2019-20 Kings News/Rumors

[BigKing]

The Kings biggest problem is they don't have very many good players.

While the farm is deep, it's unlikely that our prospects make a significant impact in the NHL soon. By the time they do, our current good players will probably be aged out, and the cycle of suck will continue.

It's gonna be a long time folks.

Nail on the head. It isn't rocket science.

The worst part of it is that they are boring on top of it all. Just talking about this team has grown tedious as well.

 

[KingsHockey24]

Bishi versions?

My friend pointed out that it looks like a Japanese male romance novel cover.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The Kings still have eight holdovers from the first Cup run, and that was eight years ago, if you include Toffoli who was part of the 2014 Cup, that number goes up to nine players.

The rest of the roster is mostly made up of players the team has drafted or signed, and only one of them came via trade.

Jack Campbell, acquired by trade.
Ben Hutton, UFA signing.
Alex Iafallo, Blake Lizotte, Sean Walker, Kurtis MacDermid, UFA prospect signings.
Adrian Kempe, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Michael Amadio, Matt Roy, Austin Wagner, Derek Forbort, all drafted.

With the exception of the three college UFA signings of Iafallo, Lizotte, and Walker, and signing Ben Hutton, this is still largely a team that was assembled by the previous regime.

I'd like to start seeing Blake finally forge a new identity and direction with this club, but that's easier said than done with some of those lucrative contracts that he needs to move. It's no easy task.

 

[BigKing]

Granted, I've barely gone to home games this year and don't watch them on tv all that much, but Ben Hutton is going to go down as one of the most forgettable Kings players of all time if he is only here for this season.

Like, even when I've gone to the games or watch them I completely forget that he is on the team. That's probably a good thing, actually.

 

[King'sPawn]

Here's a fun look at who our most valuable players are on a cost-per-point basis:

Cost Per Point - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

All of our whipping boys are at the top.

Edit: I had non-RFA contracts highlighted; here's the whole team:

Cost Per Point - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

And then switch to Edmonton. Connor McDavid is 19th on his team.

Needless to say, this should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Bandit]

And then switch to Edmonton. Connor McDavid is 19th on his team.

Needless to say, this should be taken with a grain of salt.

He'd be higher if he didn't have a torn PCL... :-P

 

[TopT]

Is he? On a cost-per-point basis, he's worth more than Kopitar.

is he, what if we also take +/- in to account; I was shocked looking at all the numbers; its Kopitar and than nobody

 

[TopT]

I'll take this as you being disappointed with this season and sucking overall, but lets get one thing clear... Jeff Carter is still a good NHL player... overpaid salary hit wise but still good..

Los Angeles Kings at eliteprospects.com

 

[KINGS17]

The Kings biggest problem is they don't have very many good players.

While the farm is deep, it's unlikely that our prospects make a significant impact in the NHL soon. By the time they do, our current good players will probably be aged out, and the cycle of suck will continue.

It's gonna be a long time folks.

You could see this coming many years ago.

 

[YP44]

Nail on the head. It isn't rocket science.

The worst part of it is that they are boring on top of it all. Just talking about this team has grown tedious as well.

I find them less frustrating to watch this year than last at least.

 

[YP44]

Los Angeles Kings at eliteprospects.com

Do you happen to know Carter's defensive start % relative to other kings?

 

[KINGS17]

Doughty is a defenseman and he's second on our team in scoring. And scoring isn't even his strength. He's an excellent puck mover and aggressive defensively.

People need to be realistic with just how awful this supporting cast is surrounding Kopitar and Doughty.

Blaming them is weird imo. They are two way players that play in every brutal situation surrounded by ahl caliber players.

Good news is we have one of the deepest prospect pools in the league. I'm confident this will turn around within two years. If it doesn't then we really blew it in the last few drafts.

Depends on what you mean by turn around. It will be 3-4 years at a minimum before the Kings contend again.

 

[TopT]

Do you happen to know Carter's defensive start % relative to other kings?

no but I am sure Kopi has most D starts

 

[kings11]

Depends on what you mean by turn around. It will be 3-4 years at a minimum before the Kings contend again.

Depends on what you mean by turn around. It COULD be 3-4 years at a minimum before the Kings contend again...
There, I fixed it for you... It could be 3-4 years under a normal plan. However, we have monies, a talented prospect pool with one guy who could be a difference maker and a legit shot(Tho a long shot) at a LaFreniere.. The biggest factor will be whether or not Blake and Co can extract depth players and picks via trade, make a solid signing or three to give this team a chance.. We need that 3 tiered aged player lineup..
Vets- Kopi, Brown, Carts.. the rest
Depth- Walker, Kempe, Iafallo, Amadio, Grundstrom.. etc
ELC- Vilardi, Bjornfot, Anderson, JAD, Fagemo and/or a LaFreniere/Byfield/Stutzle, Swede twins

 

[BigKing]

I find them less frustrating to watch this year than last at least.

Because we've grown numb to it. Even if the system or whatever is more "exciting", passionless hockey is a total waste of time.

The best thing about this season so far is the NHL Frenzy YouTube channel. Nice to know that some teams are still playing with passion. Maybe the Kings will again sooner rather than later but another season like this one will be really difficult.

I mean, glad they are doing what they can to snag a Top 5 pick but they really need to show improvement next season.

 

[YP44]

I wonder if Nashville would look at Toffoli to spark their team. They obviously think they still have a good team on paper (why else would they turf their coach). I point to them because they have a very attractive devil's 2nd round pick.

 

[johnjm22]

Do you happen to know Carter's defensive start % relative to other kings?

Him and Kopitar both have around the same OZ start percentage. Just over 51%.

 

[Statto]

Saying DD is the least of our problems is like closing your eyes and going lalalala. He has been a problem. He may not be playing BAD, but he's not been good. When your veteran, team leader, one of the highest paid players in the sport is not giving it his all and complaining to the media that makes him a big problem.

His expectations are higher. His salary is higher. He has to bring it up in order to justify the loss in equity he carries.

Disagree. He doesn’t play in a vacuum so the mediocrity around him has an impact upon his game (and Kopi for that matter). Without him and we are behind Detroit in the standings. Once he has some semblance of a NHL standard supporting cast around him, his game will elevate.

 

[johnjm22]

When Alex Iafallo is tied for 2nd in scoring on your team you know you have a talent problem.

Kopitar is so much better than anyone else on this team right now. He has 43 points. Next closest guy has 27. He's one of the only players on the team to be a +, and he does it while taking the harder D assignments. He's also by far the best face off guy at 55.6%.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

My friend pointed out that it looks like a Japanese male romance novel cover.

Give me the Frolov-Kovy-Cliffy comic/romance novel over the 2015-2020 Kings anyday

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

When Alex Iafallo is tied for 2nd in scoring on your team you know you have a talent problem.

Kopitar is so much better than anyone else on this team right now. He has 43 points. Next closest guy has 27. He's one of the only players on the team to be a +, and he does it while taking the harder D assignments. He's also by far the best face off guy at 55.6%.

How many years has it been that we’ve been calling these Kings a one line team? Even when they last made the playoffs, one line was carrying that team, and it’s remained that way since then. People shouldn’t be mystified or flabbergasted when someone questions the lack of offense beyond Kopitar. They don’t even have an entire line producing consistently. It’s about 2 out of 3 of them, with spotty offense from every other individual.

At most, the Kings may have two players wind up with 20 or more goals. There’s no coaching change that will get more offense out of this group. The lineup needs an upheaval.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I wonder if Nashville would look at Toffoli to spark their team. They obviously think they still have a good team on paper (why else would they turf their coach). I point to them because they have a very attractive devil's 2nd round pick.

Toffoli with Duchene and Johansen on the same team? Good luck with that.

 

[KingsFan7824]

How many years has it been that we’ve been calling these Kings a one line team? Even when they last made the playoffs, one line was carrying that team, and it’s remained that way since then. People shouldn’t be mystified or flabbergasted when someone questions the lack of offense beyond Kopitar. They don’t even have an entire line producing consistently. It’s about 2 out of 3 of them, with spotty offense from every other individual.

At most, the Kings may have two players wind up with 20 or more goals. There’s no coaching change that will get more offense out of this group. The lineup needs an upheaval.

Even when they were good they were usually a 1 line team the vast majority of the time. The only reason they ever won was because they lucked out that a guy was unhappy. Had Carter been fine where he was, we're all having very different conversations over the last 8 years.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Granted, I've barely gone to home games this year and don't watch them on tv all that much, but Ben Hutton is going to go down as one of the most forgettable Kings players of all time if he is only here for this season.

Like, even when I've gone to the games or watch them I completely forget that he is on the team. That's probably a good thing, actually.

The Kings have a collection of guys whose talent level is so low you don't know they're playing.

 

[King'sPawn]

How many years has it been that we’ve been calling these Kings a one line team? Even when they last made the playoffs, one line was carrying that team, and it’s remained that way since then. People shouldn’t be mystified or flabbergasted when someone questions the lack of offense beyond Kopitar. They don’t even have an entire line producing consistently. It’s about 2 out of 3 of them, with spotty offense from every other individual.

At most, the Kings may have two players wind up with 20 or more goals. There’s no coaching change that will get more offense out of this group. The lineup needs an upheaval.

It's my biggest criticism of the development staff. I know higher picks helps, but the top player developed by the Kings and stayed with the team is Tyler Toffoli.

The development staff just doesn't develop certain skillsets which create successful high-end forwards at the NHL level. They create pros, which is also admirable, but there's an element that's lacking