The return of Jonathan Quick?

You've got to feel for New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. October 1 he was celebrating scoring a goalie goal as the Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1. A little over a week later, he's out for the season with what sounds like a horrific leg injury. I found out about it when this popped up on my Facebook feed this morning:

 

 

This sucks not only for Shesterkin, but also for the Rangers. Shesterkin is a Vezina-winning goalie and losing him means this could be a long, miserable season for the Rags and their fans. According to the article linked above, their backup goalie is also currently injured. The hockey gods can be cruel.

Of course, when I saw this, after my initial reaction of how awful this is, was to think of Jonathan Quick. Kidding, of course. Then, a few hours after the Shesterkin news, this popped up:

 

 

Quick retired from the Rangers last season and is now NY's Director of Goaltender Development, but with all the team's injured netminders he may need to develop himself right back onto the ice. And of course I think that would be amazing, to see him back in net, even if it's not with the Kings. Probably not what the Rags wanted, but I'd love to see it. The improbability is what makes it so fascinating. Imagine if he went back into net and had a bang-up season. Crazier things have happened in this sport.

 

I do have a lot of sympathy for Shesterkin. The season isn't even two weeks old and his season is over. This is also devastating for the team and their fans. As a fan I can't imagine how crushed they are right now. 

 

Props to Complete Hockey News on Facebook for making my day a lot more interesting with this news.

 

That's Captain Doughty to you

The Los Angeles Kings have named Drew Doughty as team captain, succeeding Anze Kopitar, who retired at the end of last season. Doughty becomes the franchise's 15th captain.

 

Love him, but this is why I never bothered to collect autographs.

 

Doughty is the last remaining player from the Kings' 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup Champion teams. He had been vocal about wanting the captaincy and with his experience (both NHL and internationally) he's a good choice. The team also named three alternate captains: Mikey Anderson, Adrian Kempe, and Artemi Panarin.

 

This is the last year of Doughty's contract and could end up being his final NHL season, although I don't know if he feels that way about it. There's been talk he might take a "hometown discount" to stay on the team beyond the 2026-27 season. All I know is that it's going to be tough when he retires, whenever that is. He has been beyond entertaining to watch and was a huge part of the team's Stanley Cup successes.

 

Now if I can just figure out where the games are broadcast, I could actually watch them instead of just following them on NHL.com. It's like a play by play with no audio or video. But games (for various sports) are all over the place and hard to find these days. There's even a thread about it on LetsGoKings.com because even diehard fans are having difficulty finding where games are shown. The days of pretty much everything being on one channel (Prime Ticket and then Fox Sports West for the Kings over the years) seem to be over. 

 

So, congrats Drew, and I hope you have a great (and healthy!) season. 

 

Updated 9/19/26: Around the time I was writing this post, the Kings announced that their games will be carried on ABTV (previously Fan Duel). My first thought - what the heck is ABTV? Well, I found it on the Spectrum lineup and to my great surprise, it's the Angels' channel. It's where The Brother goes to watch the Angels lose. So I think I've finally found my Kings again! Between this and Doughty's excitement about being named captain, I actually feel like this could be a fun hockey season! The Kings' first regular season game is September 30 at Colorado.

 

NEVER, EVER FORGET

I NEVER will. I will never, ever forget.

  

I just watched it on the news. Other people had to live it. 

 

From around the internet:

 

Michael Cammarata, the youngest firefighter lost on 9/11. He had been on the job nine weeks. We need more fine men like him, not less. Imagine the life he was robbed of.

 

Drone show in NYC recreates the Twin Towers. 

 

A memorial from Fullerton, CA (Orange County). You can watch the video here.

 

I remember reading about this years ago, and it's just as devastating now as it was then: 9/11 Search and Rescue dogs became depressed over not finding survivors, so "fake" survivor discoveries were staged to keep their morale up.

 

Also on the subject of 9/11 search and rescue dogs, the legacy of Bretagne, the last surviving 9/11 search dog. She would later work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

 

Twice.

 

One of the bodies actually found:

 

 

This is a fantastic article about the famous "Falling Man" photograph and the photographer who took it.

 

Make yourself watch this video.

 

Various images snicked from the internets over the years:

 

 

 

In addition to American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, which were hijacked and flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, American 77 was flown into the Pentagon and United 77 was heading for Washington DC when passengers fought back, resulting in the plane crashing into a field in Pennsylvania. 

 

 

Getty Images

Two members of the Los Angeles Kings scouting staff, Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis, were onboard Flight 175. The Kings mascot, Bailey, is named for Ace. This article about them was published on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

 

The Budweiser tribute commercial that only ran once because the company didn't want to be perceived as benefiting from the tragedy. It's probably been viewed millions of times on YouTube.

 

 

Updating (some more from today):

 

I don't think I've ever seen this one before: "They did it on purpose."  

 

Hell has prepared a special place for these non-humans:

 

Because 9/11 memorials are apparently hilarious to some people.

See the video here.

 

I was really hoping we could get him back in L.A.

Smart move by the Rags: NY Rangers Hire Jonathan Quick as Director of Goaltending Development.

 

I was sort of hoping we could have gotten Quick back here in L.A. to work with Kings goalies, but his trade by the Kings resulted in some bad blood between him and the front office, so it was probably a longshot. Add in that Quick is an east coast native and childhood Rangers fan and he seems to have a good relationship with NYR, so it was probably inevitable that he'd stay with that organization. And good on them for keeping him. Wish the Kings had been as smart.

 

So I'll have to settle for memorieeeeees!!!!

 

Reflecting on the end of the 2012/2014 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings

Recently two of the most important and beloved Kings in the history of the team announced their retirements. Guys who were key members of the team Kings fans had always dreamed of, the team we'd waited decades for. The team that GM Dean Lombardi built and Coach Darryl Sutter finally whipped into shape. The team that finally made it fun to be a Kings fan.

 

Part of me wants to cry like a baby. Another part of me wants to graciously accept that all good things must come to an end. I'm leaning towards sobbing piteously.

 

With the retirement of Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty is the last remaining King from the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup champion teams still on the roster.

 

The captain, Dustin Brown, the first King to ever lift the Stanley Cup, retired without fanfare (his choice) in 2022. Now with both Kopi and Quickie wrapping it up, I started thinking about the rest of those rosters and some of those players we loved so much.

 

Trevor Lewis just announced his retirement from hockey. He left the Kings in 2019 as a free agent and returned to the Kings for two more seasons in 2023-2025.

 

Jeff Carter was traded to Pittsburgh in 2021 and retired at the end of the 2024 season.

 

Justin Williams won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 2014 playoffs. He signed with Washington as a free agent in 2015, then with Carolina (with whom he had won his first Stanley Cup in 2006) in 2017 and retired in 2020.

 

Alec Martinez was traded to Vegas in 2020 and won a third Cup with them in 2023. He retired from hockey in 2025.

 

Willie Mitchell signed as a free agent with Florida in 2014 following the Kings' second Cup victory. He retired after two seasons with the Panthers.

 

Matt Greene retired in 2017 and stayed with the Kings in player development.

Jarret Stoll left the Kings in 2015 as a free agent and rejoined the team in 2016 in player development.

 

Kyle Clifford was traded to Toronto in 2020 and retired from hockey in 2025, taking a player development position with the Maple Leafs.

 

Star defenseman Slava Voynov was arrested in October 2014 on charges of domestic violence and was suspended by the NHL. He was convicted and following 90 days in jail was taken into custody by ICE. He opted to voluntarily return to his native Russia rather than going through deportation. He continued his hockey career with Russian teams.

 

Mike Richards's contract with the Kings was terminated in June 2015 following his arrest at the U.S./Canadian border for possession of oxycondone without a prescription. He last played 39 games for Washington in the 2015-2016 season.

 

Tyler Toffoli was traded to Vancouver in 2020. Since then he has played for Montreal, Calgary, New Jersey, Winnipeg, and is currently with the San Jose Sharks. 

 

Which makes Drew Doughty the last player remaining from those teams. 

 

Doughty, who debuted with the Kings at the age of 18, is now 36 and will turn 37 during the 2026-27 season. Part of me wants to beg him to play forever. Another part of me wants to graciously accept that all good things must come to an end.

 

But there was something so magical about those teams. I wish the 2012-2014 rosters could have lasted forever.

 

And while I'm wallowing in Kings nostalgia, how about this oldie but goodie that I posted umpteen times back in the day:

 

Build the time machine and send me back to SMOOCH THE GOALIE!!!

They were just so much damn fun.

 

So I'm trying to be graciously accepting for now. But when Doughty hangs up the skates...BUCKETS. I WILL CRY BUCKETS.

 

Damn, I hate the passage of time.

 

And now Jonathan Quick calls it a career

Turns out Anze Kopitar isn't the only King of Kings to retire at the end of this season - Jonathan Quick, who backstopped the Kings to their two Stanley Cups (2012, 2014) has announced his retirement. Now a New York Ranger, Quick will make his final start tonight against the Florida Panthers. In addition to his Stanley Cup successes, Quick is also the winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history.

 

So, the end of another era for Kings fans. I just wish he could have retired as a career King like Kopi. Enjoy your retirement, Quickie, and thanks for all the fantastic hockey memories!

 

Memorieeeees...

 

 

Updated 7:50pm: Classy move by the Panthers. RESPECT!!!

 

Updated 9:27pm: And here's the video. At the end you can see a couple of guys in Kings Quick jerseys, plus not only was his family there, so was Jeff Carter, who was also a huge part of the Kings' two cups. 

 

I hope Quickie enjoys the heck out of his retirement. I also wonder how he would feel about coaching the Kings' goalies. Just sayin'...

 

End of an era for Kings fans

This is a rough one.

 

Beloved team captain Anze Kopitar played his final regular season home game today, a 1-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Next week the Kings finish the season on the road with games in Seattle, Vancouver, and Calgary.

 

Kopi had announced at the beginning of the season that this would be his last year. He retires as the team's all-time leading points scorer. He also won two Stanley Cups (2012 and 2014) with the Kings. In addition to the point scoring, he also excels at faceoffs. His retirement is going to leave a number of gaping holes in this team.

 

The Kings have won four in a row, but since this was yet another That's So Kings season, they're still fighting to secure a playoff spot. But since the whole division seems to be sucking, they still have a legit shot at it if they don't screw up on the road. This means more Kopi for at least one round of playoffs.

 

Seriously, 90 points gets you 7th place in the Atlantic Division, tied for 6th in the Metropolitan, and tied for 4th in the Central. Point leaders in the other divisions have 106 points (Buffalo), 110 (Carolina), and 114 (Colorado). In fact, the top three teams in both the Atlantic and Central Divisions have over 100 points. The Kings are lucky they aren't in any other division or they'd already be planning their summer vacations.

 

 

I can't believe it's been twenty years. It isn't going to seem like the Kings without him. Now I'm going to watch this again and cry some more.

 

Top pic snicked from the LA Kings website. 

 

Updated 4/13/26: The Kings defeated Seattle 5-3 and have clinched a playoff spot. We haven't seen the last of Kopi at home.

 

Even Hollywood is abandoning Hollywood

Hollywood is following the exodus out of Hollywood, although they aren't going as far as others: The Oscars are leaving the Dolby Theatre for the Peacock Theater.

 

What this means is that the Academy Awards will depart its Hollywood Boulevard location of over twenty years for the L.A. Live complex in Downtown L.A. This will put them near the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center).

 

The problem with this, in my opinion, is two-fold. All of Los Angeles has gone downhill in the past 5-10 years, overrun with drug-addled homeless, increasing crime, and rising cost of living that hugely outpaces the rest of the country (in fact, this pretty much applies to all if not most of California). So Hollywood the town loses one of the few things left that gives it shine and prestige, but the event moves to an area (DTLA) that has even worse problems than Hollywood. I haven't been to DTLA in years, not even to see a Kings game, partly because I no longer feel safe on Metro or the area, and only partly due to the team's lackluster play. So neither location is particularly desirable, but at least Hollywood Boulevard put the ceremony in the heart where it all started for Tinseltown.

 

I lived in Hollywood for fifteen years (1997-2012) and watched it bloom after years of deterioration with the addition of the Kodak Theatre, the return of the Oscars, and the installation of the Red Line subway. You couldn't pay me to live there now. And I remember when the Oscars moved to the Kodak/Dolby - after years at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in DTLA - bringing the ceremony to the industry's namesake town was presented as a big, meaningful deal. I think it's a real hit for Hollywood and Hollywood Boulevard as a destination (albeit one that needs to be cleaned up big time).

 

And it's not just Hollywood the town that's lost much of its luster - the film industry has been dying, especially in the past few years after the 2023 writers and actors strikes. Viewership for the Oscars has plummeted over the years. It's no longer appointment television. What was once a yearly event now barely registers with a huge portion of the public.

 

This isn't the only recent move made by the Academy. They recently announced the broadcast was leaving its long-time home on ABC to YouTube. While this may be a statement about the power of tech over broadcast television, I think it also says something about the drop in viewership. This may make it easier for more people to watch, giving them a chance to claim increased interest and restored importance. Both moves take effect with the 2029 ceremony.

 

Updated 4/3/26: The exodus continues to hollow out the home of the entertainment industry: J.J. Abrams is closing the Los Angeles location of Bad Robot, his production company. 

 

Memorieeeeeeesss

L.A. Kings Captain Anze Kopitar announced at the beginning of the season that this would be his final year. Last night the Kings played (and beat) the Rangers in New York and after the game the Rags formed a handshake line to show their respect to the Kings' future Hall of Famer and two-time Stanley Cup champion. Pure class shown by both the Rangers and their fans.

And guess who was at the end of the line - Kopi's Stanley Cup teammate and goalie god Jonathan Quick.

I could watch this forever: 

Kopitar's retirement means Drew Doughty will be the last remaining King from our 2012 and 2014 Cup winning teams. The years, they just go by too fast. I miss Quick terribly and losing Kopi is going to leave such a hole in this team. Wish I could have watched that 2012 lineup forever.

 

That's so Kings

 

The Los Angeles Kings have been flailing and the fans have been begging for a coaching change for most of the season (and even last season). Last night the Kings smacked the Calgary Flames 2-0 for their first win since before the Olympics and what does the team do? They fire head coach Jim Hiller. After they finally won a game, in a shutout no less.

 

I know nothing about interim coach D.J. Smith other than he was previously bounced out of Ottawa and what little I've seen online this morning Sens fans have nothing good to say about him. But at this point the team had to do something, anything, and they finally did it. They're three points out of a playoff spot and even if they do squeak in, we're probably looking at yet another first round exit. Hopefully there will be at least one competent coach available this summer who can turn this team around.

 

The Kings have other issues. There's injuries (including the loss of Kevin Fiala, who suffered a season-ending injury in the Olympics) and next season they will be without retiring captain Anze Kopitar for the first time in twenty years. They did pull off a good move acquiring Artemi Panarin a few weeks ago, so at least we've got that going for us. But I have a feeling we're looking at a long rebuilding unless they find a head coach who can really light a fire under these guys. 

 

Class move by the Quacks, I guess

Los Angeles Kings legend Anze Kopitar is calling it a career after this season and although he's currently injured and not playing (which is making the Kings worse than usual, they just dropped two in a row to Anaheim) the Ducks organization presented him with this honor:

 

I thought it was nice of them, although no matter how long this team is in existence apparently they'll never learn that Mickey Mouse ears just don't go with hockey. But it's the thought that counts and Kopi is (and always has been) a class act, so they got that part right.

 

I'm sure he'll treasure it always.

 

No Kings! Bad Kings!

Seriously, will this team ever be good again? Just look at this abysmal start:

Click on the image to biggify and see how awful the Kings have been so far this season. And it probably isn't going to get any better on Saturday because that game is against the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that actually knows how to hockey:

Also, seriously:

 

 

Although I do think we have some career politicians, at both national and more local levels, that definitely think it's their divine right to lord it over us little people. 

 

Given the way the Kings are playing, it's too bad Saturday really isn't a "no Kings" day. In fact, if the Canes play to their ability it will be like the Kings don't exist, so same thing really. 

 

As for me I will be spending Saturday avoiding Los Angeles freeways and any other places where mostly peaceful protests are likely to occur, as I've seen enough of these to know how ugly they can get. 

 

Have a great weekend! Unless you're a Kings fan, and in that case best of luck to you.

Update: Called it.

 

Tied it up in the third only to lose in OT. That's so Kings.

 

This is going to be a sad but true season.

 

We have...no Kings.

 

Updated 11/16/25: A month later I'm eating these words. The Kings are currently on a brutally scheduled but so far undefeated road trip. They are 7-2-1 in their last ten games and have won four in a row. The result? First place in the division:

 

 

Not only that, they have one of the best records in the NHL all of a sudden. Only four teams have more points: Colorado (29), Dallas (27), New Jersey (27), and Carolina (25). Crazyness. But of course the Kings can't have good news without bad: Drew Doughty was injured in the latest win (ankle) and is probably out as much as six weeks.

 

That's so Kings

 

I take no pleasure in reporting that the Los Angeles Kings have been bounced out of the first round of the NHL playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers for the fourth consecutive year. Not joking. About either. Fourth consecutive year bounced out of the first round, fourth consecutive year at the hands of the Oilers.

 

It was really looking like this was going to be the year LAK broke the Oiler curse. They had the league-best home record and actually had a pretty good year, even with the absence of Drew Doughty for a chunk of the season. And with home ice advantage for the first time in decades, they slaughtered the Oilers in the first two games of the series. But Edmonton also enjoyed home ice, taking both games in Alberta. Then they won game five in L.A. And tonight they defeated the Kings for the fourth consecutive game, and just like that, LAK is eliminated from the playoffs. AGAIN.

Gotta give props to Edmonton. After two shellackings in L.A., they came back and won four straight games to advance to the second round, where they'll meet (and hopefully fall to) the Vegas Golden Knights. 

This is yet another massive fail by the Kings. The funny thing was that after the first two wins, I was hearing fans talking Rob Blake as GM of the year and praising the heck out of coach Jim Hiller. But it was a very temporary high pedestal, which Edmonton destroyed in just four games. 

Ownership needs to clean house now. Front office, coach, clear it out and start over. Get some new blood in there. Because as Dave Chappelle would say...

...and the same old isn't working for the Kings. It hasn't been working for years. Hopefully something will finally give.

This game also marked the final appearance of long-time Kings announcer/legend Nick Nickson, who has retired. What a way to go out. 

 

Updated 5/5/25: Blake is gone. Now do Hiller. Don't forget the rest of the front office.

 

Hockey Humor, Logo Division

The NHL playoffs are upon us. In other news, someone decided to categorize NHL team logos and it's actually pretty funny.

 

In addition to being entertaining, this also gives me a chance to air my grievances about the "Utah Hockey Club". The NHL and its teams are notorious for constantly introducing new and "special edition" jerseys and logo designs because they know fans will go out and buy them. Look, being a hockey fan is expensive. Tickets are an arm and a leg and jerseys are pricey. We're not talking a few extra t-shirts here. Even the replica jerseys are expensive and the pro-weights are hundreds of dollars. I've felt for years that the league takes advantage of the devotion of hockey fans to soak them financially every chance they get. 

 

Which leads me to the TOTALLY LAME Utah logo and the failure to establish a team logo/mascot in their first season. If you had time to relocate the team from Arizona on supposedly short notice, you had time to come up with a name for the team. But they knew the fans would buy up the first season "Utah Hockey Club" jerseys (and tons of other swag with this logo as well) and then they could soak them for all new team gear when they actually named the team going forward. Twice the cash flow at the expense of the fans. And make no mistake, Gary Bettman signed off on this. If the NHL had a proper commissioner Utah would have been required to establish who they were before a single one of their players touched the ice. Yet another example of why the NHL is often regarded as amateurish compared to other major sports leagues. *End of rant*

 

"Portrait of the Perfect Hockey Fan". Artist: Gary Bettman.

One of the commenters pointed out that the Nordiques and Whalers should have been included in the gone but not forgotten. Totally agree.

 

Also my reaction: