2019-20 Kings News/Rumors

[kovacro]

The finished product.

Cliffy, Kovalchuk, and Frolov.

Nice art work! Reminds me of “take on me” by a-ha.

 

[KINGS17]

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

Nah, it WILL be. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Kopitar and Doughty are not going to lead this team to a Stanley Cup. The kids are going to still have their training wheels on in a few years.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Nah, it WILL be. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Kopitar and Doughty are not going to lead this team to a Stanley Cup. The kids are going to still have their training wheels on in a few years.

Kopitar and Doughty will be brand ambassadors by that point.

 

[kings11]

Nah, it WILL be. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Kopitar and Doughty are not going to lead this team to a Stanley Cup. The kids are going to still have their training wheels on in a few years.

Not a cup but they can speed up the rebuild..
well, if Blake proves to be competent that is..
As for the kids, we only need 2-3 to pan out. Moo oat importantly being Vilardi, Turcotte and this pick.. a part of the rest will be moved for whatever depth we need... but again, that will depend on Blake and CO’s ability to evaluate, develop, trade for and sign the necessary talent..

 

[ru4reals]

Did our season end already haven't checked the schedule but I don't ever remember having this long of a break. Because we're such a horrific team did they just cut our season short. Hilarious. I guess its a good thing we dont have to watch the trash that's out on the ice.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Not a cup but they can speed up the rebuild..
well, if Blake proves to be competent that is..
As for the kids, we only need 2-3 to pan out. Moo oat importantly being Vilardi, Turcotte and this pick.. a part of the rest will be moved for whatever depth we need... but again, that will depend on Blake and CO’s ability to evaluate, develop, trade for and sign the necessary talent..

Include Kaliyev as one of the elite. He'll be scoring 30+ goals with the Kings for years....starting 2 seasons from now. Let it be known. PJB II January 21, 2020.

Someone in the future will say this:

"some people wake up and piss excellence...Arty Kaliyev wakes up and pisses goals. Nothing will ever stop him from doing that; nothing, except father time....like around the year 2037"

 

[Stimpythecat]

I just want the younger guys to continue to progress. And I want to snag a top 2 pick.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Did our season end already haven't checked the schedule but I don't ever remember having this long of a break. Because we're such a horrific team did they just cut our season short. Hilarious. I guess its a good thing we dont have to watch the trash that's out on the ice.

Our season got mercy-ruled.

 

[KINGS17]

Our season got mercy-ruled.

New 10-game below .500 mercy rule. Only need to lose one more and the Kings can forfeit the rest of the season.

 

[KINGS17]

Not a cup but they can speed up the rebuild..
well, if Blake proves to be competent that is..
As for the kids, we only need 2-3 to pan out. Moo oat importantly being Vilardi, Turcotte and this pick.. a part of the rest will be moved for whatever depth we need... but again, that will depend on Blake and CO’s ability to evaluate, develop, trade for and sign the necessary talent..

I think you are overestimating the number of quality defensemen on this roster and in the pipeline.

 

[kingsfan28]

Did our season end already haven't checked the schedule but I don't ever remember having this long of a break. Because we're such a horrific team did they just cut our season short. Hilarious. I guess its a good thing we dont have to watch the trash that's out on the ice.

We got our break during the usual Grammy roadtrip, plus the All-Star break. This is probably the first time it's ever happened.

 

[Statto]

Nah, it WILL be. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Kopitar and Doughty are not going to lead this team to a Stanley Cup. The kids are going to still have their training wheels on in a few years.

When the ‘kids’ are ready for a good play-off run Doughty could easily still Be a legit #1 defenceman and Kopitar could just as easily be a legit top shutdown C. That coupled with their cup winning experience would mean they will still be important pieces.

Both these guys are top players still, and neither rely on having top end speed. In 2-3 years they should be playing fewer minutes and will have much less weight on their shoulders in terms of being ‘everything’. Look at guys like Bergeron whose offence has improved with age as his supporting cast means he’s slipped down the depth chart. The Bruins no longer stand of fall on his performance and it’s helped him no end.

The current situation is mentally draining and must be that much harder on guys that won 2 cups in 3 yrs. Its going to affect their form and must be incredibly difficult to deal with. They are both still our best 2 players by some distance and IMO are the types of players that age well.

By the time we are contenders again Vilardi, Turcotte and this years top 5 pick should be leading us forward, if not we will have bigger issues than Doughty or Kopitar. I’m not saying I wouldn’t trade them as every player has a price, but I wouldn’t be actively shopping either especially Doughty. As I said already, I think we’d regret it.

 

[Statto]

I think you are overestimating the number of quality defensemen on this roster and in the pipeline.

Agreed. I keep seeing people calling Walker a top pairing guy, where for me he’s not yet established even as a #4 guy on a contending team (potential is there). The only certain top 4D is Björnfot and after that I think the rest are bottom pairing guys with a couple that maybe have a ceiling as a #4. Anderson is a bit of a wildcard as whilst I think there in a NHL player there, he’s got a long way to go before he can fill a top 4 role on a contending team. I don’t think it’s a sure thing by any means and he has a long way to go in terms of his development. I think we are still at least one blue chip defensive prospect short, minimum, ideally 2. Not everyone is going to reach their potential.

We’ve had so much garbage on our blue line for so long that our standards have slipped. We need to think in terms of what a contending team looks like, not the level needed to be a top 4D on this roster.

 

[KingsFan7824]

It's at least as likely that they aren't real contenders with their next wave of prospects. Lombardi didn't even draft a contender, and he was all about acquiring picks to draft a contender. His make the Kings a contender trade didn't even finish the job. Richards was supposed to be the finishing move, and they still had to do one more big trade. Not to mention firing the coach, which should've been done earlier, since it's clear Murray was never taking a team anywhere.

The next guy to take the Kings to contender status could be 4 years old today. Let's allow the prospects to breathe before we start getting into the next Cup run.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

It's at least as likely that they aren't real contenders with their next wave of prospects. Lombardi didn't even draft a contender, and he was all about acquiring picks to draft a contender. His make the Kings a contender trade didn't even finish the job. Richards was supposed to be the finishing move, and they still had to do one more big trade. Not to mention firing the coach, which should've been done earlier, since it's clear Murray was never taking a team anywhere.

Yeah, let's actually make the playoffs and win a round before we talking about any type of cup run, lol.

The next guy to take the Kings to contender status could be 4 years old today. Let's allow the prospects to breathe before we start getting into the next Cup run.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Nice interview with Alex Turcotte in the latest Kings/Ducks podcast on the athletic.

He seems like a good kid, but definitely a kid, which is a positive vs a negative at this point. Just listening to how he sets high standards for himself, I don’t think it would help his development to play on a bad kings team next season. He’d be better served with another year of NCAA/WJC experience.

He’s more likely to experience team success at the lower level and since confidence is a huge part of development, let him try and improve without the big league pressure IMO.

 

[kings11]

I think you are overestimating the number of quality defensemen on this roster and in the pipeline.

we have Doughty and Walker on the Kings and Bjornfot and Anderson in Ontario.. Not great but not terrible either, a veteran signing and /or a trade could shore that up really quickly

 

[FrozenKing18]

The way I see it, we aren't going to be a playoff team for quite a while. The prospects we have aren't going to make that huge of an impact to make us a playoff team. The best case scenario I can see is the Kings winning the lottery and drafting a game changer in Lafreniere which would speed up the process. Do I think we'll win the lottery? Hell no. So the second best case scenario is all of our prospects panning out like how we want them to. At least this is how I would like them to pan out

2020 1st Round Pick > Top F/D
Turcotte/Vilardi > Top line Center
Kupari > 2nd/3rd line center
Kaliyev > 30 goal scorer
Grundstrom > Secondary scorer
Fagemo> Secondary scorer
Bjornfot > Top pairing D
Anderson/Clague > Top 4 D
Thomas/Anderson-Dolan > 4th line 2 way players
Petersen - Starter
Don't know too much about Parik & Ingham so far as I'm still catching up.

Will we win the cup with that? No but at least or I hope the Kings would be more entertaining to watch by then. And once the veterans have mentored these kids, and they have matured and trade pieces have been added, then that's when we take a run at the cup. It'll be a while but it is what is.

Worst case scenario, absolutely none of that happens and our prospects do not pan out. And we're stuck in a cycle of suckage.

 

[Seventyx7]

we have Doughty and Walker on the Kings and Bjornfot and Anderson in Ontario.. Not great but not terrible either, a veteran signing and /or a trade could shore that up really quickly

Walker has really seem to come back to Earth after a hot start to the year. Not that he's been bad, but not sure he's going to be a top-4 D on a contender. I would argue Roy has been just as good from 10 games on.

 

[kings11]

Walker has really seem to come back to Earth after a hot start to the year. Not that he's been bad, but not sure he's going to be a top-4 D on a contender. I would argue Roy has been just as good from 10 games on.

They both have been average but I like Walkers ability to move the puck better... One or both could easily be moved in a package to acquire a better Dman.. they're extra assets that we didnt have before and have improved our odds at being able to bring in additional player(s) via trade if need be

 

[Peter James Bond II]

The way I see it, we aren't going to be a playoff team for quite a while. The prospects we have aren't going to make that huge of an impact to make us a playoff team. The best case scenario I can see is the Kings winning the lottery and drafting a game changer in Lafreniere which would speed up the process. Do I think we'll win the lottery? Hell no. So the second best case scenario is all of our prospects panning out like how we want them to. At least this is how I would like them to pan out

2020 1st Round Pick > Top F/D
Turcotte/Vilardi > Top line Center
Kupari > 2nd/3rd line center
Kaliyev > 30 goal scorer
Grundstrom > Secondary scorer
Fagemo> Secondary scorer
Bjornfot > Top pairing D
Anderson/Clague > Top 4 D
Thomas/Anderson-Dolan > 4th line 2 way players
Petersen - Starter
Don't know too much about Parik & Ingham so far as I'm still catching up.

Will we win the cup with that? No but at least or I hope the Kings would be more entertaining to watch by then. And once the veterans have mentored these kids, and they have matured and trade pieces have been added, then that's when we take a run at the cup. It'll be a while but it is what is.

Worst case scenario, absolutely none of that happens and our prospects do not pan out. And we're stuck in a cycle of suckage.

Good post and pretty much what can be hoped for. What the Kings need, is 1 to 3 of these to surpass expectations. That is somewhat rare, but needed.
I'm hopeful that Fagemo is one to do that, like he surpassed expectations at the WJC...it would be nice if he was 'one level' above Iafallo, much the same
in play as Alex, but putting in 20 goals and hitting 50 points. He sure has the abilities and shot to reach that level, the way he continues to imrove
so much the last 1+ years.

Also, Cole Hults is a name to start adding to the list. He's on the list to vote for the Hobey Baker award! Pretty epic. He will supposedly sign after this season.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

No wonder he doesn’t want to leave LA, Carter enjoys the #beachlife.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Good post and pretty much what can be hoped for. What the Kings need, is 1 to 3 of these to surpass expectations. That is somewhat rare, but needed.
I'm hopeful that Fagemo is one to do that, like he surpassed expectations at the WJC...it would be nice if he was 'one level' above Iafallo, much the same
in play as Alex, but putting in 20 goals and hitting 50 points. He sure has the abilities and shot to reach that level, the way he continues to imrove
so much the last 1+ years.

Also, Cole Hults is a name to start adding to the list. He's on the list to vote for the Hobey Baker award! Pretty epic. He will supposedly sign after this season.

Yep, it really takes the perfect storm. Not even a Lafreniere is necessarily 'enough'--you need one of those, but you also need a 5th rounder to turn into Jamie Benn and things like that.

I know there's a Kubalik joke to be made in there somewhere so get it out of the way.

But really you need a guy like Shafigullin or Dudas to explode. Or even some of the current guys who are NHLers to just take it to the next level, Fagemo would be a great one, but even someone like Amadio or Wagner becoming 25-25-50 would be huge.

 

[kovacro]

Also, Cole Hults is a name to start adding to the list. He's on the list to vote for the Hobey Baker award! Pretty epic. He will supposedly sign after this season.

Indeed, when the prospect rankings were being done here, I was beating his drum. He's improved each season at Penn St.

He's not a flashy guy but plays a pretty solid game. If he can develop into a reliable bottom pairing guy, that would be great.

 

[Little Psycho]

No wonder he doesn’t want to leave LA, Carter enjoys the #beachlife.

He'll join the #benchedlife if we don't trade him soon.