 since 2001-02, and are looking to turn things around. They seemingly have a tough road ahead, since even when they were one of the NHL's most visible teams in the Gretzky era, the Kings still only won one division championship. With L.A. having never really provided a consistently strong team, first and foremost, can they make a serious run at the playoffs in 2009-2010?Although last season was another disappointing one, the Kings' youthful squad did have a few bright spots, especially their strong group of young defenders who managed to allow the eleventh lowest number of goals in the league without having a definitive number one goalie. The biggest move for Los Angeles in the offseason was undoubtedly the acquisition of free agent defenseman Rob Scuderi from the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins. Scuderi will be relied upon as a leader, and to assist in molding the Kings' young defenders. This was an excellent move because the Kings are a team that is long on blue line talent, but short on defensive experience. In an attempt to jumpstart the lagging Kings offense, the other big move was the acquisition of veteran winger Ryan Smyth from Colorado for defensemen Tom Preissing and Kyle Quincey. Smyth and Scuderi are very similar in that both would skate through a brick wall if they felt it would help the team, and both should be equally valuable in the locker room as on the ice. For the Kings to be successful this season, they need to score more goals. While Smyth will give them a boost in that area, Los Angeles will need to see further improvement from young stars Alexander Frolov (32 goals, 59 points) and last year's leading scorer, Anze Kopitar (27 goal, 66 points). Along with underrated winger Dustin Brown and solid centers Michal Handzus and Jaret Stoll, the Kings have enough talent to build two solid lines, but have to hope for perfect health and marked improvement from their young guns to provide more than adequate offense. The Los Angeles defense is a completely different situation. Drew Doughty, the second overall pick in the draft, was a really impressive rookie last season, and the acquisition of Scuderi should allow his offensive talents to really improve. Along with Doughty, former top pick Jack Johnson is beginning to shine as a shutdown defender, while Matt Greene was so strong defensively that he was the only King to finish with a positive +/- rating last season. This young and extremely talented group of defensemen has no limits as to how intimidating they can eventually be to opponents. The Kings also have some young and exceptional talent in goal. Jonathan Quick not only posted a winning record in 44 games last season, but appears to have locked up the third goalie spot for the Olympics with Team USA. As a second option, star prospect Jonathan Bernier, who is only 21, appears ready for the NHL, leaving the Kings with a very solid situation in goal. This season could be the one where the young Los Angeles Kings make the move to turn things around. To be there as Los Angeles makes their way back to the top, get your Los Angeles Kings tickets now and come to the Staples Center to witness resurgence of the Kings and their quest for the Cup.
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