2019-20 Kings News/Rumors

[Ziggy Stardust]

a


and penner was not a rental. I had no issue with that price tag,

Losing Hickey on waivers pissed me off almost as much as drafting him in the first place did (although my preference was Alzner and look how that is currently). What other 4th overall pick goes on waivers that soon after his draft year.

Pisses me off thinking about it.

It gets worse when you look at the missteps that led to placing Hickey on waivers and what transpired afterwards. Davis Drewiske was kept over Hickey, and then when the Kings needed a defenseman, they sought Keaton Ellerby from Florida.

The blueline was once considered the strength of the organization, but the defensive depth has taken a serious hit for quite some time now, and it’s going to be younger and less experienced, unless some additions are made in the offseason.

 

[tbrown33]

It gets worse when you look at the missteps that led to placing Hickey on waivers and what transpired afterwards. Davis Drewiske was kept over Hickey, and then when the Kings needed a defenseman, they sought Keaton Ellerby from Florida.

The blueline was once considered the strength of the organization, but the defensive depth has taken a serious hit for quite some time now, and it’s going to be younger and less experienced, unless some additions are made in the offseason.

 

[Crownroyal21]

Hey guys. Long time reader. Don’t post very often. So, this year Kovalchuk, Taffoli, A-Mart, Clifford, Campbell, Forbort gone. We got nothing for Kovalchuk. Freaking Montreal got a second. For the rest we got one good prospect, 5 seconds(conditionally), and a fourth. Plus we shredded age and salary. What do you think Rob Blake’s grade should be for this? Also, am I accurate on what we got?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

View attachment 326543

My God, what a list of spectacular picks and failures within that list.

Speaking of spectacular, this draft video has aged gracefully.

 

[AlphaBravo]

Hey guys. Long time reader. Don’t post very often. So, this year Kovalchuk, Taffoli, A-Mart, Clifford, Campbell, Forbort gone. We got nothing for Kovalchuk. Freaking Montreal got a second. For the rest we got one good prospect, 5 seconds(conditionally), and a fourth. Plus we shredded age and salary. What do you think Rob Blake’s grade should be for this? Also, am I accurate on what we got?

We would never get anything for Kovy. Don’t know why people keep bringing this issue up. Kovy was signed for $6 million here. No team would touch that cap hit. Montreal signed him for league minimum which made him an attractive trade option.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Hey guys. Long time reader. Don’t post very often. So, this year Kovalchuk, Taffoli, A-Mart, Clifford, Campbell, Forbort gone. We got nothing for Kovalchuk. Freaking Montreal got a second. For the rest we got one good prospect, 5 seconds(conditionally), and a fourth. Plus we shredded age and salary. What do you think Rob Blake’s grade should be for this? Also, am I accurate on what we got?

Montreal did not get a 2nd for Kovalchuk. They got what will end up being a late 3rd, and that’s because Kovalchuk costs peanuts to rent now, as opposed to the $6.5M cap hit the Kings had him under. Nobody was going to trade for that contract.

EDIT: see the post above me. People bickering about not getting anything for Kovalchuk are failing to understand to consider the salary cap.

 

[Crownroyal21]

What about the others?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

What about the others?

The path has opened up for a new generation of players to take on full time spots, which needed to be done. I don’t think it’s fair to assess a grade right now when we have yet to see the finished product, but in terms of getting younger, getting rid of big contracts, and restocking the pipeline, I’d say Blake has done an exceptional job in those areas. Now we wait and see how the prospects drafted and signed from 2017 and onwards pan out.

 

[redcard]

Hey guys. Long time reader. Don’t post very often. So, this year Kovalchuk, Taffoli, A-Mart, Clifford, Campbell, Forbort gone. We got nothing for Kovalchuk. Freaking Montreal got a second. For the rest we got one good prospect, 5 seconds(conditionally), and a fourth. Plus we shredded age and salary. What do you think Rob Blake’s grade should be for this? Also, am I accurate on what we got?

We got nothing for Kovalchuk because of his contract. He was on year 2 of a 3 year $6.25 mil per season deal, there was no way we were going to be able to trade that contract. Montreal signed him for a 1 year $700k contract and then traded him for a 3rd. We didn't have the option of trading him, he wouldn't have accepted any less money to sign with us, so the only thing we could have done differently is not sign him in the first place. So in the end, it cost ownership some money, but that's it. Its just not worth worrying about what Montreal did because they were in a completely different situation.

As for the total return, the picks were 3 2nds, 2 3rds, 1 4th. But one of the 3rds can move up to a 2nd and the 4th can move up to a 3rd.

Los Angeles Kings - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps is a good source that shows our salary cap situation, and lists all the draft picks we have.

In the end, Blake did just fine this deadline. He did what he was supposed to do, cleared out players, acquired futures. You can argue about whether or not he got the right amount for each trade, but in the end he probably got better value focusing on making the volume of trades that he made rather than spending too much time trying to perfect each deal and risking 1 or more falling through.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Hey guys. Long time reader. Don’t post very often. So, this year Kovalchuk, Taffoli, A-Mart, Clifford, Campbell, Forbort gone. We got nothing for Kovalchuk. Freaking Montreal got a second. For the rest we got one good prospect, 5 seconds(conditionally), and a fourth. Plus we shredded age and salary. What do you think Rob Blake’s grade should be for this? Also, am I accurate on what we got?

If you want to break it down, here is the list:

Out

Kovalchuk
Campbell
Clifford
Toffoli
Martinez
Forbort

------------

IN

Moore
Madden
2nd '20 Van
2nd '20 LGK
2nd '21 STL
3rd '20 CBJ
3rd '21 TOR (possibly 2nd)
4th '21 CGY (condition)
(Schaller)

It might be better served asking you what you think should have been different...?

 

[riznat]

The obvious answer to some of these questions is, its too early to tell because we don't know what those picks are going to turn into. We can use them all and have an overflowing cupboard of prospects, we can package some to move up and get 'our guy', we can package some in a trade to bring in established NHLers, etc. One thing i'd like to grade Blake on next season or two is if he re-signs any dead weight. Bringing back Lewis for example, shows me that there is still some lingering nostalgia/good old boys feelings going on in the front office. Bringing back a Clifford is easier to stomach since hes still a more useful player but this team desperately needs new blood, whether that's young blood or just different veterans doesn't really matter to me. We need change desperately, and hopefully we continue to drop the old guard as contracts expire or they become trade able and continue to turn the roster over to something new.

 

[kingsfan28]

I think this condition says everything about how the rest of the league saw Derek Forbort

For a league always in need of defensmen, a former first rounder can be barely traded for a conditional 4th. The amount of time and money that went into him since his draft was pretty much a waste for what he ended up being. Maybe the should've kept McNabb instead of him.

 

[Statto]

Real good read.. Blake and TMac have put Amadio, Prokhorkin, Wagner, Lizotte, Wagner and Moore on notice!!!

Blake on the Deadline: Bullet points on Forbort, Carter, Frk, Vilardi, Anderson - LA Kings Insider

They need to be on notice.

Lizotte needs to show his early season form can be replicated and be his minimum level. He hasn’t built on his start and really needs to do that now. If he doesn’t he’s in a big battle for a roster spot.

A couple of goals change little. Wagner needs to clean up his game defensively and figure out a consistent offensive game. Right now to me he’s an AHL player keeping a spot warm until someone is ready to step up. He’s fast, that’s it.

Amadio is another that is gone once one of the kids like JAD is ready. He has some ability but he needs to show he’s more than a Tweener. He disappoints me as he doesn’t make the most of his talent, he seems to lack real belief that her belongs in the NHL.

Prokhorkin is the one that disappoints me most though as he definitely has all the tools but he needs to grasp the opportunity he has. He needs to be consistent and bring it regularly. He could become an important player for us, so I hope he figures it out.

Moore I haven’t seen enough of to comment.

 

[Fishhead]

For a league always in need of defensmen, a former first rounder can be barely traded for a conditional 4th. The amount of time and money that went into him since his draft was pretty much a waste for what he ended up being. Maybe the should've kept McNabb instead of him.

McNabb was better in every metric compared to Forbort and Doughty's numbers when paired with him were fantastic, that's when he won his Norris. It was a gamble they whiffed on badly. I'm just glad it didn't have a big effect because the team was kind of falling apart already, but McNabb certainly would have garned more in a trade that Forbort did.

 

[kovacro]

Jeebus, we even retained on Forbort. Did just about anything to get him out the door.

 

[KingsFan7824]

It gets worse when you look at the missteps that led to placing Hickey on waivers and what transpired afterwards. Davis Drewiske was kept over Hickey, and then when the Kings needed a defenseman, they sought Keaton Ellerby from Florida.

The blueline was once considered the strength of the organization, but the defensive depth has taken a serious hit for quite some time now, and it’s going to be younger and less experienced, unless some additions are made in the offseason.

Forget not being able to find forwards, since 2008, they haven't really drafted a defenseman. If you want to throw Cernak in there, ok, and Miller had a year where he was a big deal, but other than that, just not much there. That's why they haven't been able to sustain anything. Losing Voynov the way they did doesn't help. We'll see how/if they fix that.

The obvious answer to some of these questions is, its too early to tell because we don't know what those picks are going to turn into. We can use them all and have an overflowing cupboard of prospects, we can package some to move up and get 'our guy', we can package some in a trade to bring in established NHLers, etc. One thing i'd like to grade Blake on next season or two is if he re-signs any dead weight. Bringing back Lewis for example, shows me that there is still some lingering nostalgia/good old boys feelings going on in the front office. Bringing back a Clifford is easier to stomach since hes still a more useful player but this team desperately needs new blood, whether that's young blood or just different veterans doesn't really matter to me. We need change desperately, and hopefully we continue to drop the old guard as contracts expire or they become trade able and continue to turn the roster over to something new.

I would bet nobody has to worry about Lewis coming back. For the last 15 months or so, they haven't cared about any of that nostalgia stuff. Right or wrong, they even took a somewhat unique step by telling Kovalchuk he wasn't playing here again, and made him sit for a month or whatever it was. TV broadcast and whatnot aside, that's not a front office working on feelings. Is it competent? I suppose that can be up for debate, but they seem to have turned the page. If they could get rid of everyone from that one period of time, I think they would do it at this point, but reality dictates that they have to work around certain roadblocks. Do what you can, when you can.

 

[head eyes]

Looking ahead to next year, Iafallo is the only trade bait we have that's of any value, and even then it won't be worth what he brings to this team. Curious if they'll extend him or not.

 

[kingsfan28]

McNabb was better in every metric compared to Forbort and Doughty's numbers when paired with him were fantastic, that's when he won his Norris. It was a gamble they whiffed on badly. I'm just glad it didn't have a big effect because the team was kind of falling apart already, but McNabb certainly would have garned more in a trade that Forbort did.

I think the only difference as to why they chose one over the other was Forbort was a 1st round pick , and they put a lot more into him.

 

[KingsHockey24]

Looking ahead to next year, Iafallo is the only trade bait we have that's of any value, and even then it won't be worth what he brings to this team. Curious if they'll extend him or not.

We're pretty much done selling.

Lewis will be gone, same for Hutton/Ryan.

Our only trade chip will be Carter if someone wants him.

Rob Blake said in his post deadline interview the Kings will target a left shot defensemen in Free Agency this summer.

 

[kingsfan28]

Hey guys. Long time reader. Don’t post very often. So, this year Kovalchuk, Taffoli, A-Mart, Clifford, Campbell, Forbort gone. We got nothing for Kovalchuk. Freaking Montreal got a second. For the rest we got one good prospect, 5 seconds(conditionally), and a fourth. Plus we shredded age and salary. What do you think Rob Blake’s grade should be for this? Also, am I accurate on what we got?

Thee was no real value to Kovi at the time....nothing. He played/and was used in a different way in MTL than LA which drove his stock up. Plus, with only a 7ook salary compared to 6 mil, nobody was going to give the Kings anything.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

We would never get anything for Kovy. Don’t know why people keep bringing this issue up. Kovy was signed for $6 million here. No team would touch that cap hit. Montreal signed him for league minimum which made him an attractive trade option.

Kovalchuk was most likely signed by Dean Lombardi

 

[HeadInjury]

Rob Blake said in his post deadline interview the Kings will target a left shot defensemen in Free Agency this summer.

Music to my ears if true. This is exactly what we need.

 

[redcard]

We're pretty much done selling.

Lewis will be gone, same for Hutton/Ryan.

Our only trade chip will be Carter if someone wants him.

Rob Blake said in his post deadline interview the Kings will target a left shot defensemen in Free Agency this summer.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Wagner, Amadio, Lizotte, Porkins, Moore, Frk, and Iafallo. How many of these guys are in the long term plan and how many are place holders for prospects? If Frk has 15-20 goals at this point next year do we cash out and trade him if there's a kid ready to make the jump? Do we have a spot for both Amadio and Lizotte if JAD and/or Turcotte are ready to join the team? These guys still have time, but they're the ones who are going to be losing roster spots when all these stockpiled assets start blooming.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Forget not being able to find forwards, since 2008, they haven't really drafted a defenseman. If you want to throw Cernak in there, ok, and Miller had a year where he was a big deal, but other than that, just not much there. That's why they haven't been able to sustain anything. Losing Voynov the way they did doesn't help. We'll see how/if they fix that.

It really is remarkable to look at the various areas where the team stagnated, and we constantly talked about how the lack of player development would set the team back for years, and that's exactly what's happened. Who replaced Voynov, Scuderi, Mitchell, Greene, Regehr, etc? Derek Forbort, and he only had one full season where he looked impressive, then things went downhill for him and the team.

Over the last year, Muzzin and Martinez were added to that list of departed defensemen, and now the only defenseman remaining from the Cup runs is Drew Doughty. The likes of the likes of Forbort, LaDue and Gravel never developed into the players the organization thought they would become, and the only ones to come up internally after all these years who remain Kings are Matt Roy, Sean Walker, and Kurtis MacDermid.

At least now there is some hope with Tobias Bjornfot, Mikey Anderson, Kale Clague, Cole Hults, etc. who have the potential to be more than just filler defensemen.

 

[Johnny Utah]

The only bummer is the Kings dealt away a lot of hole grown talent. Toffoli was a 2nd rounder, Forbort was a 1st, Martinez was a 4th and Clifford was a 2nd.

So basically, Kings will draft you, develop you and then dump you after your first two contracts.