alt="LA Kings Insider with Rich Hammond" />Last night, the Kings had a special postgame event for season-ticket holders who have already renewed for next season. Jim Fox hosted the event on-ice and conducted a Q&A with players Rich Clune, Drew Doughty, Matt Greene, Wayne Simmonds and Ryan Smyth. As soon as Clune’s name was announced, I thought, “Well this should be good.” It didn’t disappoint. Here are a couple of the highlights of the fan Q&A session.
(on which opposing teams the players don’t like. Most answered Anaheim or San Jose…)
CLUNE: “I hate everybody.”
(on one of his nicknames, “Clunatic”…)
CLUNE: “I don’t even know what it means. … The players don’t call me that.”
SIMMONDS: “We are now.”
(on his favorite NHL city…)
CLUNE: “I’ve only played in two, so…Nashville.”
(on what he likes about Terry Murray…)
CLUNE: “He plays me, so that’s cool.”
Clune did, in fact, give a longer, serious answer as to his opinion of Murray’s strengths as a coach. The “honest answer of the night” award goes to Greene, who, when asked what team he would like to play in the first round of the playoffs, said, “Columbus.” Greene also entertained with his debate with teammates about the merits of playing an outdoor game in a domed stadium…
Bunch of clowns lol. Great stuff
Hahahaha, those are some great responses, I especially like Greene’s answer about the first round. I knew Greener had a sense of humor when listening to his Puck Daddy “puck tracks” podcast. It’s always cool to see the players show a bit more of their personality, which is easy to do after a 6-0 curb stomping.
simmonds is the man, nice reply!
I wish the King’s would stop scheduling these weekday after game things. I renewed my seats and would love to go, but it’s an hour drive home to the OC, and then i have to be at work at 6 in the morning.
Did Clune have his teeth in? He definitely got under some Columbus skin last night and got us some good powerplay time.
Clunatic…I don’t even know what that means…CLASSIC!
The interplay between Greene and the younger guys who said they wanted to play an outdoor game in Toronto’s Skydome was pretty funny.
Wonder if the answers would have been the same if they had lost, 6-0?
@Michelle, My thoughts exactly. I would have loved to attend and had tickets, but it’s just too late on a work night.
I love these guys….Hahaha hilarious.
Good stuff!
Sorry if I missed it, but did Rich give an update on Williams’ most recent x-rays from yesterday?
@Danielle,
Any details?? SkyDome (not called that anymore by the way, poor the late Mr. Rogers is rolling over in his grave).
I would think Calgary or Edmonton would be the place for an outdoor game, or even Hamilton at Ivor Wynne
@bob,
He has been cleared by the doctors to compete in full contact practices … no need for x rays
@Jeff, I thought LA never slept??
Greene has a few videos on Kings Vision that are pretty hilarious. He has a dry, deadpan sense of humor. The kind I like.
I also like that he calls Simmonds “The Night Train” without blinking at the 1:15 mark…
http://kings.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=729&id=54794
Clune has now become my favorite player… Love the answer ” I hate everyone” That is what i think all the players on the Kings should have that attitude. Heck as i see it, this season is make it or break it.
Can be play the blue jackets the next 17 games…?
nice levity, hopefully they keep the good times rollin.
Clune is so much fun to watch. If he keeps it up, he is going to be a fan-favorite for a long time.
I agree with you Michelle. I have a 90 minute drive back home to Temecula and up at 530 for work.
@VanKingsFan, She’s from OC man. It’s SOOO different down there.
HAHAHA Clune is the type of player the Kings need. Great energy guy!
Good to see them having fun again!
GO KINGS GO!
@Michelle, its all about the sacrifice. lol
Oh, Clune. How I’m going to miss that at the dinner this year.
Thing is, the kid doesn’t have much of a filter between his brain and his mouth. And he doesn’t care. He (in my experience) doesn’t say things to be funny. He just says the first thing that pops out of his mouth. Not into his brain. Just whatever comes out comes out.
The entire team played great against a sorry columbus team.
Clune is a skilled energy guy. Speed and not afraid to mix it up.
He crashed the crease late i thought he was going to get a penalty.
The referee warned him of it.
As long as his play doesnt cost up Penalties, He’s a right fit addition.
@VanKingsFan, I think that’s Vegas.
@Michelle, booo hooo
@holly, Sounds like he’d get along great with some of the posters here.
@Lanny McDonald’s ‘Stache,
haha .. the Stache with the huge backhand slap!
Sometimes it’s hard to come up with a good question when you’re a lowly fan:
I caught up with Stephan Fiset one time sneaking out the back of the Forum when the Kings still played there, and he shrank noticeably when I approached and said, “Stephan Fiset!” (He was big and built like a brick building even out of his pads)
I’d caught him but I couldn’t think of any good questions or anything pertinent to say. The first stupid thing came out of my mouth.
“So…do you think you guys are going to make the playoffs this year?” (it was about this time of the year and they were making a playoff push)
(you have to imagine the heavy french canadian accent) “Well…” he said, “that is what we are trying to do….”
Okay!
@VanKingsFan,
Be sure to tell Clune, Doughty, and Simmonds that it’s not called the SkyDome anymore. ;-)
Someone asked where each player would like to play when (not iff) the Kings play in the Winter Classic. Greene answered Detroit (and threw in a “Go Tigers” which drew some boos from the crowd).
Clune was next and he said the SkyDome (Rogers Centre). Greene rolled his eyes and looked at him and then commented that it’s a dome. Clune said it opens. There was a little back-and-forth about the fact that it’s a dome and whether it would open.
Doughty was next. He answered “SkyDome” which got a fist-bump from Clune and, again, prompted comments from Greene and a “see what I put up with?”
Simmonds was last and he, too, said “SkyDome” prompting a little more back-and-forth with Greene.
Among Greene’s comments was one that they have enough trouble opening it when it’s 62 degrees and what makes them think they would open it in the winter. And the best was “you want to play an outdoor game… in a dome?”
I didn’t get a hug. :(
@Michelle, agree 100%
@ Michelle. I live in San Diego and work early but I can only make weekday games so that would screw me over. I thought it was fine…
Clune seems to have the attitude (on and off the ice) of a certain former King known as Tiger…
Clune I like the guy. He kinda reminds me of Avery and I miss that. That raw attitude and energy. He don’t really give an F he just wants to play. I like that!
@John Chang, I loved Avery.I just hated his mouth away from the game.Clune doesn’t seem to have that problem,and doesn’t take even 1/2 the penalties Avery did.
@Dominick,
The mouth was also deployed verse the refs and thats why Avery was in the box so much, and also had difficulties drawing penalties. That said he still hasn’t really learned to controll himself. Its early yet lets see if Clune can be a Lappy or Granato type.
My introduction to Clune was at the Toyota Sports Center for a Kings Prospects Camp Scrimmage verse other prospects in the organization. Clune on his first shift picked a fight I think with Dwight King 30lbs bigger then Clune. After getting out of the penalty box managed to get into another fight with a different prospect also bigger than him. I nicknamed him Rich “the Loon” Clune after that, but DL’s Clunatic is good.
what about the others guys?
@edwood2,
Tiger Williams was a character-and-a-half, a real hockey original.
Once I was at the Forum Club, bad-mouthing him as a tough hard-talking asshole, and learned to my embarrassment that his parents were at the next table and were listening to my every word.
“Don’t worry,” his father told me. “It’s not like we haven’t heard it all before.”
@Danielle, Clune actually has it right – SkyDome’s permanently shut during the winter months. It can’t open between November and April.
Heck, they couldn’t even get it open for the Canada / US WBC game, and it was one of the warmest days on record that afternoon. It can open in about twenty minutes normally, but once they lock it down for the winter it apparently takes a long time to get it back up and running.
I just watched the videos of this event on Kings Vision. Hilarious! Maybe the best line was after Doughty agreed with Clune on playing the Winter Classic in “The Sky Dome.” Greene said, “They can barely open it when it’s below 60 in the Summer and they’re going to open it up in the middle of Winter?”
Clune: “There’s Global Warming, it could happen!”
Greene: “You guys are idiots. Absolute idiots.”
Hahahaha! Awesome. Must see. http://kings.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=-6
The sound gets jacked up at the end, though. Really loud static sound in the closing seconds.