The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Samuel Helenius from the Ontario Reign. The Kings have dropped four in a row and have been physically bullied around in most of those contests.
Helenius adds a much-needed element to the team. While the hulking forward only has three points (one goal) as a -2, he does have on paper, 80 hits, slightly under three a game. His effect on the ice certainly won’t be productive in getting the team’s offensive cold engine going. Still, the Kings won’t be getting pushed around, even though Helenius is only on the ice for an average of 8:37 this season.
That makes me curious to see where the team is with Tanner Jeannot. Jeannot is a rugged forward who is physically imposing but has better scoring instincts than Helenius. Yet the Kings make the move to bring up Helenius, despite knowing that Jeannot is already an ‘enforcer’ type player. Jeannot has soured, going 20 games without a goal, with a single assist to boot, as a -8.
Does this mean Trevor Lewis is out of the lineup? I think not. The Kings have shown an inability to ignore Lewis’s lack of ability on the ice. Lewis’ metrics and ability on the ice have waned considerably over the years. Still, to be fair, he was always a Swiss-army knife-type player who even saw top-line time as a complimentary forward under Darryl Sutter for short periods of time. That time is long passed.
What this means is that Lewis, Helenius, and Jeannot will remain in the lineup, with another scratch coming from a 12-6 likely coming in the form of Brandt Clarke. To the uproar of most Kings fans, Clarke, the highest-scoring Kings defenseman, did all his damage in the first couple of months but then fell off completely.
The reality is that once Drew Doughty returned to the lineup with a clean bill of health, it was the downfall of Clarke’s significant playing time.
Higher playing time means that mistakes can be glossed over. One mistake in 20 shifts certainly doesn’t look like a mistake made in 10 shifts. The franchise is sticking to a roster and lineup they believe is best positioned to win hockey games. How that’s been playing out with or without Clarke is giving quite the sample size.
Back to Helenius, this has to be a move to buff the bottom six, as the imposing forward, despite the lack of true hockey skill, represents an attitude of ‘we won’t get pushed around’. Despite this, the front office believes that Clarke being in the lineup is not helping them win games, and there’s some validity to that.
But the loyal, standing by of Lewis in the lineup is becoming more of a frustrating enigma to try to unwrap.
