Anyone that passionately follows their team through thick and thin comes across a fundamental dilemma from time to time. We always want our team to win every game. When I’m watching the NHL, I want the Kings to go 82-0 every season. Once the season starts lately, my expectations are lowered to “hoping they can sneak into the playoffs,” (usually by November). By the New Year, I’m seriously wondering if it’s counterproductive to root for the team to win. So here’s the question: is it OK to root for your team to lose?
Part of the equation is admitting to yourself some realistic expectations before the season. Ever since training camp, it’s been the Stanley Cup or Bust for teams like the Red Wings and the Sharks. For teams like the Oilers, Wild and Predators, expectations called for playoff hope. There’s a huge difference of perception when you’re challenging for the President’s Trophy and challenging for the 8th seed in your conference. For the Los Angeles Kings this season, my expectations were growth. If the team filled with youth could continue to grow as a team, mature as individual players and start to develop some much needed consistency—then it would be a successful season. Even the most optimistic King fans knew it was going to be an uphill climb to make it to the playoffs this season.
Without young NHLers like Anze Kopitar scoring, the Kings will never go anywhere
After dropping 3 of the first 4 games during the season determining road trip, just about all sane King fans can see the writing on the wall. When fighting for a playoff spot, earning 3 points in 7 games is NOT the way to respond to pressure-packed, late season hockey. They were able to set a dubious mark by skating to their 10th shut out; breaking the record from the organizations inaugural year. Forget the defensive side of the puck and the locker room, no team is going to be able to win any games when they don’t score a goal. That’s not a hockey thing, that’s a MATH thing.
But at what point do you root for your team to lose? Everyone has a different threshold, but everyone admits that their team isn’t going to make it this season. Sometimes it’s easier than others: for Lions fans, it was pretty clear that they weren’t going to be a playoff contender. Pretty early in the season, it was obvious they were playing for draft picks. Can you imagine if they started 0-13, then won the last 3 meaningless games and screwed up the #1 overall pick? As hard as it is to admit, sometimes it’s better for your team to lose a few games.
The Kings have first-hand knowledge of this conundrum. Two years ago, they were one of the worst teams in the NHL all season. With 3 players in the draft that were head-and-shoulders above the rest of the draft, the Kings won a meaningless game against the Phoenix Coyotes on the last day of the season. Instead of finishing with the 2nd worst record, they finished with the 3rd worst. When the Chicago Blackhawks won the draft lottery, the horrible Kings were left with the 4th overall pick. What would have been better: winning that meaningless game in an already lost season or having the opportunity to pick Kyle Turris?
2nd overall pick Drew Doughty has worked out just fine!
The same thing happened last year, as the Kings were the worst team in the league for the vast majority of the season. Even with a deep draft stacked with franchise defensemen, the draft class was undoubtedly led by a forward: Steven Stamkos. With a late season surge at the end of March, the Kings managed to drop out of last place on the last few days of the season. Visions of Steven Stamkos playing center in Staples Center were replaced with visions of Erik Ersberg winning meaningless games at the end of the season. Thankfully for the sanity of King Fans, Drew Doughty has been a hell of a consolation prize!
As Herm Edwards said, “you play to win the game.” Obviously, when you’re winning games it shows promise for the next season. But when you’re 8 points out with 9 games to play, is it still in the interest of the team to win all of the games down the stretch? At what point do you admit that dreams of the playoffs are a little out of reach this season?
Pessimists will say the season was over when the Kings started the season with only one everyday defenseman over the age of 25. Some will say it was when Jack Johnson went down for 3 months in the 2nd game of the season. A lot of those same pessimists will say this entire season was all about “Tanking for Tavares.” Let me be clear, I’m not one of those people. I never go into the season thinking that a team should just start losing for a draft pick. If that were the case, then what’s the point of even playing the season? But on the other side of the coin, at some point fans need to be REAL with themselves. The Kings aren’t winning the Stanley Cup this season and they aren’t making the playoffs. Even management knows it!
In fact, management admitted this reality probably sooner than most of the fans did. At the trade deadline, they traded one of their Top 6 forwards for a guy that’s on IR? Not only that, they threw in a 2nd round pick to a conference rival because they wanted to make the trade so badly. I’m not saying that it was a good trade or bad trade—that’s a discussion for another day. I’m just saying that they didn’t sound like a team that wanted to make a playoff push.
So here I am, 9 games left in the season and already looking at the prospects that are available in the draft. Instead of looking at the Ducks and Predators fighting for the 8th spot in the Western Conference, I’m watching to see if the Kings are going to drop below the Coyotes or the Thrashers for a better draft pick. You can say what you want about rooting to lose, but I know there can be a huge difference between picking 4th and picking 6th in the draft. Lets be real, this season is a lost cause.
I know I’ll be watching the rest of the King games this year—and I’ll even be at Staples for a few games down the stretch. I won’t be openly cheering for the other team to score goals; but I won’t jump off a cliff if (and when) they lose a few more games. At this point, my expectations for the season have changed—I hope at least SOME good can come from the end of this season! As is the mantra of King fans in recent years: “I can’t wait for the draft!”
Matt Reitz is the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com and former NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports. When he’s not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he’s usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It’s a never-ending job.
