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2017 Offseason Thread 5.0 Summer Doldrums

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HookKing said:
Wuuut? So you're saying Budaj masked our "terrible" D? Good lord get out of that hot sun.
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Budaj actually played very well, not enough people giving that guy credit.

The Numbers don't support anything other than the Kings had a very good defense last year. It just didn't look very good on the ice in my opinion.

The MTL reference was not an exact comparison, I was simply pointing out that MTL has decent defensive stats most years propped up by Price. The only bad numbers the Kings had defensively last season was down the stretch. They ballooned to a 2.6 GAA, that stung pretty bad especially since they couldn't score.
 
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HookKing said:
Wuuut? So you're saying Budaj masked our "terrible" D? Good lord get out of that hot sun.
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Maybe you need to get out of the hot sun. I watched every game and Budaj saved their bacon, esp in the Oct thru Jan. Games they had no business winning and saves that were due poor defense, and that includes the forwards.
He and Carter were the only reasons the team wasn't a cellar dweller.
That position of 6th is not based on solely on the defensemen. The rookies showed promise but they're rookies and esp on d, it takes in some cases years to get those roots established.
 
KingsHockey24 said:
Brandon Prust will be joining the Kings camp on a PTO.
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I don't know much about Prust's recent play, but I am aware of his enforcer background. If he is a good skater and not a defensive liability, I wouldn't mind him on the 4th line. I would love it if the Kings had a 4th line full of tough enforcers, like in the past. Players that play with an edge and gritty style, but not necessarily agitators that take dirty shots.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Budaj clearly was the reason why the Kings couldn't score any goals last season.
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He wasn't the main reason, but Budaj in net was a small contributing factor to our dead offense. There were numerous games where the Kings were killing it possession wise, in the opposing side's zone for long stretches, getting shots, and then Budaj would let a soft goal in and deflate the whole team. After those soft goals, the Kings sort of gave up in some games, or lost control of the game because it gave momentum to the other side.

Budaj was a decent goalie who maximized his skill set as a third string goalie. He played amazing a couple of games, often played average, and played horrible in other games because he couldn't handle the workload. If we had two Budajs to split time, I think our season would have gone better.
 
Johnny Utah said:
This is a wake up call for all the guys who did nothing to Reaves when he elbowed Kopitar a few seasons back and Tkachuk's cold shoulder on Doughty.

Not one of Andreoff, Nolan or Clifford did anything of substance.
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Agree . Also considering the fact that Blake gave Clifford a visit himself and brought in Imama and now this and others I think they realize it's gotta be one or the other . This can be Clifford's last year .
 
Not that the Kings marketing team determines the roster, but there are three player bobblehead giveaways this season:

Clifford
Pearson
Toffoli

It may very well be his last year as it could be lots of guys' last year. I still think that they want Clifford to be the guy that handles this role, however. Bring Prust in to stir things up a bit and let Clifford know they expect more. Good move.

I'd love for Prust to be cool with playing in Ontario but I doubt that happens, unless his wife has designs on TV based out of LA.
 
Budaj won us a lot of games in the beginning, and lose us a lot of games towards the end. So to me evens it out. Anyone suggesting Budaj was really good for our team is being dishonest. He was alright. Not good, and not bad.

I think people naturally let a nice story blur reality sometimes. Budaj had a nice story, but yeah he was okay for us.
 
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Kingsfan1 said:
Agree . Also considering the fact that Blake gave Clifford a visit himself and brought in Imama and now this and others I think they realize it's gotta be one or the other . This can be Clifford's last year .
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Clifford has been Mia for a while. Disappointed he's on the team still he's useless
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Must be Budaj who caused the Kings to play perimeter hockey and why the team's offense continued to be inept after Quick returned.
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I am in the minority on this probably, but I think the Kings played worse when Quick came back.

Just an opinion, no real numbers to back it up.
 
thanks for the link.

They author is assuming Doughty, Toffoli and Muzzin re-sign and no one is added via trade. Admittedly keeping those 3 is something I would like to happen.

After 3 years, Gaborik's contract becomes realistically tradeable as a dump. He'd only have 1 year left at that point. I don't see him being on the roster at that time. I think he's gone before Brown. I don't see Clifford on the roster at that time either. One of Watson, Mersch or Imama should beat him out for that roster spot.

what of Folin? I thought I read that he had top 4 potential. Or am I getting my players confused?

So many questions. But I guess that's what the offseason is for. :)
 
With regards to Prust, just remember that the Kings will have a split squad early during preseason due to the two games in China.

9/21: @Shanghai
9/22: @Anaheim
9/23: @Beijing
9/26: @Vegas

The CBA stipulates that you have to dress a minimum of 8 veterans in any preseason game. Guys like Lotkionov/Prust count as veterans, so that adds a little flexibility. I'd imagine that not many of the guys returning from the China trip will be dressed for the next game in Vegas.
 
damacles1156 said:
I am in the minority on this probably, but I think the Kings played worse when Quick came back.

Just an opinion, no real numbers to back it up.
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Their effort level was a good indication to back that up. It was very apparent in just about every one of Ben Bishop's starts too. They also went out in style with that last game of the season.
 
BigKing said:
Not that the Kings marketing team determines the roster, but there are three player bobblehead giveaways this season:

Clifford
Pearson
Toffoli

It may very well be his last year as it could be lots of guys' last year. I still think that they want Clifford to be the guy that handles this role, however. Bring Prust in to stir things up a bit and let Clifford know they expect more. Good move.

I'd love for Prust to be cool with playing in Ontario but I doubt that happens, unless his wife has designs on TV based out of LA.
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Gotta snag myself one of those Clifford bobbleheads on ebay. Unless he's moved before it comes out. :laugh:
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Their effort level was a good indication to back that up. It was very apparent in just about every one of Ben Bishop's starts too. They also went out in style with that last game of the season.
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By the time Quick returned, the team had long quit on Sutter. They were just playing out the season, and it showed most nights.
 
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