Kopitar speaks

I don't think I'm going out on a limb here, but based on Kopi's answers, it seems like the only people happier than he is right now are Kings fans. This is a great day in Kings history!

I'm in love...

Thanks Rich!

Go kings go

Thanks, Jill! Good get on that interview! A great day for King's fans!

Before it's all said and done, I think Kopi is going to turn out to be my all-time favorite King. There have been some great ones over the years, but his combination of skill, attitude and personality may top them all.

I have a man-crush on Kopitar and I am not afraid to admit it.

It's so great to hear that he WANTS to stay in LA. We need more guys like him. Amazingly talented with a desire to be here and win.

His statements alone could have an impact on future UFA signings, because I'm sure if not by now, soon Kopitar will have not only the respect of his teammates, but also his opponents...

Gaborik anyone? jk.

But on a more general level, this may be a springboard for possible players coming to LA

Yes Petey, developing a bit of a fan-man crush too...;) Lets hope he continues to improve and stays healthy. Oh, and that management keeps putting the right players around him..

lol @ "a couple of victories"

To me, and I assume to most long suffering Kings fans, is that the PLAYERS see a bright future in L.A.! Usually you get the "well, I like playing here because of the climate and the beach and all." I'm very encouraged to see that one of the best Kings in the current group wants to play here because he thinks the team is going to win.

Now that Lombardi seems to be on track, let's turn our critical attentions towards the marketing and promotions department.

1 - Stop the ear-splitting and embarrassing presentation inside the building.
2 - Give us a Classic looking Uniform that we can be proud of. I'm personally in favor of something simple like Penn State's football uniform, or (not that I'm a fan of the team) the Raider's uniforms. Detroit and Toronto and Montreal set the standard for Classic appeal in the NHL. Let's get it right once, and stick with it, be it Purple, Gold, Black and White, or something new like Cardinal or Navy. Stripes, horizontal or vertical.
3 - Southern Califonia is full of hard-working, non-hollywood, non-corporate individuals. Keep this in mind. Quit catering to the fickle and disinterested corporate money.
4 - Keep AEG and the names Leiweke and Anschutz in the closet. They only make the Kings look bad. Sell 49% interest to somebody who really loves hockey and cares about building a lasting ethos.

From Kopi's answer to the last question - "I want to be a part of that."

And so do many, many other people including fans, players, hockey staff, front office, management and dare I say owners and media. It's human nature to want to be a part of something special, whatever that particular thing is, that an individual is inspired by. As the enthusiasm and interest builds the franchise can, hopefully, evolve into one that the fans, city, hockey people in general and the league can be proud of.

That leads me to cristobal's comments. Sounds like a good start.

its great to hear when guys want to play for the team. He's a true King.

ok I never want to say it..oh hell yeah I do
to all the DL bashers and haters:
It's time for you all to admit that you were wrong all summer about the direction of the club.

3 hours to go...I can't wait!!!!!

@Cristobal: I don't know what you're talking about. I think the in arena presentations are great. And I LOVE the current Kings uniforms. Best we've had as a franchise! Although I wish the whole league would switch back to home whites.

@nykingfan: It's certainly looks like the team has turned a corner with the signings of Brown last year and Sully and Kopi in the past week. But we all know this franchise has a cruel way of torturing it's fans. Right now we're heading in the right direction, but 1 bad move by Lombardi and it's all un-done.

I'm not afraid to love this team again.

NYKingsfan

- To the contrary. It looks more like Lombardi has realized how wrong he'd gotten it. The majority of fans were right. We wanted to stop wasting money on Calders and handzuses, sign our young players to the better contract than the free-agents, find an adequate coach, and spend some of the money AEG is supposed to spend on this club. All who bashed Lombardi for the Crawford, Cloutier, Cammo, and other issues, were dead-on. After all, if he'd been getting it right the past 2 seasons, there would never have been all the abuse and gnashing of teeth. Plus, the only player who Lombardi's drafted who looks ready to make a steady contribution, so far, is his no. 2 overall pick from this season. Perhaps the players drafted over the first two drafts were not of great quality, but its a bit of a disappointment that Lewis and Bernier aren't yet ready to slot into this club.

nykingfan said: "to all the DL bashers and haters: It's time for you all to admit that you were wrong all summer about the direction of the club."

I'll also take this one on. First off, this signing, does indeed, set a new course for the Kings organization. Signing Kopitar was a must and the fact that it happened now and not next summer is very encouraging. However, without having won anything, let alone make the playoffs in five years, we still have a long, long way to go before the Kings are a perennial winner and a respected franchise.

So nyfan, it's hardly "time" for anyone who is critical of Lombardi to admit they're wrong. What I do admit is that he got this one right. However, he's still taking too much of a risk in not having stabilizing veterans on this team. It's too young and can easily backfire on him. I just hope no one gets hurt because of it. The only way I'll be wrong in that regard, is if we compete for 8th place and don't sustain any serious injuries. Otherwise, it's just another year as the joke of the league.

I know, I know, just wait until next year, or two years, or three years max... then we'll have a great team... I am sooo sick of that bulls*^t!!!

I almost can't believe I'm reading what I'm reading from out of the mouth of a Kings player(s). We have seriously turned a corner. Next season we will have no trouble at all attracting UFA's if thats the way to go. When you have Brownie meeting with prospects, and shepherding the rookies to make the transition easier, When you have the Kopis stating forcefully that "I want to be a part of that" (the Kings), when you have POS signed and happy, you have a team, A TEAM. I can't believe it. We have a team. The Los Angeles Kings!

Wow.

Playoffs: 7 years.

Come on...

"What's your reaction to the contract you just signed?"

Is that a serious question? What the hell is his answer supposed to be? We can do better than this softball stuff.

Next time, "Was this a number you came to pretty easily, given the huge deals signed by other young forwards in your age bracket, Crosby, Malkin, and Ovechkin?"

@VQ

Kopitar is not in the same bracket as any of those players. At least not yet.

I wasn't talking about having success this season..like all other Kings fans, I'm hoping we do make the playoffs, but let's be realistic. What I was talking about was the building of the franchise from the ground up...that's what DL promised to do and so far has delivered.
Top class free agents weren't going to be coming to the Kings because we weren't very good. At least now there is the promise of good things to come and that's because of the drafting Dl has done...I'm sorry, if you can't see that, you're blind.
Every "expert" has said the same thing about the Kings...a team on the upswing...we haven't had that for many a year.

Wavesinair..you couldn't be more wrong in your assessment of the Kings not having veterans...what do you mean.."getting hurt"? Arte you talking about injury? That's silly..Are you talking about nobody to lead the team? This is Brownie and Kopitar's team now. Brownie's been around long enough..He's not a rookie anymore, just very young.We have veterans like Armym, Handzus, Preissing, OD...

Cristobal..talk to me in a couple of years if the draft picks still haven't progressed...Bernier got hurt in camp..that's why he didn't make the club. It had nothing to do with poor production.