By Jason Lewis
Yesterday the Los Angeles Kings got a little bit tougher, nastier, and improved the quality of their player nicknames by a wide margin with the addition of Daniel ‘Carbomb’ ‘Gorilla Salad’ Carcillo.
Carcillo, 28, who is just coming off a Stanley Cup winning season with the Chicago Blackhawks was traded yesterday for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2015 NHL entry draft. The King City, Ontario native was used sparingly by the Hawks but still managed to play enough to earn a ring.
While the immediate reaction seemed to be confusion, and my initial reaction also bordered on, “What for?” The move makes complete sense for a couple of different reasons. Does anyone recall last postseason how much you hated David Perron by the end of the Blues series? That’s right, the same David Perron who took every opportunity he could to fall on, sit on, spray ice at, and get in the face of King goaltender Jonathan Quick. I’m sure you also all remember Raffi Torres taking the head off of Jarret Stoll and what a huge impact that made for the remainder of the playoffs. How about T.J. Galiardi trying to do his best Perron impression during the Shark series? The Kings’ fourth line was also physically dominated for a good majority of the playoffs.
Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves or overconfident and say Dan Carcillo is the panacea for all the ill that transpired in the playoffs towards the Kings. He’s not. However, what Carcillo is when he is at his best, is a grade-A agitator, distraction, and a decent hockey player to boot. Carcillo can be quite effective at getting into the heads of opposing teams and fans alike when he is out there doing his thing. The Kings have always carried a sort of quiet agitation to their game, but it just got a little more verbal and tangible with the addition of Car Bomb. Instead of trying to take a run at Quick, with Carcillo on the ice it’s possible the teams get tired of hearing him yap and go at him instead.
Another huge factor, and one that comes as a surprise to me, is the recent rumors swirling around about the contract negotiations of Kyle Clifford. Whether it’s because the Kings feel he is asking for too much money, or they feel he hasn’t stepped up when the opportunity presented itself, all signs seem to be pointing to Clifford being on his way out of town. I myself didn’t believe it to a certain extent until I read a tweet last night from Dennis Bernstein of the Fourth Period stating the following:
Well, there you have it. Clifford, 22, had a great season when you consider the step back he took in the 2011-12 season after getting absolutely jacked by both Ryan Reeves of the St. Louis Blues:
...and Sheldon Brookbank of the Ducks in late 2011.
Clifford would be a decent loss considering his offensive upside, but if he is asking for too much money then he is signing his own death warrant. Dean Lombardi still has Clifford, Nolan, and the hardworking Trevor Lewis to resign with just over $2.2 million in cap space to do so. I would be surprised if the Kings let Lewis go, and Clifford might have priced himself out of the picture and the good faith of Dean Lombardi and the Los Angeles Kings.
More on Daniel Carcillo though. At 28, Carcillo still has a lot left to offer in the league. He plays a simple agitating style and has twice chipped in over 20 points in his usually abbreviated six seasons of NHL play. He’s never truly been an every day player, but Carcillo has been noted as a great locker room guy wherever he has gone. Shortly after the trade, and even before it, people were already mentioning how Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were good buddies with Carcillo back in the Flyer days of old, before the dry island mess and the goaltending implosion. In one of the more cohesive and laid back locker rooms in the league Carcillo shouldn’t have a problem fitting right in, especially if he can endear himself to his teammates and coaches by staying out of the box and while still playing the edgy style that has got him his reputation. If the Kings do end up losing Clifford, and in all likelihood it seems it’s going to happen, Carcillo is a cheap replacement that only cost the Kings a conditional sixth-round pick. His contract is cheap at 850k a year, and he is signed through next year and that is all. By that time Kyle Clifford 2.0, AKA Andy Andreoff, might be ready to go as an NHL player, making the transition seamless. With the division reorganized next year to include the Oilers, Flames and Canucks, the Kings had to get tougher and a little bit nastier.
So love it, hate it, disgusted by it, or intrigued by it, Car Bomb/Gorilla Salad, whichever you prefer, is now an L.A. King.
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