2017 Offseason Thread 5.0 Summer Doldrums

[kingsboy11]

This is interesting that the kings sort of came out of nowhere in regards to Butcher. I remember when Peterson signed that surprised a lot of people. Wouldn't be surprised if a similar situation happened here with Butcher.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

With Folin only signed to a one-year deal, and both Forbort and Gravel both a year away from becoming RFAs (and not knowing how the upcoming season will go for both), it's not a bad idea to have some backup plans in store.

Not to mention the fact that a guy like Butcher or Clague or someone else panning out may afford the team the flexibility to move a Muzzin or Martinez, just like how Voynov enabled the team to move Johnson.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Doughty to Toronto #confirmed.

 

[Sol]

I like that at least Blake is into signing college ufas. Dean Lombardi seemed to never been in on anything.

 

[damacles1156]

With Folin only signed to a one-year deal, and both Forbort and Gravel both a year away from becoming RFAs (and not knowing how the upcoming season will go for both), it's not a bad idea to have some backup plans in store.

Not to mention the fact that a guy like Butcher or Clague or someone else panning out may afford the team the flexibility to move a Muzzin or Martinez, just like how Voynov enabled the team to move Johnson.

Except the Kings would be moving Muzzin/A-Mart at an advanced age.

Jack was 24/25 years old when the Kings traded him.

I doubt the Kings are going to get great value out of Muzzin/A-Mart on the trade market moving forward.

 

[KINGS17]

I like that at least Blake is into signing college ufas. Dean Lombardi seemed to never been in on anything.

Yeah, for example he totally missed out on Jake Muzzin and Martin Jones. Please let's not defame the Kings ability to scout and sign useful free agents under Lombardi.

 

[King'sPawn]

Yeah, for example he totally missed out on Jake Muzzin and Martin Jones. Please let's not defame the Kings ability to scout and sign useful free agents under Lombardi.

I agree that Lombardi and co should be recognized for what they achieved.

While Sol's delivery was off, I think it's fair to say Lombardi wouldn't have much interest in a guy like Butcher or Petersen. These college players who don't show a commitment to the team that drafted the players and let them marinate would go against Lombardi's philosophy of having loyal, dedicated players.

Make no mistake, I'm not praising Blake and criticizing Lombardi. After all, Lombardi brought in the right players to win the cup. Can't argue with that.

But I do think Blake is showing flexibility in the types of players he is willing to bring in to the organization, for better or worse. Just a contrast in style and methodology.

 

[Sol]

Yeah, for example he totally missed out on Jake Muzzin and Martin Jones. Please let's not defame the Kings ability to scout and sign useful free agents under Lombardi.

Was Muzzin a highly touted free agent? Don't remember.

 

[johnjm22]

Jones
Muzzin
Purcell
Moulson
Piskula

These were all UFA prospects the Kings landed under Lombardi. There may have been more but I can't recall.

People may not think much of Purcell and Piskula now, but they were reasonably well regarded when the Kings landed them.

Dean pulled a fast one and guaranteed Piskula some NHL games as a way to entice him to sign. Thus giving him some extra cash in his pocket. Most other NHL teams weren't in a position to do this.

 

[Sol]

Had high hopes for Pushkarev

 

[kingsholygrail]

They have 6 mil in cap space, how do they not have room for him? If the Kings could get Butcher this dreary offseason would get a lot better quickly.

Cap space is not the only kind of room on this team. Where's he gonna fit in on the D? If he's looking for regular ice time, the Kings are jammed right now. He's going to get better opportunities in that regard with another team.

 

[damacles1156]

I agree that Lombardi and co should be recognized for what they achieved.

While Sol's delivery was off, I think it's fair to say Lombardi wouldn't have much interest in a guy like Butcher or Petersen. These college players who don't show a commitment to the team that drafted the players and let them marinate would go against Lombardi's philosophy of having loyal, dedicated players.

Make no mistake, I'm not praising Blake and criticizing Lombardi. After all, Lombardi brought in the right players to win the cup. Can't argue with that.

But I do think Blake is showing flexibility in the types of players he is willing to bring in to the organization, for better or worse. Just a contrast in style and methodology.

Except Blake is basically forced to ago after College UFA due to the state of the farm system because of Lombardi/Futa.

I blame Futa as well he has a significant role in scouting/drafting.

 

[Butch 19]

Had high hopes for Pushkarev

would read again.

 

[King'sPawn]

Except Blake is basically forced to ago after College UFA due to the state of the farm system because of Lombardi/Futa.

I blame Futa as well he has a significant role in scouting/drafting.

We can rehash this over and over all you want, but the Kings have drafted as well as most teams in the same spot. The only team who has really seemed to struck gold more often than most is Carolina.

The drafting has been good at worst. The trading away of players and picks to go "all in" has not been good.

 

[Stimpythecat]

I agree with King'sPawn. Drafting is not the issue. it was trading away picks for rentals that was the issue.

According to Pronman, Kings went from 29th in the NHL in prospects to 17th in just one year. Essentially the same scouting group.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I agree with King'sPawn. Drafting is not the issue. it was trading away picks for rentals that was the issue.

According to Pronman, Kings went from 29th in the NHL in prospects to 17th in just one year. Essentially the same scouting group.

Yep.

Can't rebuild the pipeline with no picks. You're forced to pull a Red Wings miracle and draft bluechippers in the later rounds, which almost never happens anymore.

The biggest draft blunder we can lay at the feet of Lombardi's regime is the Teubert pick, IMO.

 

[Kingsfan1]

We have Forbort , Ladue , Gravel who should see more ice time this year . We have Clague who is regarded highly as a top 4. We might sign Butcher . It'll open up some chances of us moving a defenseman for help upfront .

 

[Brodeur]

Was Muzzin a highly touted free agent? Don't remember.

Muzzin was a late round pick of Pittsburgh's but they opted not to sign him. He then went back into the draft and managed to slip through seven rounds. Then Muzzin was in the midst of a big overage season in the OHL and had a decent amount of suitors. TSN scrubbed most of their old articles a few years ago, but I do remember a Dreger/McKenzie article touting Muzzin before he signed.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

http://www.tsn.ca/talent/what-happened-to-anze-kopitar-1.841044

t flew a bit under the radar last season with the Los Angeles Kings in general disarray, but star centre Anze Kopitar had a rough season.

It wasn’t very long ago that Kopitar was regarded as one of the league’s preeminent two-way centres – talked about in the same vein as Boston’s Patrice Bergeron. At his peak, Kopitar’s five-man unit owned the puck like few units could in the NHL, and it was one of the big reasons why the Kings – despite consistently low scoring rates and up-and-down goaltending – were so difficult to beat.

The Kings have been in a funk for a couple of seasons now, and a big piece of that has to do with the degradation in performance from Los Angeles’ top line. What’s the best way to articulate the change? Kopitar, who has been a mid-70s point guy since entering the league, scored just 52 last year. Any time a guy sees his scoring rate drop by 30 per cent, red flags should be raised and sirens should be sounded.

The interesting question is whether we are seeing degradation in Kopitar’s game, degradation in the game of the players surrounding Kopitar, or a combination of the two. At 30 years of age, the initial question is fair – but as you dig into it, you start to see that last year’s miserable campaign was more about the Kings than Kopitar.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Couldn't get Will Butcher but we could sign Chris Lee!

 

[KINGS17]

http://www.tsn.ca/talent/what-happened-to-anze-kopitar-1.841044

The hallmark of any bona fide top-six centre (or any top-four defender, for that matter) is that he generally boosts the numbers of those around him.

I think if people look at Kopitar's plus/minus, which I know is an imperfect statistic, it can be seen his defense was somewhat lacking as well. The eye test in terms of his defensive coverage was also discouraging.

The Kings were not very good last season, because their best players weren't very good last season, or were injured.

Keep the above in mind as next season progresses. The Kings, for the first time in what feels like forever, actually have some cap space (just under $7 million). If they’re a playoff contender, it seems to me that the obvious add at the trade deadline is a winger for Kopitar – one that can give them the scoring depth they need to return to the postseason.

Yes please, another trade to get Kopitar the winger he needs. I doubt Blake is going to have to worry about this.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Muzzin was a late round pick of Pittsburgh's but they opted not to sign him. He then went back into the draft and managed to slip through seven rounds. Then Muzzin was in the midst of a big overage season in the OHL and had a decent amount of suitors. TSN scrubbed most of their old articles a few years ago, but I do remember a Dreger/McKenzie article touting Muzzin before he signed.

I remember him being very highly regarded before his major back injury in juniors. He was maybe sort of under the radar because of that, but the sense was he had a ton of talent.

I think if people look at Kopitar's plus/minus, which I know is an imperfect statistic, it can be seen his defense was somewhat lacking as well. The eye test in terms of his defensive coverage was also discouraging.

The Kings were not very good last season, because their best players weren't very good last season, or were injured.



Yes please, another trade to get Kopitar the winger he needs. I doubt Blake is going to have to worry about this.

Have to say I'm 100% with you here. Kopi's +/- continues to be very reflective of his play from year to year, probably very much due to his rink-controlling style. Actually that's a fairly accurate stat with most Kings players over the last couple of years since it's not like we really have anyone racking up PP points.

 

[deeshamrock]

http://www.tsn.ca/talent/what-happened-to-anze-kopitar-1.841044

Interesting article with a lot of colorful graphs and stats. Kopitar has a winger he should be playing with in TT. If the Kings add a forward, it should be a center for the 2nd line and shift Carter to wing, that gives them a more solid top 6 then toploading the 2nd line. But it doesn't appear that is in their cards. I'd guess this is the hand STevens will play because it's the one he was dealt. I think they will give Vilardi a shot next season at 2C.

And part of Kopitar's problem, hopefully this year will be resolved when the new coach , and a better system, will have him shooting more. and/or be in a better position to shoot with wingers feeding him from offense generated behind the net, for example. And more open ice in the middle, not board hugging.

 

[justonetime]

Even Duck fans over on the trade board are defending Kopitar and expecting him to have a bounce back season. Crazy so many Kings fans have completely written him off.

I know many people are not, but I'm very optimistic he will have a MUCH better year.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Even Duck fans over on the trade board are defending Kopitar and expecting him to have a bounce back season. Crazy so many Kings fans have completely written him off.

I know many people are not, but I'm very optimistic he will have a MUCH better year.

After last season, could he really play any worse than that? I would hope not.

Kopitar usually takes a vacation and mentally checks out by the mid-way point of the season, but this past season he decided to take the first 4-5 months off after returning from the World Cup.

He has to perform better, or else we're going to be talking about who the next captain of the team will be yet again.