2016 LA Kings Offseason GDT IV

[cyclones22]

Sekera got injured so it's hard to assess
Lucic helped LA to one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. Plus he was a King for a whole year not just a trade deadline rental.

Our cup window was very much open the last two years, I am glad we have a GM willing to swing for the fences.

People forget that Sekera was the victim of a Blackhawk falling on his knee. If he doesn't get injured, who knows what happens? And I agree that I'm glad that DL went for it. Had he not, people here would be *****ing that he wasted 2 years of Kopi, Drew and Quick's primes by being too conservative.

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[Trolfoli]

McNabb on the top line?
Surely, we aren't going this route again.

Wasn't McNabb on the top pair for a good portion of the best regular season in Kings history recently?

 

[kingskring]

Draft day deal me feels

 

[KopitarFAN]

Was more thinking if another player was brought in to fill Lucic's position. Don't think I'd protect Gaborik/Brown.

They won't under any circumstances.

Wasn't McNabb on the top pair for a good portion of the best regular season in Kings history recently?

You mean the same defense that SJ made look like a junior team.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

"Best regular season in franchise history" is a really hollow boast when:

- you're playing in the shootout era
- you racked up points playing 3v3
- you get embarrassed in the first round

 

[Trolfoli]

They won't under any circumstances.



You mean the same defense that SJ made look like a junior team.

That was Scuderi on the top pair.

 

[Trolfoli]

"Best regular season in franchise history" is a really hollow boast when:

- you're playing in the shootout era
- you racked up points playing 3v3
- you get embarrassed in the first round

Hard to argue that McNabb isn't fine on the top pair for the regular season. That with letting Lucic walk, bringing in a project RHD, do the Kings even need to bother worrying about the playoffs?

 

[KingsCourt]

Draft day deal me feels

I hope, I'll be there Friday night so i hope there's some fireworks

 

[LAKings88]

People forget that Sekera was the victim of a Blackhawk falling on his knee. If he doesn't get injured, who knows what happens? And I agree that I'm glad that DL went for it. Had he not, people here would be *****ing that he wasted 2 years of Kopi, Drew and Quick's primes by being too conservative.

Pearson's broken leg too.

 

[YP44]

People forget that Sekera was the victim of a Blackhawk falling on his knee. If he doesn't get injured, who knows what happens? And I agree that I'm glad that DL went for it. Had he not, people here would be *****ing that he wasted 2 years of Kopi, Drew and Quick's primes by being too conservative.

agreed

 

[BigKing]

I don't think DL would of been lambasted too much for not making the Lucic deal. It was completely unexpected.

Honestly, most everyone felt that missing the playoffs was a freak thing at this time last year. The cap looked daunting and with Williams supposedly costing too much, nobody really expected a big name winger to be added while I'm willing to bet that nobody expected the 1st rounder to be traded since the '16 1st was just given away for 18 games of Sekera.

The Sekera deal gets a pass because the idea was to replace Voynov on the team that just won the Cup the season prior. If DL sat on his hands at the deadline after the "Built for the playoffs" Kings just rattled off like 9 straight wins in their standard late season push then, yes, he would of been heavily criticized.

Holding on to the 1st rounder and Colin Miller and maybe looking for a lower-tier player like Stempniak to replace Williams (while also waiting to see how Voynov shook out) would not of led to as much criticism in comparison to doing nothing during the 2015 trade deadline.

I love that DL goes for it and gambles at times, its just that bets have different odds attached to them for a reason and the Lucic trade--when factoring in trying to sign him--didn't have very good odds to begin with.

Regardless, when you swing and miss twice as horribly as DL has here (while not even discussing the Richards saga), then the man is open to criticism and can't continue to get a pass because of 2012-14.

Not saying he is on thin ice or anything, but his performance since winning in '14 is putting me back into the mindset I had prior to 2012: "So you think you are the smartest guy in the room, Lombardi? Prove it."

He needs to start proving it again and immediately. I really think standing pat for the most part this Summer would be step one, except for possibly acquiring more picks.

 

[Minor Boarding]

Oh they are, and this time around it might actually work.....

Nope. McNabb doesn't have the hockey IQ to be a top pairing defensman (on a team that wants to win the Cup that is) in this league. He plays more like Gauthier, certainly not enaugh for a team that wants to be tops.

Wasn't McNabb on the top pair for a good portion of the best regular season in Kings history recently?

Did you miss the games post trade deadline and in the playoffs?
Doughty was worn out babysitting his partners, meanwhile 2/3 of the Kings defense couldn't get the puck out of the defensive zone and the outlet passing was beyond horrible - Edmonton esque...

 

[Omni Owl]

McNabb belongs nowhere near the top defense pairing, he's totally miscast in that role. He's a bottom pairing guy.

 

[Kingsfan1]

Agree about Mcnabb. I'd like to see Gravel play alongside Doughty , it would be an ideal pairing and Gravel is a smart player

 

[YP44]

Agree about Mcnabb. I'd like to see Gravel play alongside Doughty , it would be an ideal pairing and Gravel is a smart player

I'd like to see Gravel get a shot, but I do no think he is quit ready for 20+ mins a game.

So in that situation it would be a rotation with Drew.

 

[Keith Sweaty]

Sekera got injured so it's hard to assess
Lucic helped LA to one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. Plus he was a King for a whole year not just a trade deadline rental.

Our cup window was very much open the last two years, I am glad we have a GM willing to swing for the fences.

People forget that Sekera was the victim of a Blackhawk falling on his knee. If he doesn't get injured, who knows what happens? And I agree that I'm glad that DL went for it. Had he not, people here would be *****ing that he wasted 2 years of Kopi, Drew and Quick's primes by being too conservative.

Great posts.

 

[Kingsfan1]

I'd like to see Gravel get a shot, but I do no think he is quit ready for 20+ mins a game.

So in that situation it would be a rotation with Drew.

He might not be ready but he definitely should be given a chance to learn and improve his game. Eventually our D pairing will be

Gravel/Forbort-Doughty (SAH Mitchell type with Doughty)
Muzzin-Cernak/UFA/Trade (Corsi God who puts up points with SAH)
Cost effective bottom pairing.

Martinez will eventually be trade bait because I think management was expecting him to make a bigger jump when they gave him that contract as 4 million for bottom pairing is to much. Muzzin keeps improving , Martinez puts up points but I think his game is better suited for an eastern team, definitely see Martinez getting traded in a year or two.

 

[YP44]

He might not be ready but he definitely should be given a chance to learn and improve his game. Eventually our D pairing will be

Gravel/Forbort-Doughty (SAH Mitchell type with Doughty)
Muzzin-Cernak/UFA/Trade (Corsi God who puts up points with SAH)
Cost effective bottom pairing.

Martinez will eventually be trade bait because I think management was expecting him to make a bigger jump when they gave him that contract as 4 million for bottom pairing is to much. Muzzin keeps improving , Martinez puts up points but I think his game is better suited for an eastern team, definitely see Martinez getting traded in a year or two.

Last off season i was pushing to trade Martinez for cap space to re-sign Sekera. Lots balked at it standing up for Jazz Hands. I was not sold on him. Then this year Martinez really impressed me and I began to think he was a very good #4. I think a lot of others shared this sentiment.

Now he has been injured and it seems his stock among fans is dropping by the day. I am still not against moving him, but I think the return should be higher than a lot expect.

 

[Trolfoli]

Nope. McNabb doesn't have the hockey IQ to be a top pairing defensman (on a team that wants to win the Cup that is) in this league. He plays more like Gauthier, certainly not enaugh for a team that wants to be tops.


Did you miss the games post trade deadline and in the playoffs?
Doughty was worn out babysitting his partners, meanwhile 2/3 of the Kings defense couldn't get the puck out of the defensive zone and the outlet passing was beyond horrible - Edmonton esque...

I just don't get it. You complain about Lombardi spending assets to make a push in the playoffs. Now it doesn't look like Lombardi is in that all in mindset and may be building for the future. Not next year necessarily. Now you're complaining about McNabb on the top pair. If the Kings aren't all in for a cup they could run Schultz on the top pair next year and it doesn't matter.

McNabb isn't a top pairing defender on a cup winning team? Who cares? The Kings aren't winning the cup next year. Who knows when the team will be good enough to actually compete for a cup again? McNabb may not even be on the team by then.

Edit: Kings are winning a cup with
-Dowd/Shore as the 3C
-Gravel/Forbort in the top 4
-Brown sucking up 6M of cap space putting up 10 goals and lowering point totals for everyone he plays with but Stoll/Lewis/Shore
-Lucic walking and not replacing him in the top 6
-Scuderi/Greene in the line up
-Kopitar over paid at 10 laugh: this one's a joke)
-if Carter or Gaborik loses a step.

Why all the focus on McNabb?

 

[CowMix]

With our cap and lack of trading pieces, Martinez playing even is his offside is better than any current prospect or defenseman we are capable of acquiring.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

OK guys maybe no the right thread to ask this question but here goes.....
How good are Adrian Kempe and Michael Amadio and what could be their roles and ultimate ceilings on the team???

Adrian Kempe- from what I've read is a bruising man child with speed, power and offensive flair who can play a 200ft game but lacks consistency. Can he be our new age Adam Deadmarsh or is his ceiling higher/lower??

Michael Amadio- was drafted because of his defensive dominance, but went from being 5-9,165 to 6-2,196 and with his improved size so has grown his offensive game. It has grown to the point were scouts consider his shot, release and accuracy as ELITE, He looks like a Mike Richards clone with much more size or is that too high of a ceiling for what could be the steal of the 2014 draft....

Kempe's offensive ceiling is higher than Deadmarsh. And he's certainly very feisty. If he fills out, he's a bit like Landeskog. But he's honestly very much a wild card--it's hard to tell if he's going to be consistent enough to be a top-sixer or if he'll simply be a guy like Ladislav Nagy (good version) or even Cogliano.

Amadio isn't pissy enough to be Mike Richards but the stylistic comparison is there because of the passing/IQ. He has a much more powerful shot though. And he certainly competes, but I don't think he has half the moxie Mike Richards has/had. He's kind of more who we though Bud Holloway would be.

Though I will say his offense before he went to Juniors was absolutely Insane--so the ability was there it just had yet to translate. I was looking very much forward to what he could do at the pro level given how little support was around him in juniors and he fit right in with the Reign and was one of their better offensive players immediately. I don't think he's ready yet--at least one full year with the Reign would be good, maybe two so he can fill out and work on his explosiveness--but I do think he's gonna be a player. Third liner is my projection but I think if he keeps growing in this crazy linear manner he could be a 2C, kinda Derek Stepan-ish.

Agree about Mcnabb. I'd like to see Gravel play alongside Doughty , it would be an ideal pairing and Gravel is a smart player

I've said this a few times so it's not at you in particular though it applies--I don't see why people are going to spend all summer slamming a learning defenseman who was miscast in McNabb then support another learning defenseman in Gravel immediately being miscast.

He deserves a shot to see what he can do for sure, but even then, need to hedge expectations and protect him a bit. For the first 1/3 of last season, McNabb looked like baby Chris Pronger. For the 2nd 1/3, he looked like rookie Jake Muzzin. For the last 1/3, he looked like drunk Randy Jones.

Playing the rigors of top competition and big minutes all season is TOUGH for even the best defensemen, ti's not smart to throw a rookie into that fire. Even guys like Ekblad and Colton Parayko faded hard towards the end of their years and they were 2nd pairing, not first.

Two lessons here--1. McNabb is better than this forum gives him credit for. 2. Don't ****ing pencil Gravel in as a #2 defenseman.

 

[eleventy]

2. Don't ****ing pencil Gravel in as a #2 defenseman.

 

[Minor Boarding]

I just don't get it. You complain about Lombardi spending assets to make a push in the playoffs. Now it doesn't look like Lombardi is in that all in mindset and may be building for the future. Not next year necessarily. Now you're complaining about McNabb on the top pair. If the Kings aren't all in for a cup they could run Schultz on the top pair next year and it doesn't matter.

McNabb isn't a top pairing defender on a cup winning team? Who cares? The Kings aren't winning the cup next year. Who knows when the team will be good enough to actually compete for a cup again? McNabb may not even be on the team by then.

Edit: Kings are winning a cup with
-Dowd/Shore as the 3C
-Gravel/Forbort in the top 4
-Brown sucking up 6M of cap space putting up 10 goals and lowering point totals for everyone he plays with but Stoll/Lewis/Shore
-Lucic walking and not replacing him in the top 6
-Scuderi/Greene in the line up
-Kopitar over paid at 10 laugh: this one's a joke)
-if Carter or Gaborik loses a step.

Why all the focus on McNabb?

Long story short: The Kings best players aren't getting younger that's why I feel it's still time to compete now.
I am not against risks and spending assets... But I expect at least fair trades - not robberies like the Lucic deal for Boston. Lucic was mediocre and like I said at the time of the trade, he wasn't the player from a few years ago. His physical play is gone, he commits a lot of stupid penalties and is a streaky one dimensional scorer.
Lombardi overpaid and did so on a player that wasn't even close to being worth it. For 13overall+Miller+Jones he should have gotten a player better then Lucic. The Kings didn't lack grit, they lacked a true offensive winger that can generate chances and pass the puck.
The team lost their entire 2nd defensive pairing and what did Lombardi do to fix that hole: Add McNabb, Scuderi, Schenn, McBain, Erhoff. Those guys were bounced between 3rd pairing minutes, healthy scratched or in the AHL. Not a lot to start with to cover for the loss of Voynov/Mitchell.

I am not blind however. I saw the Kings team that didn't manage to get the puck out of the defensive zone and where defensman couldn't make a outlet pass to save their lives..

 

[kings11]

Kempe's offensive ceiling is higher than Deadmarsh. And he's certainly very feisty. If he fills out, he's a bit like Landeskog. But he's honestly very much a wild card--it's hard to tell if he's going to be consistent enough to be a top-sixer or if he'll simply be a guy like Ladislav Nagy (good version) or even Cogliano.

Amadio isn't pissy enough to be Mike Richards but the stylistic comparison is there because of the passing/IQ. He has a much more powerful shot though. And he certainly competes, but I don't think he has half the moxie Mike Richards has/had. He's kind of more who we though Bud Holloway would be.

Though I will say his offense before he went to Juniors was absolutely Insane--so the ability was there it just had yet to translate. I was looking very much forward to what he could do at the pro level given how little support was around him in juniors and he fit right in with the Reign and was one of their better offensive players immediately. I don't think he's ready yet--at least one full year with the Reign would be good, maybe two so he can fill out and work on his explosiveness--but I do think he's gonna be a player. Third liner is my projection but I think if he keeps growing in this crazy linear manner he could be a 2C, kinda Derek Stepan-ish.



I've said this a few times so it's not at you in particular though it applies--I don't see why people are going to spend all summer slamming a learning defenseman who was miscast in McNabb then support another learning defenseman in Gravel immediately being miscast.

He deserves a shot to see what he can do for sure, but even then, need to hedge expectations and protect him a bit. For the first 1/3 of last season, McNabb looked like baby Chris Pronger. For the 2nd 1/3, he looked like rookie Jake Muzzin. For the last 1/3, he looked like drunk Randy Jones.

Playing the rigors of top competition and big minutes all season is TOUGH for even the best defensemen, ti's not smart to throw a rookie into that fire. Even guys like Ekblad and Colton Parayko faded hard towards the end of their years and they were 2nd pairing, not first.

Two lessons here--1. McNabb is better than this forum gives him credit for. 2. Don't ****ing pencil Gravel in as a #2 defenseman.

I agree Amadio doesn't have the pesky attitude MR had but he seems to be the same type of competitor and seems to be a natural leader. He will play next season in Ontario and we should have a much better idea of just how good he is, also i wonder if the kid might be in line for another growth spurt since kids that stretch-out so much 5-9 to 6-2 usually experience another... could end up 6-3/6-4, 210/215lbs, at worst maybe not in height but that weight seems legit seeing he's already 196lbs and has a fanatic work ethic by all reports..

 

[lumbergh]

McNabb had a fine season when paired with Doughty. Rosen covered it in his evaluation.

http://lakingsinsider.com/2016/06/02/player-evaluation-mcnabb-2/

Easily the most bone-crushing hits for the entire defensemen group. Doughty played well next to him; he played well next to Doughty. The WOWY stats demonstrate this. In the end Sutter didn't trust him enough and played Scuderi, which in my opinion was a huge mistake.

Once McNabb gets more confident he'll put up points. He's where Muzzin was four years ago. Let him play a full season next to Doughty and he'll prove you wrong.