Yes, indeed, despite the promise of impending labor Armageddon and a prolonged work-stoppage, your friends at Puck Daddy are previewing the 2012-13 NHL season (whenever the heck it starts). Why? Because this is the most important election in the history of all-time ever, and you need to know the candidates — like the Los Angeles Kings.



When coach Terry Murray was fired after 29 games, the Kings were 13-12-4 and couldn't put the puck in the net. So there was some shock and awe when Darryl Sutter was brought on to replace him, considering he wasn't exactly known for offense fireworks.

Turns out he was the perfect coach to finally get Los Angeles its first Stanley Cup.

Sutter went 25-13-11 in the regular season and the Kings steamrolled through the Western Conference playoffs with a 12-2 record. They went on to defeat the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final in six games, with goalie Jonathan Quick taking home the Conn Smythe. They were the first No. 8 seed to ever win the Final.

It was Dean Lombardi that hired Sutter and made several key additions -- the Mike Richards trade in 2011, the Jack Johnson for Jeff Carter swap, bringing on Willie Mitchell, Dustin Penner and Simon Gagne in the last few years -- to build this champion.

Will we watch Quick dropping F-bombs at another Cup celebration at the end of next season?



"We're Like The Flyers, Only With Goaltending and a Stanley Cup.

"OK, So Nothing Like The Flyers, in Hindsight.

The band is back together. The Kings did more retaining of talent — like Jonathan Quick's 10-year extension and Jarret Stoll's 3-year deal — than acquiring new players. They even hung onto Jonathan Bernier during a summer when several teams were looking to upgrade their netminding.

Forwards Scott Parse and Trent Hunter weren't re-signed. Andrei Loktionov was assigned to the AHL before the lockout but instead left for Russia.

At forward … The Kings bring back a deep and talented group that played their roles to perfection in the postseason.

The Anze Kopitar line with Justin Williams and Dustin Brown dominated the postseason to the tune of 55 points in 20 games combined. After reportedly being shopped by the Kings at the trade deadline, Brown scored 20 points in 20 games in the playoffs with a plus-16. Kopitar had the same plus/minus and point total, to go along with 76 points in the regular season. A star was born.

Mike Richards had high notes and low moments in his first year with the Kings, failing to post big offensive numbers (44 points) but doing plenty of little things right. Carter scored nine points in 16 games after the trade with Columbus, and 13 more in the playoffs. Dustin Penner — more famous for breakfast-related injuries than production in the regular season — had 11 points and two game-winning goals in the playoffs. Jarret Stoll popped in 21 points during the regular season. Gagne, when healthy, was an asset on the left side.

Like any championship team, it was the grunts that made the difference for the Kings. Players like Trevor Lewis, Dwight King, Colin Fraser and Jordan Nolan played key roles in every series and added unexpected offense. Brad Richardson returns, and Kevin Westgarth is back to drop the hammer.

On defense … Drew Doughty's regular season was thrown off by his holdout, but he still played 24:54 per night and posted 36 points. His 16-point performance and 26:09 TOI in the Cup run put the 22-year-old into the MVP conversation. His partner Rob Scuderi was steady and strong.

Mitchell was previously Doughty's veteran guide, and took on the role with rookie Slava Voynov. The stay-at-home veteran defenseman was a key on the Kings' penalty kill. Voynov, despite the expected freshman lapses, enabled Lombardi to move Jack Johnson without creating a lineup hole.

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