2019-20 Kings News/Rumors

[ibleedkings]

Can we please end the Flyers west connection?

 

[Reaper45]

First thing that came to mind for me too.

I definitely see some pros with Hextall, but if it turns out that Blake hired himself to keep the seat warm for Hexy to come back after his Philly apprenticeship, it would be interesting but strange...but more importantly just a continuation of the same ol same ol. Same thing goes for Futa et. al., like em or not. If they're actually changing thing, they need to change things, not rotate the carousel.

I'd be ok with Hextall because I think he learned his lesson in Philly, I'd also be ok with letting Futa run with it for awhile.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'd be ok with Hextall because I think he learned his lesson in Philly, I'd also be ok with letting Futa run with it for awhile.

generally speaking I agree, but with the current situation, it's like...are we just going to go with connections forever? Does anyone ever interview anyone else from anywhere else?

 

[Johnny Utah]

I don’t think this is an Oilers type situation. They haven’t won a cup since 1989-90 and it was just a few years ago ex players like Lowe and MacT were running the show. Kings won their last cup 6 years ago. Don’t think this needs to be a mass blowup.

Also, Hextall was fired for being too patient during the rebuild but he made some savvy deals and traded players like Cobourn and Schenn for multiple high picks. He drafted Provorov and Hart and negotiated that Courtier extension.

 

[Statto]

Blake didn't try to rebuild until 12 months ago. Maybe he doesn't have the stomach to oversee one and realizes it's going to be a slow burn.

Or far, far more likely he wasn’t given the green light to rebuild until Stevens went. It was the same when DL got here, he wasn’t allowed to do what he needed to do until it was agreed by those over his head.

This is a ludicrous approach to debate as everyone gets so polarised, making neither side of the argument valid. Blake is less than 2 seasons into what will be a 4-5 year rebuild. Like it or not he has assets that will be hard to move for meaningful returns, ‘garbage’ everyone wants 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks for. He’s not getting close to what we want until gm’s get desperate at the deadline so we need to be patient. We have no ability to judge his rebuild success or failure right now as the prospects are not yet ready, nor should they be.

Equally defending Blake by bashing DL is just as daft. Yes, he made mistakes but given he brought us 2 cups he gets complete forgiveness from me for every one of those mistakes. However those mistakes did happen and they do affect Blakes situation right now so it’s only right they are acknowledged. To answer the question someone asked about how long we can blame DL for our problems, I’d say until after the next draft. However, only part of the blame as Blake of course has some responsibility but most of it is on the players.

Ownership also has to accept some responsibility as they will have to have agreed the rebuild and should have done so earlier. I’d also put money on it they made the call on signing or trading Doughty (and Kopitar). I’m still on the side of keeping both but the argument for trading them has its merits, it’s another debate that’s not cut and dried.

Any rebuild from where we are is going to take time and we are going to see the rubbish hockey we’ve had to endure during it. The situation is also going to have a negative impact on the form of a number of the players we will need keep, Doughty the prime example. We may not want that but he’s human and he is far from the only player to be affected that way. The debate it should open up is if he should be wearing an ‘A’, not if he’s still an elite D-Man. The tools are all still clearly there and the issues look like they are between his ears (hence I blame the circumstances). He’s not the only one that will be affected by the poor roster all to varying degrees which is why we don’t want to drop prospects into things to early. But we shouldn’t pretend it won’t affect some of the vets too.

One of the things this current scenario should be addressing is who our future team leaders will be. So for example, if we hang onto him Clifford has shown he should have and ‘A’ whereas Carter and Doughty not so much. Kopitar, I’m not sure on as Captain. He’s on target for 70+ pts so he’s still working away and leading by example (compared to the rest), but I question if he really is inspirational. Kempe is the other one showing leadership potential from the current group. However, I’d need to see that over a much longer period of time. Mostly I’m hoping leaders emerge from the prospects. Turcotte, Björnfot and Vilardi are potential leaders and its only when guys like that establish themselves that our new identity will emerge. There are loads of moving parts.

There is still plenty of time before we need to worry, Blakes doing ok and DL won 2 cups. Neither represents a disaster.

 

[Johnny Utah]

The Hawks fell off the map after their three cups as well - the difference is they have some emerging young players such as DeBrincat, Gustafsson (a bit older), Dach, Strome, Kubalik and Nylander. Compare those players stats to the Kings young players stats like Kempe, Linotype, Wagner, etc it doesn’t compare.

We don’t have high end young players or high draft picks playing and contributing except Kempe.

 

[johnjm22]

If Blake is moving on then so should Robitaille.

While I've said that I'm willing to be patient with the Blake/Luc regime, I've never really liked having Luc in an executive role. This would be an opportunity to send him off on his merry way.

 

[Kingspiracy]

I'd be ok with Hextall because I think he learned his lesson in Philly, I'd also be ok with letting Futa run with it for awhile.

Id be a bit wary of Hextall. Wasnt there a story out of Philly of him being a bit of a dick micromanaging players and having them spied on or something.

 

[Fishhead]

The Hawks fell off the map after their three cups as well - the difference is they have some emerging young players such as DeBrincat, Gustafsson (a bit older), Dach, Strome, Kubalik and Nylander. Compare those players stats to the Kings young players stats like Kempe, Linotype, Wagner, etc it doesn’t compare.

We don’t have high end young players or high draft picks playing and contributing except Kempe.

The Kings are a few years later than the Hawks, just like their cup runs started a few years later. The Hawks do not have anywhere near the prospect pool the Kings have. WYSIWYG with the hawks right there, there's nothing much of anything on the way. Right now they may have a better young group, but none of those guys scream "carry a team to a cup"

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

The Hawks fell off the map after their three cups as well - the difference is they have some emerging young players such as DeBrincat, Gustafsson (a bit older), Dach, Strome, Kubalik and Nylander. Compare those players stats to the Kings young players stats like Kempe, Linotype, Wagner, etc it doesn’t compare.

We don’t have high end young players or high draft picks playing and contributing except Kempe.

You're right--but Kings have comparable, they're just not on the roster yet. It's possible they never are, but even if the grass is currently greener, it's simply because, for example, Dach went straight to the NHL while Turk is in college.

Debrincat was a marvelous pick, but unfortunately 2016 was one of our last lost drafts. We got Clague in the deep 2nd with our first pick. Chicago started early here.
Gustafsson is friggin 27 years old
Dach, as mentioned above, went straight ot NHL instead of college and he's played well but as I've posted before if he were putting up the numbers here that he is in Chicago he'd be getting mocked instead of praised, remember, at the time of that post he had the same statline as Kyle Clifford
Strome's a good one--they robbed Arizona there (lol Chayka), getting Strome AND perlini for Schmaltz (a 2oth overall pick though). It would be like if we traded Kempe for better, so that ain't happening.
Kubalik...yeah not going here haha.
Nylander was another positional trade, Jokiharju for Nylander...and the line of the article is what gets me: "Chicago GM Stan Bowman has now traded six first-round draft picks he’s made"

There's a vision articulated through those trades that Blake doesn't have, imo. Though one thing Blake DOES have is no sunk cost fallacy so I could see him making them if he had any clue what he wanted the team to look like. But like mentioned above, our guys are a few years behind those. Debrincat is 22, Gus 27, Dach 19, Strome 22. Kubalik 24, Nylander 21. Only one in that ballpark is Clague at 21. All our best prospects are 20 and under for the most part. I know that's your point, but mine is simply "give it a year" for ours to break in.

 

[kilowatt]

Like it or not, it's not really possible to speed up the rebuild any sooner than 2021-22 anyway. Next season is a lost season. With Carter, Brown, Quick, Phaneuf's buyout, Kovalchuk's termination, and Richards' termination, that's almost $28,000,000 in cap space spread out between two declining middle-six forwards and a backup goalie. Once we get to 21-22, with Kovalchuk's termination gone and Phaneuf's buyout a lot lower, that drops down to just under $19,000,000, and the following season, 22-23, it's just Quick and just under $2,000,000 in dead cap space.

Swapping in a new GM isn't going to change any of this.

 

[AzKing]

Need to just stockpile as many picks as possible with the Toffoli and hopefully, Martinez trades. Toffoli is gaining steam with his performance and also the fact that teams seem to be looking at him as the next best option to Kreider and Gabriel-Pageau.

Martinez would be a good fit with a lot of teams that need a veteran who won't fold in the playoffs but they would get more if he were a RH Dman. Vatanen is the top guy out there most likely if a team wants that top 4 rental. If they want a guy who will be around, then maybe AMart fits.

If we could move both guys and pick up 2 2nd rounders and a decent prospect then that's a decent return. Maybe then package both 2nd rounders to move up into the middle of the first round.

 

[Herby]

Like it or not, it's not really possible to speed up the rebuild any sooner than 2021-22 anyway. Next season is a lost season. With Carter, Brown, Quick, Phaneuf's buyout, Kovalchuk's termination, and Richards' termination, that's almost $28,000,000 in cap space spread out between two declining middle-six forwards and a backup goalie. Once we get to 21-22, with Kovalchuk's termination gone and Phaneuf's buyout a lot lower, that drops down to just under $19,000,000, and the following season, 22-23, it's just Quick and just under $2,000,000 in dead cap space.

Swapping in a new GM isn't going to change any of this.

This is exactly it, and it's why I think it's difficult to criticize Blake to much. Sure he has made some mistakes himself, but I don't care who was GM, no one was digging the Kings out of the mess they would have inherited from Lombardi until atleast next season, and as you said probably not until the season after that. And even 2021-2022 is going to take a few of these guys becoming impact players quickly for this team to think about maybe challenging as a WC. We have to factor in that Kopitar and Doughty are both going to be dropping off, hopefully not a ton to quickly, but both are on the back-nine of their careers and being paid eight figures a year, it's not a good situation.

The reality is the moves made from 14-17 are probably going to set the Kings back close to a decade. Tough pill to swallow but this team is still probably 4-5 years away from being a cup contender again.

Need to just stockpile as many picks as possible with the Toffoli and hopefully, Martinez trades. Toffoli is gaining steam with his performance and also the fact that teams seem to be looking at him as the next best option to Kreider and Gabriel-Pageau.

Martinez would be a good fit with a lot of teams that need a veteran who won't fold in the playoffs but they would get more if he were a RH Dman. Vatanen is the top guy out there most likely if a team wants that top 4 rental. If they want a guy who will be around, then maybe AMart fits.

If we could move both guys and pick up 2 2nd rounders and a decent prospect then that's a decent return. Maybe then package both 2nd rounders to move up into the middle of the first round.

I agree about trying to move up into the 1st round. The Kings are in pretty good shape with depth as far as younger players. Vilardi and Turcotte both have a chance to be excellent 2nd line players, Kempe and Lizotte look like they will be quality bottom six guys. They have some nice pieces with guys who could slot in anywhere like Fagemo. And the defense has a few guys with 2nd pairing upside. The problem is Kaliyev might be the only one currently in the pool who has real star potential in the NHL, and he is a bit of a wildcard himself. If they can trade a couple of 2nds to move up and get a chance at a higher upside guy at the expense of depth they should do it.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

I keep checking this for rumors and it's a thread for DL vs RB. Should make a thread for that and keep this for rumors.

 

[kingsfan28]

FRK YEAH! 109.2

That's one hell of a shot.

 

[KingsFan7824]

The reality is the moves made from 14-17 are probably going to set the Kings back close to a decade.

Moves from 2011 through 2012 didn't help either. Those just happened to happen before the winning, so they look great after the winning. Penner and Lucic weren't that different. Lucic maybe cost a little more, but he was also more productive, outside of 1 playoff OT period. Somewhere in March of 2012, I'm pretty sure nobody could wait until Penner wasn't re-signed. Who wanted to see his 7 goals back?

DL built, then he went all in, and then he kept going in after what he had built and gone all in with won twice.

We cut things off at 2014 for obvious reasons, but the years before that didn't help the future. Richards wasn't supposed to last just 2 years, especially for the price paid, but that was the risk to take on what may have already been a declining player in Philly. The not so great drafting in the building phase also didn't help. The two 1st's in 2006 end up as a backup goalie and a 3rd/4th liner. The complete 1st rd miss in 2007. 2008 and 2009 were better, but they missed on the second 1st in 2008, and then Schenn was traded before ever doing anything here.

 

[YP44]

Id be a bit wary of Hextall. Wasnt there a story out of Philly of him being a bit of a dick micromanaging players and having them spied on or something.

First I have heard of this. I thought the knock on him is he was too patient for flyers owners, and too loyal to the couch.

I like the pipeline he built in Philadelphia, but LA's farm is looking really good already. So maybe LA's choice should be a guy who can translate the pipeline into real results. Not sure if that is Hextall or not.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

generally speaking I agree, but with the current situation, it's like...are we just going to go with connections forever? Does anyone ever interview anyone else from anywhere else?

AEG should just interview the best hockey minds and go from there. You know like they did when they were looking for a GM when Taylor was canned.

 

[DoktorJeep]

If AEG is serious about making a change in management, it needs to be a house cleaning with the following people fired.

1. Robitaille
2. Blake
3. Emerson
4. Murray
5. Donnelley
6. O’Donnell
7. Stoll
8. Johnson

Ideally it happens after the TDL and they give Luc’s job to Hextall and name Futa as interim GM for the rest of the season. This allows them to get in the GM search earlier than if they wait for the end of the regular season. You can fire the lackeys below BLuc in the off-season one by one.

I think Hextall should keep the President job moving forward and you consider Futa as a candidate after talking to other legitimate candidates. I’d like to see them interview as many of the following people as possible, listed in order of general preference, assuming they’re available.

Mark Hunter / Ross Mahoney
Bill Armstrong / Pat Verbeek
Mike Gillis / Tom Fitzgerald

 

[Kingspiracy]

First I have heard of this. I thought the knock on him is he was too patient for flyers owners, and too loyal to the couch.

I like the pipeline he built in Philadelphia, but LA's farm is looking really good already. So maybe LA's choice should be a guy who can translate the pipeline into real results. Not sure if that is Hextall or not.

I cant copy the link because im on my phone, but if you google "hextall spying" theres stuff there. The "crossingbroad" story goes into it a bit.

 

[johnjm22]

Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon has been scouring the marketplace for a blueliner and a backup goalie to help the club get to the post-season. There’s some talk the Panthers have an interest in Ottawa defenceman Dylan DeMelo. He’s a UFA on July 1 and there’s no certainty that he’s going to be signed. Not sure what the asking price would be and the word is the Carolina Hurricanes may also be looking at DeMelo as an option.

Martinez + Campbell would seem to fit the bill.

It's a shame Campbell's numbers haven't been good this season. Makes him a much less attractive trade option.

 

[Herby]

If AEG is serious about making a change in management, it needs to be a house cleaning with the following people fired.

1. Robitaille
2. Blake
3. Emerson
4. Murray
5. Donnelley
6. O’Donnell
7. Stoll
8. Johnson

Ideally it happens after the TDL and they give Luc’s job to Hextall and name Futa as interim GM for the rest of the season. This allows them to get in the GM search earlier than if they wait for the end of the regular season. You can fire the lackeys below BLuc in the off-season one by one.

I think Hextall should keep the President job moving forward and you consider Futa as a candidate after talking to other legitimate candidates. I’d like to see them interview as many of the following people as possible, listed in order of general preference, assuming they’re available.

Mark Hunter / Ross Mahoney
Bill Armstrong / Pat Verbeek
Mike Gillis / Tom Fitzgerald

Why do you want to clean house but then promote a guy who has actually been in a position of significance when a lot of these terrible moves and draft picks were made?

 

[kings11]

Martinez + Campbell would seem to fit the bill.

It's a shame Campbell's numbers have been good this season. Makes him a much less attractive trade option.

I think that's a fans perception more than a GMs.. They now Campbell with a competent blueline can perform.. We're getting squeezed because teams know we need to move out players and we're a shit team... So the downturn in production is a valuable trade chip..

 

[DoktorJeep]

Why do you want to clean house but then promote a guy who has actually been in a position of significance when a lot of these terrible moves and draft picks were made?

If you’re referring to Hextall, he was here from 2006 to 2013, aka the golden age.

I assume you’re referring to Futa, in which case I think the interim tag is appropriate and I wouldn’t necessarily give him the job in the offseason. There are better candidates potentially available.

 

[redcard]

If AEG is serious about making a change in management, it needs to be a house cleaning with the following people fired.

1. Robitaille
2. Blake
3. Emerson
4. Murray
5. Donnelley
6. O’Donnell
7. Stoll
8. Johnson

Ideally it happens after the TDL and they give Luc’s job to Hextall and name Futa as interim GM for the rest of the season. This allows them to get in the GM search earlier than if they wait for the end of the regular season. You can fire the lackeys below BLuc in the off-season one by one.

I think Hextall should keep the President job moving forward and you consider Futa as a candidate after talking to other legitimate candidates. I’d like to see them interview as many of the following people as possible, listed in order of general preference, assuming they’re available.

Mark Hunter / Ross Mahoney
Bill Armstrong / Pat Verbeek
Mike Gillis / Tom Fitzgerald

Why? It looks like all you did was list out anyone who played for the team and decide they must be fired. How can anyone here possibly be qualified to decide if Stoll or O'Donnell are good at their jobs in player development? Why does Mike Donnelly need to be fired? Why is Futa not also held at fault?