Kings Off-season Review(Defenseman)

I will be doing a three part off-season review over the next couple of days, first up is the defense.

Arrivals
New Kings Defensmen Willie Mitchell takes on Jarome Iginla.

Analysis
Mitchell who is 33 is a tough stay at home defensmen.  The kings signed him to shore up the back end.  Fans shouldn't expect Mitchell to put up great offensive numbers but he can contribute which is another plus.  There is only one concern with Mitchell but its a gigantic one.  He missed the last half of the 09-10 season due to a concussion he recieved after a cheap hit by Penguins star Evgeni Malkin.  There is always concen about players coming into a new season off a injury, and concussions are even more concerning.  However Mitchell passed all his physicals and appears to be healhty for the upcoming campaign.
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Departures
-Sean O'Donnell(UFA, signed 1yr contract with the Philadelphia Flyers)
-Randy Jones(UFA, Signed 1yr contract with the Tampa Bay Lighting)
Analysis
The loss of O'Donnell and Jones makes the kings better.  O'Donnell was great in mentoring Drew Doughty, but his age became a noticeable factor last season.  Jones was arguably the worst kings defensemen last season.  He came in strong but after a few weeks fizzled and fans finally understood why the flyers dumped him.
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Final Thoughts

If Mitchell can stay healthy the risk of signing him will turn into a gigantic reward.  He gives the kings a legitimate top 4 that can compete with the best of the NHL.  He also brings more leadership to a team that will still be very young going into the 10-11 season.  Being 6'3 doesn't hurt either as the kings ended up getting pushed around by the Canucks in their playoff series last spring.  Also with Matt Greene likely out for the first month of the season look for one or possibly two of the kings rookie defensemen to make the team.  Most likely fighting for a spot will be; Thomas Hickey, Jacob Muzzin and Johan Fransson.

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