There are some playoff runs by unexpected teams where it's evident something clicked and a group of players caught a kind of lightning in a bottle that will be hard to duplicate. Even in this postseason, it's not easy to imagine the Phoenix Coyotes repeating another trip to the Western Conference finals next season when their captain is unsigned and there's no certainty where the team will even be playing in the fall. Or like New Jersey, where the Devils are on an incredible run despite questions about Zach Parise's contract and goalie Martin Brodeur's retirement plans.
Then there's the Los Angeles Kings.
"They're going to be good for a long time," said an NHL source. "It's a pretty nice core."
To see how the Kings stack up in the seasons ahead, and see what changes may be made in the offseason, you must be an ESPN Insider.
- Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
- Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Wrote for The Sporting News
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Craig Custance
Craig Custance joined ESPN in September 2011 as an NHL reporter for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN Insider and ESPN.com. A graduate of Michigan State University, he lived for nearly a decade in Georgia working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he spent time covering the late Atlanta Thrashers. He was the only Thrashers beat writer to get the team to the playoffs.
From 2008-11 he was the national hockey writer for the Sporting News, writing regularly in print and online. A member of the PHWA, he's a proud voter for the major NHL awards and can occasionally defend his selections.
Like hockey, he left Atlanta to return north where he currently lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife Cassie and their three kids.
Follow Craig on Twitter: @CraigCustance
And fire off a few probing questions for his weekly mailbag while you're at it.
