Community Picks: Nashville Predators 0% vs San Jose Sharks 0%

The Los Angeles Kings can’t start the rest of their offseason plans until they come to some sort of decision on winger Milan Lucic. That was the message general manager Dean Lombardi told reporters in a teleconference Friday. “If there’s a domino effect so to speak, that depends. The discussions are much further along with (Lucic) than anything else right now as you can probably imagine and then there’s going to be fallout when something happens there,” Lombardi said. [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest today ] He added that “there’s probably some work to be done” and no announcement was imminent.  Lucic has said he and the Kings are “in the same area code” and Lombardi didn’t discount this notion. “I think he’s a great kid and there’s no question he’s a good fit and that's probably all I can say right now,” Lombardi said. Lucic is in the final season of a three-year $18 million contract. The Kings were only on the hook for $3.25 million of that salary in 2015-16 with $2.75 million remaining retained by the Boston Bruins. The Kings acquired Lucic last summer in a trade that sent goaltender Martin Jones and a 2015 first-round draft choice to Boston . Lucic, 27, fit nicely with the Kings as a top-six forward with 20 goals, 55 points and a plus-26 rating. Lombardi was asked about Dustin Brown, and how the longtime Kings captain fits into the team’s plans. Brown has six years left on an eight-year $47 million contract. When Brown signed his deal in the 2013 offseason, he had captained the Kings to a Stanley Cup and a Western Conference Final appearance. He would then steward them to another championship in 2013-14. But since the start of 2013-14  the 31-year-old Brown hasn’t reached higher than 28 points or 15 goals in a single season, which is considered well below his pay grade.  “I don’t think anybody is more frustrated than Dustin himself,” Lombardi said, later adding, “Clearly we need more from him but we need that from a lot of players.” Before the year, Brown focused himself more on conditioning and nutrition as he tried to rediscover his game. But he continued to struggle, and was called out by coach Darryl Sutter at points during the year. In the playoffs, Brown had one point in LA’s five game loss to the San Jose Sharks. His big moment came in Game 3, when he delivered a crushing hit to the Sharks that led to LA’s game-winning goal, but that was it. Brown has yet to publicly speak with reporters since the Kings’ season ended two weeks ago. “The one thing he has done, as you say, he showed up in the best shape he’s ever showed up in this year,” Lombardi said. “The fact he took the initiative to do that shows how much he cares, so but with that said there’s no question that we need more from him and he does himself.”  According to General Fanager, the Kings are locked into 35 total contracts with a salary cap hit of $66.397 million for next season. This includes the $2.25 million of Vincent Lecavalier’s salary cap it which is expected to fall off when Lecavalier officially retires. Significant Kings UFAs that could be brought back are forward Trevor Lewis ($1.525 million salary cap hit on last contract) and defenseman Luke Schenn ($1.8 million). The Kings have one major restricted free agent in defenseman Brayden McNabb ($650,000). MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY   - - - - - - - Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper     Continue to Article

May 06, 2016 8:33:pm EST

The only good thing about taking a puck to the head from the man with the NHL's hardest shot is just how fast it happens. Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic found himself between Predators defenseman Shea Weber and the net in Game 2 of San Jose's second-round series with Nashville. Weber won the NHL's hardest shot in January with a blast of 108.1 mph, and the captain's slap shot hit Vlasic in the face in a very scary moment. Continue to Article

May 06, 2016 2:54:pm EST

Here are your Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at  puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com .   Here you go everyone... As promised an embarrassing pic of @cmcdavid97 keep voting!! #NHL17McDavid pic.twitter.com/4j1eDT6Dyj — Dylan Strome (@stromer19) May 5, 2016 • Dylan Strome with an "embarrassing" photo of Connor McDavid. • The Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks put on a sensational show (in Game 4) which will enervate them both for Game 5 Saturday night in San Jose -– almost a doubleheader, followed by a 1,800-mile plane trip. [ CSN Bay Area ] •  The Sharks can’t let a hangover from their Game 4 triple overtime loss linger into Game 5. [ Mercury News ] • The Dallas Stars followed the advice of Shania Twain to beating the St. Louis Blues in overtime in Game 4 of their series. This knotted their series at 2-2. [ Dallas Morning News ] • The Blues were sluggish in Game 4, and let a commanding 3-1 series lead slip away in losing to the Stars. [ St. Louis Post-Dispatch ] [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest today ] • New York Islanders forward Josh Bailey can be the team’s ‘X-Factor’ in Game 4 of their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. [ Islanders Point Blank ] • Tampa forward Jonathan Drouin has shown no reported ill effects of a big Game 3 hit from Thomas Hickey. Drouin left the game, then returned to notch the game-tying assist. [ Tampa Bay Times ] • Some organizations claim to be World Class but don't live up to it. Jeff Vinik and the Lightning are World Class and more .   [ Raw Charge ] • Changes are needed for the Washington Capitals to get back into their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. [ Washington Post ] • Why the Capitals aren’t dead yet. They’re down 3-1 against the Penguins in their series, but there are signs of hope. [ Japers’ Rink ] • Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley isn’t used to having postseason success. He has been one of the Pens’ best players this playoff. [ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ] • Bruce Boudreau says the fact that his family lives on the East Coast is a “compelling” reason to look at an Eastern Conference team. Boudreau is interviewing for the Ottawa Senators head coaching job Friday. [ Ottawa Sun ] • The Anaheim Ducks have shown interest in Utica Comets coach Travis Green. The Ducks fired Boudreau last week. [ Sportsnet ] • On new Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka: “At 26, Chayka is the youngest GM in NHL history. He has just one year of NHL managerial experience and he is taking over a team that has missed the playoffs four straight years. An early and common narrative portrays Chayka as a math nerd — a whiz kid with a narrow skill set who is just here to crunch numbers and do coach Dave Tippett’s bidding.” [ Arizona Sports ] • Tabea Thornton, wife of Sharks star Joe Thornton, has penned a children's book. [ St. Thomas Times Journal ] • Team Canada downed Team USA, scoring five unanswered goals in a 5-1 win at the World Championships. [ TSN ] • The story behind hockey’s most famous picture.[ Deadspin ] • Should the Edmonton Oilers trade the No. 4 pick in the NHL Draft in order to get a defenseman? [ Edmonton Journal] • How should the Boston Bruins rebuild their defense this summer? [ CSN New England ] • Why fantasy owners should keep an eye on the Calgary Flames’ coaching search. [ Dobber Hockey ] • Will the NWHL’s New York Riveters have space to re-sign goaltender Nana Fujimoto this offseason? [ Today’s Slapshot ] •  When the Connecticut Whale fell to the Buffalo Beauts in the first round of the Isobel Cup playoffs, the upset capped a tumultuous season for the team. [ Along the Boards ] • Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg fall down at the same time after Mike Fisher’s triple-OT winner for Nashville. When your so excited (and tired) that your legs momentarily stop working. #SJSvsNSH #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/qPqpukboUK — #StanleyCup Playoffs (@NHL) May 6, 2016   MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY     Continue to Article

May 06, 2016 2:20:pm EST