2019-20 Kings News/Rumors

[crassbonanza]

I wonder if TMac benches Quick for the home opener, it would be a huge statement to play Campbell this Saturday(not that I'm in favor of that move, but I am just intrigued to see how he handles this situation).

 

[YP44]

The only value Carter has now is giving the Kings the ability to hit the floor, which they are going to struggle with for a couple years. UFA's over the next couple years, no big RFA's coming up. Carter's cap hit is good for hitting the floor. That's what this team is now.



Trade him. If he has any value, trade him. He was a complimentary piece to the old core, and it's no longer about the old core. Toffoli isn't a guy to build around. His last day as a King should be no later than June 30th.



It's not about replacements. Take those 3 off the team, replace them with ELC players, and how are they hitting the floor next year? How much is Clifford going to get? $4m? $5m?

Kings would have no issues hitting the floor. There will always be teams looking to get rid of LTIR guys. Should be last thing to worry about with the Kings.

 

[KINGS17]

I think the hardcore fans sometimes forget that ultimately this is a business and it's about selling tickets. You aren't going to sell many tickets if you are 1) a cellar dweller team, 2) not only do you lose every game, you have no 'superstars' to come and watch.

The Kings finished next to DFL last season with the current roster. These guys are no longer "superstars". There is going to be a drop in attendance no matter what Robitaille and Blake do over the next few seasons. Better to make sure the die hard fans are satisfied in the knowledge there is a plan in place to rebuild and get back into contention in three or four seasons. Otherwise you lose the hardcore fans too.

 

[SFKingshomer]

Trade them all...turn the place into a parking lot...

 

[Bandit]

Doughty pissing off everyone an Calgary and Vancouver has made the Kings a hot topic on the main board. Pretty funny.

 

[YP44]

Doughty pissing off everyone an Calgary and Vancouver has made the Kings a hot topic on the main board. Pretty funny.

If Casuck fans say anything they just need to remember their team is putting Burrows in their freaking ring of honor this year

 

[Statto]

Given we are only 3 games in, I’m going to bet the views on who to keep, trade and waive varies significantly over the next few month. Things are going to evolve massively this season. It’s going to be weeks before TM fully gets his DNA into this team and we truly know who will and won’t be coming along for the ride. All these wishes for line changes etc really misses the point of this, for a lot of these guys building chemistry will take time especially given the new approach. It’s going to take time, so proclaiming success after game 2 or failure after game 3 is incredibly premature.

The first thing that we need to see a solid opinion on will be Björnfot and it’s still too early even for that. It’ll be game 6 or 7 before we can start to firm up our views with some validity. We aren’t going to be making any meaningful trades sending significant guys out this side of Christmas unless a contender gets an injury they think someone like Toffoli helps them cover. Besides that sort off scenario we will need to be patient.

The only moves will be within the roster, possibly with incumbents playing themselves off the team and getting sent to Ontario. That won’t include the guys we hope to trade though, they will play as long as we have any hope/expectation of moving them.

I don’t see Quick playing any less than half the games, simply because if we want him to play better he has to play and/or if we want to move him he has to play. Not too different with Carter, especially if he (and Quick, in fact) is providing quality leadership to the kids.

Let’s say Toffoli has 30 goals (along with good overall play) by the end of January and indicates he wants to sign, opinions will be far more split on what to do. Right now I’d move him, but who know what I’ll think by the TDL.

So my focus is and will continue to be the current moment Andy development of the kids.

 

[kings11]

Given we are only 3 games in, I’m going to bet the views on who to keep, trade and waive varies significantly over the next few month. Things are going to evolve massively this season. It’s going to be weeks before TM fully gets his DNA into this team and we truly know who will and won’t be coming along for the ride. All these wishes for line changes etc really misses the point of this, for a lot of these guys building chemistry will take time especially given the new approach. It’s going to take time, so proclaiming success after game 2 or failure after game 3 is incredibly premature.

The first thing that we need to see a solid opinion on will be Björnfot and it’s still too early even for that. It’ll be game 6 or 7 before we can start to firm up our views with some validity. We aren’t going to be making any meaningful trades sending significant guys out this side of Christmas unless a contender gets an injury they think someone like Toffoli helps them cover. Besides that sort off scenario we will need to be patient.

The only moves will be within the roster, possibly with incumbents playing themselves off the team and getting sent to Ontario. That won’t include the guys we hope to trade though, they will play as long as we have any hope/expectation of moving them.

I don’t see Quick playing any less than half the games, simply because if we want him to play better he has to play and/or if we want to move him he has to play. Not too different with Carter, especially if he (and Quick, in fact) is providing quality leadership to the kids.

Let’s say Toffoli has 30 goals (along with good overall play) by the end of January and indicates he wants to sign, opinions will be far more split on what to do. Right now I’d move him, but who know what I’ll think by the TDL.

So my focus is and will continue to be the current moment Andy development of the kids.

Toffoli could pot 50 goals by the TDL and he'd still find his ass outta town!
They guy doesnt fit anymore, he's too inconsistent and would be too expensive by commanding at minimum his current salary

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

I'd move Toffoli regardless. I just don't trust giving him the type of contract he would want if he has a good season, it's time to move on and get the most that you can.

 

[Mats26]

Kings would have no issues hitting the floor. There will always be teams looking to get rid of LTIR guys. Should be last thing to worry about with the Kings.

Not hitting the cap floor is nonsense.

I removed Carter, Kovy and Quicks' cap hits.
Signed these RFA, UFAs to cap friendly deals (Forbort(3), Hutton(2.5), Walker(2), Grundstron(1.5), Wagner(1.5), Clifford(2.5), Toffoli(5) and added Turcotte and prospects to fill the roster)
I ran several simulations and without adding any external UFAs we are easily over the cap floor. Almost 67 million in cap

As an example we'll have 16 million in cap space to work with this roster.

Iafallo Kopitar Brown
Grundstrom Turcotte Kupari
Kempe Lizotte Toffoli
Clifford Amadio Wagner
JAD

Tobias Doughty
Hutton Walker
Anderson Martinez
Forbort

Campbell
Peterson

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I do think it's kind of funny that TM has quarantined all the terrible at forward together on one line in Kovy, Carter, Kempe. Honestly everyone else is various shades of fine to good. And you have to give them time to see how they respond to TM/System, to be fair. But this lineup shouldn't be missing both Grundstrom AND Wagner. So strange to have "middle of the lineup" problems, top and bottom are mostly great.

 

[Lt Dan]

So my focus is and will continue to be the current moment Andy development of the kids.

Andy Dufresne

or Andrew Bernard?

 

[Bandit]

I wonder if TMac benches Quick for the home opener, it would be a huge statement to play Campbell this Saturday(not that I'm in favor of that move, but I am just intrigued to see how he handles this situation).

IIRC even in his prime Quick was always a pinball machine against Nashville for whatever reason. Would have to go back and look at the stats to be sure but sitting him is probably best.

 

[Bandit]

If Casuck fans say anything they just need to remember their team is putting Burrows in their freaking ring of honor this year

Really? That’s pretty embarrassing

 

[BigKing]

All of you thinking Bjornfot has a chance to stay past nine games are crazy. He was never going to stay, regardless of his less-than-stellar play so far.

This season doesn't f***ing matter. They want a Top 5 pick again. The rebuild started when they traded Muzzin, not because Blake didn't trade picks since 2017. The Kings prospect pool is ranked highly primarily due to the strength of this past draft, the first draft of the rebuild. Yes, JAD/Anderson/Kupari/Thomas are nice players that add to that ranking but only one of those is a 1st round pick with the others just being selected in the normal course of operations.

The Kings want another 2019 draft. Blake trotted out this defense with that in mind, only signing Hutton when they realized that Forbort was going to be out for a long time. It is one thing to tank and another to tank while giving up six a game, hence the Hutton signing. Of course, Quick is doing his best right now to make no difference between Hutton or Brickley.

Again, bless you sweet souls that thought this team could push for a playoff spot or that every old dude would bounce back and Blake would then maybe go out and get some help since they have cap room and that Bjornfot is the next Doughty and is already a Top 2 defenseman in the NHL. None of this is f***ing reality and Management has been trying to make that clear to everyone since the end of last season.

I've already said this but I say a lot of things repeatedly, as do most posters on here, but the Kings offered STH'ers the same price as last season AND a price freeze on the 2021 season if we agreed to auto-renew. First time they haven't raised prices in, shit, ten years at least. The kicker and most telling bit, however, is offering to keep the price the same for what amounts to three seasons in a row if we commit to not jumping ship. Why? Because they know they are going to be f***ing terrible so get used to it hahaha.

Don't call for T-Mac's head after three games. Don't ask for Blake to look in to a high price UFA this summer. Don't fret when Matt Roy makes a horrible mistake in Game 3 because maybe he isn't making them as frequently by Game 30 and, you know, points don't f***ing matter except for not getting too many of them hahaha.

We are the 76'ers. Trust the process. Look for positive signs from the youth and don't worry about hoping for anything of note from the vets except for 11 and 8--because they will still need to be good when they are ready to contend--and 73/22/13 because they are trade chips for this TDL. Go ahead and toss 17/32/77 in that mix if you'd like, but don't hold your breath.

 

[kingsholygrail]

IIRC even in his prime Quick was always a pinball machine against Nashville for whatever reason. Would have to go back and look at the stats to be sure but sitting him is probably best.

5-12-3 all time.
0.877 average.
3.64 GAA
Jonathan Quick Player Game Finder | Hockey-Reference.com

The numbers likely look a little better if I drop the outlier of that game where he was in where he got completely destroyed, but yeah, he's well below career average numbers when facing Nashville. It's also a team he's never had a shutout against.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

All of you thinking Bjornfot has a chance to stay past nine games are crazy. He was never going to stay, regardless of his less-than-stellar play so far.

This season doesn't ****ing matter. They want a Top 5 pick again. The rebuild started when they traded Muzzin, not because Blake didn't trade picks since 2017. The Kings prospect pool is ranked highly primarily due to the strength of this past draft, the first draft of the rebuild. Yes, JAD/Anderson/Kupari/Thomas are nice players that add to that ranking but only one of those is a 1st round pick with the others just being selected in the normal course of operations.

The Kings want another 2019 draft. Blake trotted out this defense with that in mind, only signing Hutton when they realized that Forbort was going to be out for a long time. It is one thing to tank and another to tank while giving up six a game, hence the Hutton signing. Of course, Quick is doing his best right now to make no difference between Hutton or Brickley.

All bullshit...no offense. I have a hard time believing that Blake has the 'green light' from Luc and the ownership to 'tank'. With that said, if you think Blake is so comfortable with his job security, and that losing every game has no impact on that, you are friggin nuts.

 

[crassbonanza]

IIRC even in his prime Quick was always a pinball machine against Nashville for whatever reason. Would have to go back and look at the stats to be sure but sitting him is probably best.

I kind of remember the same thing. Always felt like there were crooked numbers on the scoreboard every time we played Nashville.

 

[YP44]

I do think it's kind of funny that TM has quarantined all the terrible at forward together on one line in Kovy, Carter, Kempe. Honestly everyone else is various shades of fine to good. And you have to give them time to see how they respond to TM/System, to be fair. But this lineup shouldn't be missing both Grundstrom AND Wagner. So strange to have "middle of the lineup" problems, top and bottom are mostly great.

Kovalchuk looked good to me against the Flames and he is one of the last guys I think of for shitting the bed last night...all though there is enough blame to go around

 

[kingsholygrail]

I didn't really watch last night's game because I was too busy hanging myself while watching the Dodgers blow it.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Kings would have no issues hitting the floor. There will always be teams looking to get rid of LTIR guys. Should be last thing to worry about with the Kings.

They've already turned down Marleau.

Not hitting the cap floor is nonsense.

I removed Carter, Kovy and Quicks' cap hits.
Signed these RFA, UFAs to cap friendly deals (Forbort(3), Hutton(2.5), Walker(2), Grundstron(1.5), Wagner(1.5), Clifford(2.5), Toffoli(5) and added Turcotte and prospects to fill the roster)
I ran several simulations and without adding any external UFAs we are easily over the cap floor. Almost 67 million in cap

As an example we'll have 16 million in cap space to work with this roster.

Iafallo Kopitar Brown
Grundstrom Turcotte Kupari
Kempe Lizotte Toffoli
Clifford Amadio Wagner
JAD

Tobias Doughty
Hutton Walker
Anderson Martinez
Forbort

Campbell
Peterson

I guess if you keep Forbort, Hutton, and Toffoli for over $10m on the cap, all 3 somehow getting raises, you can make anything work. The big issue is, nobody ever wants those guys back. At least 2 of the 3 anyway. Nobody cares about Hutton. Walker at $2m? Plus you haven't said how you plan on getting rid of Carter, Kovalchuk, and Quick.

Again, they didn't take Marleau because the Leafs wouldn't take Carter back to make the money closer, and you've got them paying Forbort $3m to be the 7th D? I'm going to guess that won't happen. If they bring him back at more money, he's playing over Bjornfot and/or Anderson.

 

[BigKing]

All bull****...no offense. I have a hard time believing that Blake has the 'green light' from Luc and the ownership to 'tank'. With that said, if you think Blake is so comfortable with his job security, and that losing every game has no impact on that, you are friggin nuts.

Blake signed the new coach to a five year contract. Five. What does that tell you?

They are stuck with under performing veterans on big contracts that--outside of Kovalchuk--they can point at and say "Dean's fault." While I am pro-Lombardi, I can't even argue against that since he is the one that signed them or traded for them in the case of 77.

I didn't say that they will lose every game. Tanking doesn't mean you lose every game: it means you purposely don't put out the best team you have available for short term pain but--hopefully--long term success.

Team finishes next-to-last in the entire NHL. Key addition is Ben Hutton for one year at $1.5MM and not signed until training camp already started. If you are trying to be a lot better than the year before, why do you run back the same team? The answer is because you aren't trying to be much better than the year before.

I may be nuts, but this take isn't what makes me crazy. Bluc got AEG to bite on a rebuild. In return, AEG basically didn't spend any more money on this team than it was already obligated for. Season seat prices remain the same as last year so no bump there and, more than likely, a loss as people cancelled their seats. The tea leaves say that they don't plan on being competitive until the 2021 season at best.

Yes, they are not trying to lose every game and Blake isn't tanking so hard that he is forcing TMac to play MacDermid 25 minutes a night but that is the beauty of it: he doesn't have to. The team, as constructed, finished next to last already. With better coaching and whatnot, they will probably finish higher than last season but that still isn't saying much. Remember that they actually had Muzzin for a bunch of games last season but this season it is a worse group of defensemen right from the hop.

The only error in my original post is excluding 23 from the positive play veteran group. He actually could be looking at another contract from the Kings. Other than that, yeah man, the plan is to suck.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I didn't really watch last night's game because I was too busy hanging myself while watching the Dodgers blow it.

Don't worry, we're here for your support, not to kinkshame.

Kovalchuk looked good to me against the Flames and he is one of the last guys I think of for ****ting the bed last night...all though there is enough blame to go around

Yeah, I should be more clear I don't so much mean individually. I mean as a unit those guys have been collectively bad, our 2nd line or whatever it actually is is a very, very clear problem. Kovy's looked mostly good, to be fair.

 

[BallPointHammer]

Three games doesn't prove anything other than our worst possible record is 1-81-0 and getting the 1st pick in the draft is still a crap shoot.

 

[Little Psycho]

Bjornfot needs to go back after his nine games. No point in staying in this dumpster fire.