Dustin Brown's leadership tested through trying period

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown sat in a video room at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo for close to 40 minutes on a Friday afternoon.

There he watched his younger self deliver big hits. He saw himself score big goals. Overall he saw himself play the type of hockey that lent to more points and a more effective role.

“There’s very tangible things you can draw from on film,” Brown said. “What I was doing pretty consistently in 2012 and 2013 that I haven’t been doing the last couple of years – just trying to refocus my game, it’s a process though.”

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Few members of LA’s championship core have gone through a more trying on-ice period the last three years than Brown. He hasn’t seen his skills noticeably drop off. He hasn’t suffered any career altering injuries. Simply, he’s just not scoring as much.

Brown can’t nail it down to any real specifics, other than saying, “I got away from myself” and that he’s “trying to reinforce habits I had.”

In past Kings playoff runs, Brown has been an emotional leader of the group. His performance in the first-round of the 2012 playoffs against the Vancouver Canucks set the tone for that stretch and helped cement himself as the team’s captain. In 2013-14 he wasn’t quite as offensively sound, but was still an important player that helped the Kings march toward their second Cup.

But is he still the same player that has led the Kings to playoff success in the past? And can he once again lead Los Angeles deep into the postseason?

This year coach Darryl Sutter has been critical of Brown’s play and noted that others have stepped up as leaders for this group.

“He’s our captain and we look at him the same way no matter what line or how many minutes he’s playing,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. “He’s our captain and had been for a long time and that’s how it’s going to be.”

Since the NHL expanded in the early 90s, Brown is one of five captains to have won multiple Stanley Cups. The group includes Hockey Hall of Fame players Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman and Scott Stevens and likely future Hall of Famer, Jonathan Toews.

In 2011-12 as the Kings were slogging around the trade deadline, Brown’s name was thrust into trade rumors.

At the time he was 27 years old, and there wasn’t a sense that the Kings needed to unload him for any reason other than to change their culture.

“I remember sitting with my wife at a restaurant kind of going over in our heads, ‘what would happen if I got traded?’ That was maybe a week before the deadline before all the rumors were starting,” Brown said. “It was an emotional time because I wanted to be a King.”

In his last 18 games that year, Brown had 16 points and then had 20 points in 20 playoff games. That stretch changed the narrative around Brown and the Kings.

“Just based on where the team was trending, if we didn’t have that run we had there would have been changes for sure and that kind of solidified the belief in our group and what we were trying to do here,” Brown said. “I think that went a long way for what we did after that and what we’re trying to do now.”

The 31-year-old Brown’s numbers have trended down the last couple of seasons, but really reached a tipping point entering this year.

Before the season started, Brown hired a nutritionist as a way to boost his energy and re-dedicated himself to fitness. To the eyeball he’s looked better overall, but the results haven’t been there. He has 27 points in 74 games. The last two seasons he’s also had 27 points. In 2011-12 he had 54 points in 82 games.

Earlier in the year, Sutter said Brown, “needs to be a better player.”

The captain hasn’t scoffed at the criticism and has taken on the challenge.

Brown said he’s had “internal discussions” with Sutter and general manager Dean Lombardi this season about his game and “what makes me a good player and trying to rebuild that.”

Said Sutter in a recent question asked about Brown, “I think for the most part when a player has a role and it’s a specific role and you’re looked on in the league as being good in that role, then you should stick to that role and your career will continue to be productive.”

In the summer of 2013, Brown signed an eight-year $47 million contract extension. At the time, Brown had five straight full seasons of 20-or-more goals. In the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, he was on pace for well over 20 goals. Now the deal is considered one of the most overpriced contracts in the NHL.

Brown’s name is often brought up in trade rumors, though his deal appears unmovable. A buyout would add another monetary penalty to LA’s salary cap situation that also includes Mike Richards.

There’s a feeling that this year could be one of Brown’s last runs with the Pacific Division leading Kings.

“Everybody’s entitled to their opinion but I think very few understand what goes on in these walls,” Brown said about trade rumors and his contract. “It’s a lot of stuff outside the room that get s said about a lot of players and happens to every athlete in every sport. I think the most important thing is where I stand with my teammates.”

And they stand with Brown. He still averages 16:09 per-game and plays some important minutes – even if he’s not as vital a player as years past.

“He plays as hard as he possibly can. He finishes every single check,” Doughty said. “The way he plays can’t be easy on the body and he’s been playing like that for a long time. That’s how he shows his leadership. You need different types of leaders and showing it on the ice is one of them.”

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper