Some Early Tuesday Night Ramblings

When Ryan Smyth was moved to the Los Angeles Kings, I assumed one of the central beneficiaries would be the Kings' number one center, Anze Kopitar.

However, never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that Kopitar would be leading the NHL in goals and points nearly midway through November. In Los Angeles' first 18 games, the Kopitar / Smyth connection has tallied 22 goals, 48 points, and a +15 rating in the plus minus column, while helping lead the Kings to a solid 10-6-2 start.

The acquisition of Smyth has allowed King's Coach Terry Murray to balance his scoring amongst his top three lines. The Kings currently have seven players with 13 points or more, including franchise cornerstone defenseman Drew Doughty, who garners 15 points here in the early season.

When the Kings signed Kopitar to a seven-year, $47.6 million contract extension last October, they expected to have a star on their hands in the near future. They were right. The future is now for the slick skating Slovenian center, and a playoff berth is a definite possibility in Los Angeles....

The Nashville Predators have just 31 goals in 15 games. Atlanta's Rich Peverley, who the Predators put on waivers last season, has seven goals and 17 points in 14 games.

Despite back-to-back seasons in the AHL with over a point per-game, the Predators never gave Peverley a fair shot to consistently be placed in an offensive role at the NHL level. Barry Trotz does an excellent job of producing average results with less than average talent, but his lack of willingness to put young offensive players in roles in which they can succeed is questionable...

The Anaheim Ducks clearly don't miss Chris Pronger at all...neither did the Edmonton Oilers before them...or the St. Louis Blues before them...HA!

The Edmonton Oilers have yet to make the playoffs since Pronger's departure in the summer of '06, while the Blues found themselves in last year's playoffs, which was their first since Pronger left St. Louis after the '03-'04 season.

Despite the many accolades thrown his way, is it possible that Chris Pronger is underrated? There are not many players in the NHL that are able to impose their will on all facets of the game like Pronger. Since moving to the Blues as a 20-year old in 1995, no team he has played for has missed the playoffs. That's not a coincidence, folks....

Kudos to Wayne Gretzky for showing up at the Hockey Hall of Fame Inductions Ceremony last night. Due to the Phoenix Coyotes situation, the former 'Yotes bench boss has found himself in an awkward and unjust position.

It would've been completely understandable if he chose to stay away from the inductions, but Gretzky decided to cast aside his personal issues for a night to pay homage to some of the best that the NHL has ever seen. Having skated alongside Brian Leetch with the Rangers, Brett Hull with the Blues, Luc Robitaille with the Kings, and Steve Yzerman with Team Canada, it just wouldn't have been the same if "The Great One" wasn't in attendance...