Suspensions, blocked shots, DeBrusk trade, and more LA Kings bullets

LA Kings forward Brendan Lemieux will have his in-person hearing on Tuesday, but he could be available to play against the Ducks until the matter is sorted out.

• After Jonathan Quick came to the defense of Lemieux, Alex Iafallo was the latest Kings player to voice his support for his teammate. You can read his full quotes on LA Kings Insider.
• “He’s a good teammate, he’s talkative, very talkative and he’s hard to play against,” Iafallo said. “That’s why we respect him, he’s good in the room and it’s tough when it happens with that whole situation. He brings a toughness to our team and he’s a great team guy.”
• Speaking of suspensions, Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand will have to sit for three games for slew-footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson. This marks the SEVENTH time the 33-year-old has been suspended in his career.

Brad Marchand suspended 3 games for a slew-foot of Oliver Ekman-Larsson. It's his 7th career suspension & 2nd time for slew-footing. Clearly he doesn't ever get benefit of the doubt, but def puzzling after PK Subban's slewfoot-a-palooza this season 🐻🏒 https://t.co/oFPy6OU7ce

— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) November 30, 2021

• Staying in Boston, it appears things are coming to a head with the organization and Jake DeBrusk, as the latter has formally requested a trade. DeBrusk’s name has surfaced on trade rumors over the last couple of offseasons, but he’s stayed put.

Hearing that BOS and Jake DeBrusk are working on the possibility of a fresh start for the player. Told nothing is imminent at this time, but something to keep an eye on.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 29, 2021

• I’m not entirely sure what the Bruins are looking for in return. The former 14th overall pick in 2015 will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year. He only has 6 points through the first 17 games, and he’s been on a downward trend in production and TOI since putting up back-to-back 40+ point seasons in his first two years.
• Perhaps Kings general manager Rob Blake kicks the tires on DeBrusk, but given how many players are jockeying for position on the current roster, it’s tough to envision where he would fit. The Kings would almost certainly have to move someone off the current roster.
• Oilers’ defenseman Kris Russell broke the all-time record for blocked shots over the weekend. JFresh had an interesting graphic on Twitter for players with the most shots blocked. The Kings have two representatives on the list in Drew Doughty and Alex Edler. Take that for what you will.

Great question.

Which player has had the most shots blocked? The answer to that question (in the window of stats that we have) is not surprising. https://t.co/cOsnenMXYu pic.twitter.com/fYGduQe6Ub

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 29, 2021

• A very cool honor for Mikko Koivu, who will have his No. 9 retired by the Minnesota Wild on March 13. The forward will be the first Wild player to receive the honor. In case you’re wondering, Koivu had 13 goals and 42 points in 45 career games against the Kings. Not bad.
• Looking at some of the scores from Monday night, the Jets outshot the Coyotes 46-15 but the Yotes won 1-0. LOL. At least the Kings and Jets both now know what it’s like to be Vejmelka’d.
• Some useless trivia for you: Carson Soucy became the first member of the Seattle Kraken to score a shorthanded goal last night. The Kings won’t see Seattle until January 15.
• As Russ points out, Tuesday’s game against the Ducks will have significant early-season implications.

Tomorrow will mark the first time the Kings and Ducks play each other with both teams above .500 since March 30th, 2018.#GoKingsGo #FlyTogether #FreewayFaceoff

— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) November 29, 2021

A daunting December schedule will make or break these LA Kings