We know you’re busy, so let’s help you catch up on some of the Kings news, notes, and nonsense you may have missed over the past few days. Using our popular 10 Tidbits format, here’s all the latest you need to know:
1. We’ll begin with something that a few observant people may have noticed on LA’s recent road trip — American Express was now featured on their chrome helmets. This is not a new sponsorship deal, though.
According to league guidelines, teams can only have two helmet sponsors — home and road. Thus, if a team opts to wear a different colored helmet in either scenario, the applicable sponsor transfers to that helmet. With the Kings having Amex as their road sponsor, that deal transferred from the usual white road helmets to the chrome helmets worn during last week’s games.
Of the 15 times the Kings are scheduled to wear their 90s alternate uniforms and chrome helmets this season, five of those games are to be played at home — Dec. 27 vs. San Jose, Jan. 2 vs. Toronto, Jan. 22 vs. San Jose, Feb. 24 vs. Anaheim, and April 13 vs. Anaheim.
As such, look for the chrome helmet to feature LA’s regular home sponsor (Blue Shield of California) during those five games.
2. There is at least one extra interesting nugget related to all this sponsorship talk. While the guidelines state only one road and one home helmet sponsor, it isn’t quite so black and white when it comes to jersey sponsorship. For patches on jerseys, NHL teams have a little more latitude. There can still only be two patches total. Yet, the home, road, and alternate jersey sponsorships can be packaged together. In the case of the Kings, they sold the non-alternate home games (which would be 36 regular season games this year of black jerseys, 41 minus the 5 alternate games) to Mercury Insurance. When the team eventually signs a second patch sponsor, that company will get all the road white games and all the alternate jersey games.
3. We’ll wrap up the business bits with a bit of good news on the TV front. After a tense summer of wondering where the Kings broadcast rights would land, they eventually ended up right back to where they’ve been for three decades — with Bally Sports. Although there are still some long-term details to be sorted out, BSW’s parent company, Diamond Sports, received a vote of confidence of sorts from the NBA this week. And the NHL is said to be poised for a similar deal soon.
Fairly important (and positive) development here, including — "The NHL is believed to be weeks away from cutting a similar deal, according to the court filings."
Helps to temporarily stabilize the situation while Diamond Sports (Ballys) works through their bankruptcy situation. https://t.co/rMBovs11vC
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) November 6, 2023
4. On the ice, Quinton Byfield has worked his way into being a fantasy hockey contributor. NHL experts now see him as a Top 10 Fantasy Pickup for the week.
https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1721914152862539836?t=Umc12yDGOVyXp6Me4t0Ldg&s=19
5. LA’s third-round selection at the 2023 NHL Draft, forward Koehn Ziemmer, has gotten off to a hot start with Prince George (WHL).
#GoKingsGo prospect Koehn Ziemmer has been very consistently producing since returning to juniors. He has scored in 10 of the 13 games so far.
— The Armchair Scout (He/Him) (@Davidenkness) November 7, 2023
6. Sixth rounder Ryan Conmy is making a late push for a possible invite to Team USA’s upcoming World Junior selection camp.
#GoKingsGo Ryan Conmy keeping his scoring streak to start his collegiate career. The 2023 sixth-round pick has 7 points so far (1 G, 6 A) in 4 games. https://t.co/o9T80BC45Y
— The Armchair Scout (He/Him) (@Davidenkness) October 27, 2023
7. Last year, SoCal hockey fans packed LA’s downtown arena to watch the top two women’s hockey teams in the world do battle. This weekend, the USA-Canada Rivalry series returns to Southern California. For tickets and more info see here.
8. The conversation about neck guards continues to be a hot topic around the NHL. Look for several Kings players to potentially start wearing them soon — including captain Anze Kopitar, Kevin Fiala, and PL Dubois.
“It’s adding another layer of protection and if I can do that without being uncomfortable, I’ll gladly do it.”
Anze Kopitar wore a neck guard at today’s practice, said there’s a good chance he’ll wear it in Vegas on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/CK3DTDGHXI
— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) November 6, 2023
9. Early Sunday morning, Mayor’s Manor editor John Hoven posted the following tweet:
Could Darryl Sutter actually be the next head coach of the Edmonton Oilers? Hmm.
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) November 5, 2023
Apparently, he’s not the only one hearing similar rumblings. Paul Bissonnette shared something similar late Monday night:
Edmonton Oilers next coach? pic.twitter.com/lh8pJPyQJq
— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) November 7, 2023
10. Next up for the Kings will be a game in Vegas. How will the Golden Knights show up coming off their first regulation loss of the season?
Anaheim hands Vegas their first regulation loss of the 2023-24 season.
Ducks are no joke.
Kings and Knights square off Wednesday in Sin City.
Kings visit the Ponda for a Friday matinee the day after Thanksgiving.
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) November 6, 2023
Anaheim is now 7-4-1 this season and have won six straight games. During their current run, the Ducks became just the second team in NHL history to win six straight games that included third period comebacks in at least five of them. The only other team to do so was the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres.
For more Kings talk, be sure to check out this week’s Kings Of The Podcast episode, linked below for your reference.
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