has no forgiven owner – it’s fair game. It’s just unfortunate for it not to be in the right hands. Whatever the reason Elias took it for, and what he did with it, I’m betting it wasn’t solely for spite, if at all. He’s been there before, he’s lost there before.
It’s somewhere.
Three cents for a priceless moment
Copper charm: Back in August, hockey caught the attention of Staples Center for another year of NHL play. In preparation for what would be the most magical season in franchise history, a little luck was thrown into the mix as the Stape’s floor was given a coat of paint and a few layers of frozen water.
No one knew it would happen, but at the time, some charm was given to the Stanley Cup dream.
Three pennies were buried underneath the ice-sheet, directly under the center-ice dot.
Luc Robitaille, who spent 14 of his 19 seasons in the NHL in a Kings uniform, placed a penny dated from 2002, the year he won his only Stanley Cup Championship, albeit with the Detroit Red Wings.
Bailey, who is known to be a dedicated Indianapolis Colts fan, placed a penny dated from 2006, the year the Colts won the Super Bowl.
There was one more copper disc added to the mix before the floor was frozen over. This, a penny from 1893, the year in which the Stanley Cup was first awarded.
I’m not one for superstition, but this time around, the effort to grace this historically struggling franchise with some luck certainly paid off. And it was pretty cheap, too.
The heart of it
The celebration of it
The real taste of it
The ‘hats-off’ to it
The times with it
For that historic run, the top moment of it
The ‘f*ck yeah’ of it
The holding of it
The local call of it
The beauty of it.
LAK-NJD GAME 6 RECAP in Episode 169 HERE
Follow the blog on Twitter HERE
Get your Official KingsCast Apparel HERE
KingsCast Hockey Podcast on — Facebook - Twitter - Youtube
