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Los Angeles Kings Need More From Dustin Brown

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By @powerplaywithcj

Dustin Brown

Kirby Lee- USA Today Sports

Dustin Brown’s physicality and leadership embody what the Los Angeles Kings are all about like no other player on the roster. His checks change games, and his pure ruthlessness on the forecheck is part of the reason the Kings are one of the better possession teams in the entire NHL.

Brown’s offensive productivity has hit the snide in recent years, but his physicality has remained the same — consistent presence the Kings know and love. If Brown was a third-line player and getting paid like a third-line player, this would all be well and good, but the fact he’s a top-six forward with a cap hit of almost $6 million makes this a problem.

Brown has a measly seven points in 24 games and is looking less like the former 30-goal scorer and point per game playoff player. Part of this can be attributed to age, as Brown recently turned 30 and his hard-nosed, physical approach has surely sped up his aging.

Having said that, such a drastic dropoff can’t be limited to just a player turning 30.

I think there’s been some nagging injuries that Brown has played through in the past few years that have never properly healed and will continue to take their toll on Brown on a nightly basis. There can be any of a number of reasons in Brown’s dropoff, but two things are for sure: he’s not the player he was before, and the Kings are a much better team when he’s hitting and scoring.

It’s tough for an outsider to make a judgement on what the Kings should do with Brown, as him and fellow pricey forward Mike Richards have looked lost at times in the past few years. As much as I’d like to preach patience, the Western Conference is an absolute juggernaut and the Kings need the best from all their players, especially the ones with the heftier cap hits.

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