Rumor: 2018-19 Kings News/Rumors/Tidbits

[KingPuckChoo]

Gonna need to flush more than Stevens.

Why? with Brown our roster looks very potent, (because it does balance everything (i admit it also means our depth is very thin))

the system we're playing still feels outdated, we still dump and chase for crying out loud, go in a corner and do board battles

i also distrust Nachbaur, i mean i can only look at the results and our PP is abysmal, but yet we seem to have the players to be better than average

it's hard to quantify these things, but i wished we would have completely said goodbye to Sutter's staff (except Ranford), would have been easier to know where the blame really lies

 

[Bandit]

Why? with Brown our roster looks very potent, (because it does balance everything (i admit it also means our depth is very thin))

the system we're playing still feels outdated, we still dump and chase for crying out loud, go in a corner and do board battles

i also distrust Nachbaur, i mean i can only look at the results and our PP is abysmal, but yet we seem to have the players to be better than average

it's hard to quantify these things, but i wished we would have completely said goodbye to Sutter's staff (except Ranford), would have been easier to know where the blame really lies

Pretty sure everyone but Blake thought that would have been a good idea. The fact that he didn't even interview anyone else was just stupid.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

The players have changed here and there, but the coaching really hasn't. They've stuck with the same thing - ultra responsible play with very little risk taking. They can bring in fast, skilled guys all they want, but until there's a change in philosophy the results will be the same. It doesn't have to be a major change, just emphasize getting the puck moving forward, perfect positioning be damned. I would argue the dynamic hasn't changed much at all, just different chess pieces playing the same sequence.

Perhaps, beginning of last year, everyone thought yea, great, Stevens found it, he's winning etc....playoffs come around and it's back to status quo.... I don't know if the philosophy hasn't changed...you can argue that the line combinations shows it hasn't, but you really don't know anything until the first game hits.

 

[tny760]

Why? with Brown our roster looks very potent, (because it does balance everything (i admit it also means our depth is very thin))

the system we're playing still feels outdated, we still dump and chase for crying out loud, go in a corner and do board battles

i also distrust Nachbaur, i mean i can only look at the results and our PP is abysmal, but yet we seem to have the players to be better than average

it's hard to quantify these things, but i wished we would have completely said goodbye to Sutter's staff (except Ranford), would have been easier to know where the blame really lies

this

entirely

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Agreed, but you are acting like it's a foregone conclusion that Kopitar is gonna play 25 minutes a game from game 1- game 82,

That's nonsense, give it a freaking chance, tell you what, if Games 1-10 Kopitar is averaging more than 22:09, THEN complain all you want about it....but until it happens....WTF are you actually doing?

I agree with you that we need to keep him off of PK, but the problem with that is, he's the best PKer they have, so how do you do that?

For the record I don't necessarily want Kopi off the PK, just pointing out the rigor of his minutes in general.

When Carter returned, Kopitar wasn't just over 20-21 minutes multiple times, he was over 23 minutes--including a game over 25 minutes--several times. He averaged 22 minutes until the game Carter got hurt. So it wasn't just a 'protect while Carter is out' phenomenon, and it wasn't exclusive to Kopitar. We're beyond "give it a freaking chance," we have evidence.

I'd like to think Stevens has learned some lessons from last year but that is just one complaint on a laundry list I have. He's got a lot to do to make me stop complaining.

 

[Bandit]

For the record I don't necessarily want Kopi off the PK, just pointing out the rigor of his minutes in general.

When Carter returned, Kopitar wasn't just over 20-21 minutes multiple times, he was over 23 minutes--including a game over 25 minutes--several times. He averaged 22 minutes until the game Carter got hurt. So it wasn't just a 'protect while Carter is out' phenomenon, and it wasn't exclusive to Kopitar. We're beyond "give it a freaking chance," we have evidence.

I'd like to think Stevens has learned some lessons from last year but that is just one complaint on a laundry list I have. He's got a lot to do to make me stop complaining.

Such as opening his mouth when he talks?

 

[KingsFan7824]

Why? with Brown our roster looks very potent, (because it does balance everything (i admit it also means our depth is very thin))

It's also Vilardi too. I know he's always hurt, but they assumed he was going to play. I know that was the wrong choice, but there's a cap, and you can only have so many players. We all want to see cheaper young players play, and he was supposed to. Say what you want about Brodzinski too, but he's also hurt, and was also going to be part of the mix, however bland he may be as a probably too old to be considered a real prospect player.

For the record I don't necessarily want Kopi off the PK, just pointing out the rigor of his minutes in general.

When Carter returned, Kopitar wasn't just over 20-21 minutes multiple times, he was over 23 minutes--including a game over 25 minutes--several times. He averaged 22 minutes until the game Carter got hurt. So it wasn't just a 'protect while Carter is out' phenomenon, and it wasn't exclusive to Kopitar. We're beyond "give it a freaking chance," we have evidence.

I'd like to think Stevens has learned some lessons from last year but that is just one complaint on a laundry list I have. He's got a lot to do to make me stop complaining.

His ES minutes weren't anything out of the ordinary last year. 4th in the league per game. 20 more seconds per game than Zetterberg with a bad back. #2 in total ES minutes. 20 more minutes than Crosby. With Kopitar's cap hit, he better be able to play a lot. It's built into the price. He also took more faceoffs than he ever has too. They were probably throwing him out there just to take one on occasion, because without Carter, they couldn't trust anyone else. Took more faceoffs than almost the next 4 Kings combined. Next was Kempe, and he was awful. Go back to 09-10, and last year the Kings had their worst team faceoff winning %, and that was with Kopitar at a career high %.

Overall though, yeah, Stevens doesn't do a 4th line. 41 forwards have have played between 16-17 and 17-18, and 11 of the bottom 12 in ES minutes per game, and 5 of the top 8, were from last year.

Kopitar playing a lot though, whatever. He was the 4th highest paid player in the league last year, 3rd highest cap hit. This year, tied for the 4th highest paid player, tied for the highest cap hit. They can't afford a more proven 3rd line center in part because Kopitar got paid. Take less money if the burden is too big. He had a hell of a year carrying the offense though. Not saying he shouldn't play a little less, if possible, but it's a hard cap league, and guys like Stoll and Handzus have been difficult to replace.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

His ES minutes weren't anything out of the ordinary last year. 4th in the league per game. 20 more seconds per game than Zetterberg with a bad back. #2 in total ES minutes. 20 more minutes than Crosby. With Kopitar's cap hit, he better be able to play a lot. It's built into the price. He also took more faceoffs than he ever has too. They were probably throwing him out there just to take one on occasion, because without Carter, they couldn't trust anyone else. Took more faceoffs than almost the next 4 Kings combined. Next was Kempe, and he was awful. Go back to 09-10, and last year the Kings had their worst team faceoff winning %, and that was with Kopitar at a career high %.

Overall though, yeah, Stevens doesn't do a 4th line. 41 forwards have have played between 16-17 and 17-18, and 11 of the bottom 12 in ES minutes per game, and 5 of the top 8, were from last year.

Kopitar playing a lot though, whatever. He was the 4th highest paid player in the league last year, 3rd highest cap hit. This year, tied for the 4th highest paid player, tied for the highest cap hit. They can't afford a more proven 3rd line center in part because Kopitar got paid. Take less money if the burden is too big. He had a hell of a year carrying the offense though. Not saying he shouldn't play a little less, if possible, but it's a hard cap league, and guys like Stoll and Handzus have been difficult to replace.

It's less the time overall and more the attribution of that time. You can look at game logs for proof, but there were more than a handful of times Stevens shortens the bench by dumping the 4th line by the 2nd period and the 3rd line gets cut in half by the 3rd--and when we're playing from behind leaving all those guys out is an exercise in futility. Yeah, Kopitar needs to perform to that contract but he's already playing arguably the hardest minutes in the league for a forward, so why go out of your way to handicap him in different ways?

And really this is just one of my many complaints, and probably one of the smaller ones. But Kopitar has played the most minutes of any forward since 2012 and he's aging. Manage him better since the roster depth exists by managing the roster better.

 

[KINGS17]

Why? with Brown our roster looks very potent, (because it does balance everything (i admit it also means our depth is very thin))

the system we're playing still feels outdated, we still dump and chase for crying out loud, go in a corner and do board battles

i also distrust Nachbaur, i mean i can only look at the results and our PP is abysmal, but yet we seem to have the players to be better than average

it's hard to quantify these things, but i wished we would have completely said goodbye to Sutter's staff (except Ranford), would have been easier to know where the blame really lies

What type of system would you like Stevens to employ? I guarantee you the Kings don't have the team speed to keep pace with the top teams in the Pacific Division. That's why they are going to have to do a complete overhaul if they want to change their system.

 

[tny760]

What type of system would you like Stevens to employ? I guarantee you the Kings don't have the team speed to keep pace with the top teams in the Pacific Division. That's why they are going to have to do a complete overhaul if they want to change their system.

send 2 forecheckers in.

we dominated the 2012 playoffs doing that. we dominated the sens last season doing it. don't have to be fast when you give the opponent no time. we're playing the hockey equivalent of an NFL prevent defense. cancel the long ball out but teams march right on down main street against us.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[KINGS17]

send 2 forecheckers in.

we dominated the 2012 playoffs doing that. we dominated the sens last season doing it. don't have to be fast when you give the opponent no time. we're playing the hockey equivalent of an NFL prevent defense. cancel the long ball out but teams march right on down main street against us.

So, back to Sutter's system, the one all of the players hate and said was too hard?

 

[KINGS17]

I think after his little coup, Luc has about another 2-3 years left as Kings president.

 

[BigKing]

I think after his little coup, Luc has about another 2-3 years left as Kings president.

He sounds just like an HF poster:

"These young guys will just step in and contribute in key roles"

Love the mention of Clifford.

 

[Little Psycho]

Gonna need to flush more than Stevens.

This team needs an enema.

 

[KINGS17]

This team needs an enema.

 

[Kingsfan1]

People over on main boards are calling Kopitar a poor mans Matthews and are saying it’s an insult to Matthews to compare him to Kopitar. I wanna buy this site just to ban Leaf fans from it

 

[AlphaBravo]

I really hope that Luc is saying all this to just sell seats, and that he does not honestly believe the Kings are contenders. It's hilarious reading the over-the-top optimism in this open letter. I only agree with his assessment of Kopitar, Doughty and Quick. But Brown still remains a question mark, our secondary cast is nothing special, and who knows if we will see Vilardi on a regular basis in the Kings line up. And characterizing Kovy as a world renown goal scorer is a bit too much. It remains to be seen how well he performs in the new NHL, and in light of his age. The present and future sure look bleak.

 

[YP44]

People over on main boards are calling Kopitar a poor mans Matthews and are saying it’s an insult to Matthews to compare him to Kopitar. I wanna buy this site just to ban Leaf fans from it

they should hope matthews has the career Kopitar has had. That said I do not see the comparison as Kopitar is an eltite defensive specialist with scoring capabilities whereas mathews is an elite offensive specialist whose speed allows him to get back defensively. Both legitimate #1 C, both fan bases lucky to have, but not comparable player types IMO.

Looking at leafs I think if anything Kadri is a poor man's Kopitar.

 

[Little Psycho]

People over on main boards are calling Kopitar a poor mans Matthews and are saying it’s an insult to Matthews to compare him to Kopitar. I wanna buy this site just to ban Leaf fans from it

Why would you do this to me? I took a peak and it's bad.

 

[Kingsfan1]

Why would you do this to me? I took a peak and it's bad.

Lolll I wanna rip my hair out . I been arguing with them now I stopped cause they’re morons

 

[KingsFan7824]

Last year, the Kings averaged the most GF in the Kopitar era. Best goal differential too.

 

[Kingsfan1]

they should hope matthews has the career Kopitar has had. That said I do not see the comparison as Kopitar is an eltite defensive specialist with scoring capabilities whereas mathews is an elite offensive specialist whose speed allows him to get back defensively. Both legitimate #1 C, both fan bases lucky to have, but not comparable player types IMO.

Looking at leafs I think if anything Kadri is a poor man's Kopitar.

Go read the last few posts they still think Matthews >>>> Kopitar ainec

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Go read the last few posts they still think Matthews >>>> Kopitar ainec

They're Leafs fans. Who cares what they think. They're in their own little bubble.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]