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2017 Offseason Thread 5.0 Summer Doldrums

Herby said:
If Muzzin doesn't bounce back we are going to be kicking ourselves for not selling him when his value was at such a high level. Amazing how he made the Canadian World Cup team and a little over a year later we are discussing whether he can bounce back and be a good 2nd pair defenseman.
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I thought it was time to move Martinez prior to the start of last season when he might have returned an up and coming forward capable of becoming a legit 3C. I prefer Muzzin over Martinez.
 
KINGS17 said:
I thought it was time to move Martinez prior to the start of last season when he might have returned an up and coming forward capable of becoming a legit 3C. I prefer Muzzin over Martinez.
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I still think we could get a good piece in return.
 
The key is the third line...

It would be awesome if the Kings would ice Iafallo-Kempe-Brodzinski.

It appears Dowd and Andreoff will rotate in for those 3 skilled forwards.
 
Brooks Laich has also been released from his PTO.

If my math is correct we only have to cut one more player.
 
Final cuts have been made. Paul LaDue starts in Ontario .

Cammalleri-Kopitar-Brown
Pearson-Carter-Toffoli
Iafallo-Kempe-Dowd
Clifford-Shore-Lewis
*Andreoff, Brodzinski

Forbort-Doughty
Muzzin-Martinez
Fantenberg-Folin
*MacDermid

Quick
Kuemper
 
Really disappointed in Gravel, guy is falling apart. Disappointed that Brodz didn't take a step forward. Scared for Campbell. Mersch is done in LA imo. Folin didn't look as good as I thought he would but I'm still high on him, hope he can keep improving and learning.

Pearson looks ready to erupt, and I'm stoked for Iafallo. Dowd looks like a really, really good winger. Fantenberg quietly put together a good showing, he's sort of a wild card. Cammalleri could be the free agent steal of the offseason.

The rest? So, so many question marks for this season, but that's a good looking opening roster for Blake given what he had to work with. Bravo. Third and fourth lines got a makeover, Kopitar-Carter-Pearson-Toffoli as top sixers were a given and they need to do their thing. Defense got a little facelift but though I'm less excited about that they're certainly deeper and more offensively adept than before. Muzzin-Martinez have to prove that PDO vs. CF% of last season was a fluke and learning curve.
 
KingCanadain1976 said:
I have noticed Kempe s not very good at face offs and that being nice (highest preseason i can recall is 38%) If hes staying as a center bring stoll in to help him improve it
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25% two games ago, 13% last night Dowd was taking some draws for him in the D zone. He has always been poor in both the AHL and NHL since this experiment started.
 
Rosen seemed to suspect that the defensemen may rotate a lot this year between Ladue, Gravel, Fantenberg and Macdermid. And I have a feeling Brodzy and Iafallo might rotate in and out until Gaborik comes back. Best player stays up.

I'm honestly really disappointed in Gravel, Kempe, Ladue and Brodzinski. Ladue could probably use a little more time in Ontario so I'm not that upset about him. But with Kempe and Brodzy they were outplayed by a free agent signing out of college with no professional experience and no time in our system. Kempe is still making the same mistakes like taking minor penalties, poor faceoff numbers and being a turnover machine. Brodzinski was practically invisible out there and not creating any chances. I'm not giving up on any of these guys yet because they all still have potential, but I was hoping they would've taken a step forward this year
 
I think it's harsh lumping Kempe in with Brodz. Kempe at least showed me something in patches but I didn't see anything from Brodz to make me think he's a potential NHL player. I'm just trusting those that have seen him in the AHL that he's good at that level as I just don't see it. Granted it is a small sample size of 1 game last season and 3 preseason games I've seen him in, but for me he is a long way behind Kempe, Iafallo and Dowd. I hope the kid stuffs my words down my throat and if/when he does I'll happily eat crow.
 
Gravel though WTF?! He seems to be going backwards fast. Is there something else going on there?

He's a good player and should have made the opening day roster easily.
 
kingsboy11 said:
I'm honestly really disappointed in Gravel, Kempe, Ladue and Brodzinski. Ladue could probably use a little more time in Ontario so I'm not that upset about him. But with Kempe and Brodzy they were outplayed by a free agent signing out of college with no professional experience and no time in our system. Kempe is still making the same mistakes like taking minor penalties, poor faceoff numbers and being a turnover machine. Brodzinski was practically invisible out there and not creating any chances. I'm not giving up on any of these guys yet because they all still have potential, but I was hoping they would've taken a step forward this year
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If Iafallo and Fantenberg come in and grab spots, maybe it will inspire these guys to take their play to the next level. Last season, it appeared that the Kings were going to slip back into that pattern of guys making the roster by default, just because they were the best option. Blake has nixed that. Rob and his team have demonstrated they have a great eye for talent so far, and if he mixes that with some of the tools he learned under Lombardi, we might actually be in business.
 
Fishhead said:
If Iafallo and Fantenberg come in and grab spots, maybe it will inspire these guys to take their play to the next level. Last season, it appeared that the Kings were going to slip back into that pattern of guys making the roster by default, just because they were the best option. Blake has nixed that. Rob and his team have demonstrated they have a great eye for talent so far, and if he mixes that with some of the tools he learned under Lombardi, we might actually be in business.
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I'm sure that's what Stevens and Blake are hoping for. Fantenberg and Iafallo earned their spots and deserved to be on the roster. Important thing is to see how guys like Gravel and Ladue react. Both need to perform in Ontario in order to get back to big squad.

Statto said:
I think it's harsh lumping Kempe in with Brodz. Kempe at least showed me something in patches but I didn't see anything from Brodz to make me think he's a potential NHL player. I'm just trusting those that have seen him in the AHL that he's good at that level as I just don't see it. Granted it is a small sample size of 1 game last season and 3 preseason games I've seen him in, but for me he is a long way behind Kempe, Iafallo and Dowd. I hope the kid stuffs my words down my throat and if/when he does I'll happily eat crow.
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Wasn't trying to lump Brodzinski with Kempe. They're different kind of players. I expect more out of Kempe because he's a first round pick and we had high hopes for him to be a producer for this team and was hoping for a little bit more improvement over his time here. He's just not consistent on any of my viewings on him. I still think both players will be good players for us, just expected a little more from them this preseason.
 
kingsboy11 said:
I'm sure that's what Stevens and Blake are hoping for. Fantenberg and Iafallo earned their spots and deserved to be on the roster. Important thing is to see how guys like Gravel and Ladue react. Both need to perform in Ontario in order to get back to big squad.



Wasn't trying to lump Brodzinski with Kempe. They're different kind of players. I expect more out of Kempe because he's a first round pick and we had high hopes for him to be a producer for this team and was hoping for a little bit more improvement over his time here. He's just not consistent on any of my viewings on him. I still think both players will be good players for us, just expected a little more from them this preseason.
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Fair enough. On expecting more from both we can agree. I just think (or is that hope) with Kempe he's been trying too hard as he seems to me to play better later in games as he loosens up. Whereas Broz just doesn't look ready. I don't have a view on his upside as I've not seen enough of him, not by a long way. The reason I expected more was that some had pencilled him in on Kopi's wing, but that was clearly wishful thinking.
 
Statto said:
I think it's harsh lumping Kempe in with Brodz. Kempe at least showed me something in patches but I didn't see anything from Brodz to make me think he's a potential NHL player. I'm just trusting those that have seen him in the AHL that he's good at that level as I just don't see it. Granted it is a small sample size of 1 game last season and 3 preseason games I've seen him in, but for me he is a long way behind Kempe, Iafallo and Dowd. I hope the kid stuffs my words down my throat and if/when he does I'll happily eat crow.
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Brodz had a difficult camp, at least as far as preseason games go, no doubt. Aside from his GWG in the shootout, he was tentative overall and looked like he was thinking way too much about his defensive responsibilities (he even mentioned that in an interview). I will only say this. As someone who closely watched Brodzinski for nearly two full seasons at the AHL Level, and Kempe 1 1/2 seasons at the AHL level in person, the better and more consistent professional hockey player has been Jonny Brodzinski. Whether that pans out in the NHL no one knows yet, as the sample size is way too small for either player. I think it goes a long way to the Kings thoughts about Brodzinski that it appears he is going to make the opening night roster despite his poor overall showing this camp in games. He just has to prove it to everyone else that is not familiar with his game.
 
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