Commish’s Corner
This week: A few minutes with Kings’ GM Josh Land
Can you sum up what moves
you made to improve your team in the offseason and what inspired them?
This offseason, I almost entirely blew up the roster and started
over, trying to get the most out of every player's trade value. The only
players remaining on the pro roster from the end of last season are Steve
Thomas, Mikael Renberg, Calle Johansson, and Milan Hnilicka. My first
intentions were to generally improve my team. I wanted to build a potent lineup
of two-way forwards that was a good mix of youth and veterans. I think I
accomplished that, bringing in some star two-way vets and such budding stars as
John Madden and Daniel Briere. It was difficult to deal some of my leaders from
last season, such as Todd Marchant and Cory Stillman, but dealing them enabled
me to bring in players who added more depth or helped bring better players to
Stockholm in later deals. I acquired players such as Daymond Langkow and Alyn
McAuley, who I used in deals for Jay McKee and Joseph Vasicek and for Olaf
Kolzig. I got lucky in getting Janne Niinimaa, Vincent Damphousse, Donald
Audette, Geoff Sanderson, and Olaf Kolzig at times when I had plenty of depth
to deal and these quality players were made available. The most difficult deal
I made was parting with Dainius Zubrus, but was able to bring back top returns
in Daniel Briere and Dan McGillis. Once I saw that I was able to improve all
areas of my team, I decided to deal valuable draft picks to shore up all areas
and to make sure I had at least one full line of 70+ rated spares. Now, the
only deals I make are offers I cannot turn down and, sometimes I will look to
improve an area of need. My team has done well to start the season, but needed
some scoring punch, so I acquired Jan Bulis for three young players. Starting
tonight, we'll see if the investment will pay off. After a couple more weeks,
if the team is playing really well, management will start contract negotiations
with most of the pending free agents, to assure that this team will be together
for more than one season.
What are
your thoughts on your teams performance so far this season?
My team has done a good job this season so far. It was tough
to lose top defenseman Calle Johansson for a month, but the defense and
goaltending has done a good job making up for the loss. The forwards have done
a good job and my top line has been outstanding, but they have not been scoring
as many goals as I hoped. the recent additions of Bulis, Keane, and Gionta
should help fix that problem.
What
will it take for the Kings to win the conference this season?
I think that our top players will need to stay healthy. The
defense performed much better before Johansson got hurt and I think the same
type of problem would occur if a top forward were hurt. The team has the depth
to fill holes in case of injury, but to win the conference, we need everyone
healthy and on the same page. Kolzig needs to come up big, the forwards need to
score some more goals that they currently are scoring, and the defense needs to
shut the door for us to take the division and hopefully win the conference.
What is
an accurate and achievable goal for the Kings in 2004?
I think the sky's the limit for this team. With so many
changes in the offseason, it is difficult to predict where we will finish, but
on paper, I think this team as good as any in the division and maybe as good as
any team in the conference. I do not think it is too far-fetched to think the
Kings can make it to the finals this season.
Which
team has asserted itself as your biggest rival? Which team is your toughest
opponent?
I have to agree with most GMs that my biggest rival for the
division crown is the Galaxy. They have decent depth and some stars on their
team. They boast a balanced attack, good defense, and a solid young goalie. We
lost our first game to the Galaxy and expect a very tough season series with
Hanover. Our toughest opponent this season is likely to be the Vipers. Their
team has many top notch players at every position. It is difficult to find any
weaknesses, but I think that our teams should match up well when we face each
other.
The Euro
Division has the reputation as being the "novelty" division. Most of
the teams are inconsistent and the amount of below-average team's is high. Do
you see any improvement in 2004 from 2003 in the division and do you believe
any of the Euro teams have what it takes to win the Jack Daniels Conference?
I think the Euro Division is much improved from 2003 and will
be a force this season. As many as four teams could make the playoffs from the
division and our team, the Galaxy, and the Vikings are all legitimate
contenders for the conference title. Most of the teams in the division got much
stronger and will all need to fight hard to win the division title. Some may be
surprised to see two Euro division teams in the conference finals this year...
Who do
you believe will take the league championship?
I think there are lots of worthy teams from the Euro Division
and Jack Daniels Conference this season, but ultimately, the Vipers are the
favorite to win it all. They have solid competition from my team, the
Battalion, the Fury, the X-men and a few others, but they easily have the best
overall team in the league.