The LAPD line was one of the best in hockey at the time. Injuries and being in the same conference as Detroit/Colorado are the main reason they weren't contenders.
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The LAPD line was one of the best in hockey at the time. Injuries and being in the same conference as Detroit/Colorado are the main reason they weren't contenders.
Yeah it was but we’re they even together for an entire season? I agree Palffy was exciting to watch and we didn’t give up much to get him but there was no plan in place for the Kings. It was “throw shit at the wall and see if it sticks.” Allison and Deadmarsh weren’t even acquired until years later, and I think we all can agree that having to trade for your entire first line is not a recipe for success.
SFKingshomer
Registered User
They took out Detroit and pushed the Avs before acquiring Deadmarsh and Allison. They had a hell of a D core with Blake/Lubo/Schneider/Norstrom and Luc was still an elite winger. I don't really see the argument for not acquiring a player of Palffy's caliber for that little.
Axl Rhoadz
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I think you are a little confused...the year they took out Detroit and pushed the Avs was the year they acquired Deadmarsh for Blake. The following year they acquired Allison and lost to the Avs in 7 games.
And ZP has already been on the team 2-3 years at that point. Like I said, the trade in a vacuum was great, but as far as building a contender the franchise was rudderless.
Ziggy Stardust
Master Debater
During the time Ziggy was here the Kings were still penny pinching and Leiweke was crying about the team losing money and how they wouldn’t compete with the big spending teams when it came to bidding for free agents.
So it was really dollars in and dollars out, with Blake, Robitaille, Stumpel, Murray, then eventually Boucher and Schneider all being dealt or let go. They were a frugal team in a big market, and once the injury bug hit, the team depth was really tested, and everything fell apart.
All the while, Palffy remained one of the top scorers in the league and helped the team win its first playoff series since 1993.
As for the timing of the trade, the Kings were moving into Staples Center. I had hopes that Olli Jokinen would be the next Finnish Eric Lindros/Peter Forsberg, but he wasn’t at that level nor was he going to put any butts in seats.
So it was really dollars in and dollars out, with Blake, Robitaille, Stumpel, Murray, then eventually Boucher and Schneider all being dealt or let go. They were a frugal team in a big market, and once the injury bug hit, the team depth was really tested, and everything fell apart.
All the while, Palffy remained one of the top scorers in the league and helped the team win its first playoff series since 1993.
As for the timing of the trade, the Kings were moving into Staples Center. I had hopes that Olli Jokinen would be the next Finnish Eric Lindros/Peter Forsberg, but he wasn’t at that level nor was he going to put any butts in seats.
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My bad, I forgot that the mini run happened the same season they acquired Deadmarsh. I still think the acquiring Palffy was the right move to make and there were good pieces on the team at the time.
Alright, I was wrong that Deadmarsh was acquired at the deadline prior to their run, but Palffy had not been on the team 2-3 years at that point. Palffy was traded to the Kings on June 19th 1999, so his first season was '99-00 where the Kings finished second in the Pacific, but ran into the Red Wings in the first round. The next season they beat the Red Wings in the first round, but then lost to the Avs in the second. The season after they lost to the Avs in the 1st round. Acquiring Palffy elevated the team to a new level, unfortunately they kept running into the Avs/Red Wings who were juggernauts at the time. The trade in a vacuum was fantastic, the trade in context was as well.
KINGS17
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That was the big excitement back in those days, beating a Red Wing team depleted by injuries in the first round and losing in seven games to Colorado in the second round. I hope we never return to accepting that type of low expectations. That whole approach was based on just get in the playoffs and anything can happen, which was the wrong approach.
ibleedkings
Rob Fake
is it now, though? back then there was no cap, so the wings and avs assembled super teams. Last year, all four division winners were wiped out and a team went from the cellar in January to cup champs.
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But, down the stretch and after the coaching change we were on a roll. It came together as it was planned to. It wasn’t a fluke, a lucky run or a spell of unexpected form, not by a long shot. That team was simply better than everyone else.
Ziggy Stardust
Master Debater
The Kings went on a similar tear in 2001 after trading Blake and acquiring Potvin. I think after that they went on some kind of run where they had the best record in the league and were three lines deep, with balanced scoring and a defense that had the right balance of finesse and physicality.
The following season they lost some firepower and produced less, but also gave up far less goals and had the #1 ranked PP and the #3 ranked PK unit. You don’t accomplish that on a lucky run or by some type of fluke.
Some people either don’t recall those teams or weren’t around to experience it. The Kings in 2001-02 could dominate opponents, mostly due to having the most potent top line in the league.
KingsFan7824
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It came together, but they had to fire Murray, and replace Gagne, and Penner couldn't score, and they didn't have enough on the bottom lines. Getting Carter couldn't have been part of the plan. Unless they knew he was going to cry about being in Columbus, and could get him relatively cheap. And had Gagne been healthy, and if Penner could score, do they even get Carter? They had already given up a 1st for Penner, and Schenn and Simmonds for Richards. They were depleting a lot of what they had. The day they got Carter, they were tied for 8th in the West, and closer to 13th than 7th.
Between hiring Sutter, and getting Carter, the Kings were 9th in the West. After getting Carter, they were tied for 2nd in the West, and tied for 5th overall. That's very good, but it's not go up 3-0 in every series good. No team, other than the 2012 Kings, has ever done that.
The plan wasn't working that year, and that's why DL had to hire his friend off the farm. Neither Carter nor Sutter were part of the plan. After trading what they did for Richards though, they couldn't miss the playoffs with everyone keeping their jobs. They were out of a playoff spot as late as during the last week in March. If not for a terrible end to the season for the Stars, they may have made it over the Kings.
tny760
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https://nypost.com/2019/11/30/sean-avery-nhl-coach-not-named-bill-peters-kicked-me-too/
poor little baby sean, kicked in the tookus. probably could've used a few more kicks in his life
poor little baby sean, kicked in the tookus. probably could've used a few more kicks in his life
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But this was a team that was underachieving. I’ve read plenty that said that DL always wanted Sutter at the helm when the time was right. Murray, for all the good he did in terms of fundamentals and good structure was never going to take us to the crown. The group he had should definitely have been a play-off team, so I’d say the form we showed after the Sutter/Carter moves was much more on plan than the form before the moves.
Then once they got into the play-offs it was all systems go. That team was built for play-off hockey and that is what they delivered.
All, I’m arguing is that there was a much clearer strategy for building a contending team under DL than there ever was under Taylor. His moves before 2015 all had a purpose and fitted with his strategy. They may not have all worked out perfectly, but you could see why the decisions were made. The Carter move may not have specifically been the plan, but a move for a key piece to potentially take us over the top certainly was.
I maintain that the 2012 team was no fluke. Of course no one could have predicted quite how dominant we’d be. There are always little bits of luck and good fortune that come into play, for example Carters availability. However, what that team delivered was an almost perfect realisation of the vision DL had. It was what he aimed for, and very much fitted the clear direction of travel for the franchise. It was a clarity of vision and strategy that we’d never seen before and haven’t yet seen since. As amazing as that play-off run was, it certainly didn’t surprise me.
DryIslandBartender
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Hilarious coming from that clown, he bullied Dustin Brown the entire time he was a King.
NHL getting harder to watch being turned into a soft league/daytime show where players are crying to the press the last few weeks.
yankeeking
Registered User
When T Murray was hired I spent most of my days in my work van listening to sports talk radio and multiple interviews on the hire and how great a teacher he was and that he would instill a system but if he was the right coach to get to the promised land was up in the air, pretty sure DL was planning to see if he could get there but always knew in his head he might have to make a change
KingsFan7824
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The time was right when the team was underachieving after having sold the future for Richards? I'm not sure I'm buying that. Had they been 3rd in the conference instead of 11th when Murray was fired, would that still have been the right time to bring Sutter in? Was underachieving in the first 29 games part of the plan? Was that a test of adversity that DL knew the room would have to go through as a team considered to be a contender? Had to get the team to where they were after 29 games, so that the players would accept Sutter as their coach? Why not just fire Murray after getting Richards? If he was never the guy to put them over the top, why put him through it? Was DL just messing with his head? Murray didn't get any glory out of that process. His name is not on the Cup. Did DL trade a 1st for Penner to get 4 goals in 37 games at the time of Murray's firing? Was that the plan? He got 5 goals in the other 47 games he played under Sutter in 11-12. Finally did something come playoff time, but, they were a playoff style team, which is why it was just get in, and you never know.
It was never about excellence in the regular season. It was do just enough. It was nobody has to be great, if we're all good. We rip Kopitar for saying that now, but that was the culture that was drilled into him when the team was successful. That's why DL got Sekera and Lucic. It was, we'll figure things out as the regular season goes, and form into a special collective when the dance starts. Those trades, and Bishop too, came from the same well as Penner, Richards, Carter, and Gaborik. They're all from the same DL model.
I think it was more that DL got desperate when the team still couldn't score after getting a real 2C, and had a couple teams ahead of them for a playoff spot. The first time DL starting feeling some heat, because there were actual expectations, so he turned to a familiar face to help save his job. Luckily it worked, because if it didn't, 2014 probably doesn't happen either.
KINGS17
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No, not even close to the same as 2012. All of the prior teams with the "just get in and anything can happen" philosophy were built around trades, mercenaries, and band aids. The 2012 team had ingredients from trades, but the core of the team (Kopitar, Brown, Quick, Doughty) were home grown players.
Felix Potvin had a great playoff for the Kings that one season. He isn't comparable to Jonathan Quick in the slightest.
Ziggy Stardust
Master Debater
Funny, Jeff Carter seemed to think "anything can happen."
NHL PLAYOFFS: L.A. Kings roll home with impressive playoff lead
NHL PLAYOFFS: L.A. Kings roll home with impressive playoff lead
KINGS17
Smartest in the Room
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Jeff Carter's memory isn't very good then. In the Pacific Division, the Kings finished two points out of first, one point out of second, and had a five point cushion over Calgary which finished 9th in the Western Conference. They weren't fighting for their lives to get in, they were fighting for first place right up until the San Jose game.
There was nothing concerning "anything can happen" about the 2011-12 playoffs. That sort of thing happens (rarely) for teams that are also-ran teams, and maybe lasts for a round or two. The 2011-12 Kings had under achieved the first half of the season, found their game, and entered the playoffs as one of the best teams in terms of recent performance in the NHL.
Ziggy Stardust
Master Debater
Remember how many “experts” picked the Presidents’ Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks to advance past the Kings, hot off the heels of their run to the Cup Final in 2011? The eighth seed knocking them off was an example that “anything can happen.” Nobody here or in the media was calling the Kings to win the Cup in 2012. That team pretty much became the emblem of the “anything can happen” mentality.
Raccoon Jesus
We were right there
I'm thinking maybe we need to revise that phrase. I do believe in "get in and anything can happen," but I think it's more about what you're doing leading up to the playoffs than it is in finishing in a certain position. 7-game series is a different brand of hockey than a one-off game in December. 2012 Kings should have had no worries, they were a bulldozer.
But especially in this era that holds true. The 2000s Kings were running into capless dynasty teams.
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