Speculation: 2019-20 News/Rumors,Roster thread Post Deadline

[Herby]

Judging by the comments it seems that this was not some kind of mutual decision or any kind of HC job is on the horizon.

Obviously a great guy, people said the same thing about Andy Murray, wonderful person, someone you'd send your son to play for (and many former NHL'ers have). But ultimately in sports it's strictly about W's and L's, it's a harsh business but they know what they are getting into. The Kings and Reign have both had very little to speak of results wise and it's this is what happens.

Just like with Sutter, it's hard to fire championship winning coaches, but sometimes it's probably best to get a new voice in there.

Edit: Wanted to clarify that being an AHL coach is obviously more about development than W's and L's, but there hasn't been a ton of development either. And while I don't think you can fully blame him since there just hasn't been much talent to work with, but if you are Blake you also have to be 100% sure he is the right guy because Ontario is going to be loaded here pretty soon and how those guys develop is going to be the biggest factor on whether Blake keeps his job in the next couple years.

 

[kingsfan28]

Judging by the comments it seems that this was not some kind of mutual decision or any kind of HC job is on the horizon.

Obviously a great guy, people said the same thing about Andy Murray, wonderful person, someone you'd send your son to play for (and many former NHL'ers have). But ultimately in sports it's strictly about W's and L's, it's a harsh business but they know what they are getting into. The Kings and Reign have both had very little to speak of results wise and it's this is what happens.

Just like with Sutter, it's hard to fire championship winning coaches, but sometimes it's probably best to get a new voice in there.

Edit: Wanted to clarify that being an AHL coach is obviously more about development than W's and L's, but there hasn't been a ton of development either. And while I don't think you can fully blame him since there just hasn't been much talent to work with, but if you are Blake you also have to be 100% sure he is the right guy because Ontario is going to be loaded here pretty soon and how those guys develop is going to be the biggest factor on whether Blake keeps his job in the next couple years.

Maybe your last paragraph is where the reason lies. Blake may have seen what he wants the new group to become in another coach, probably college level who can work to mold them into future Kings. Also, he's the last of the coaches from the old group, correct?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Maybe your last paragraph is where the reason lies. Blake may have seen what he wants the new group to become in another coach, probably college level who can work to mold them into future Kings. Also, he's the last of the coaches from the old group, correct?

Besides Bill Ranford, I believe Stothers has been around the longest among the coaches, having been hired back in 2014.

 

[Nickster]

Stutts was Owen Sound's coach when Futa was GM there... Coincidence?

 

[BringTheReign]

Stutts was Owen Sound's coach when Futa was GM there... Coincidence?

Great point. I wonder if Stothers is backing on a shot wherever Futa lands.

I've always liked Stothers, but I also don't think it's a stretch that McClellan should have some say in who is coaching down in the AHL. Even if Blake liked Stothers, in my mind it should be a joint decision between him and TM since it's the latter's system they'll need to implement.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Changing the AHL coach at this point is fine. I’m surprised they would announce Stothers leaving and not have a replacement ready. Makes management look unprepared, which is par for the course.

It's the end of May, and the league is still shut down. Who knows when the next AHL game will be played.

I'll reserve my judgment on Stothers until the replacement is named, but as mentioned, if it is Wayne Gretzky or some shit, there should be a riot.

I get a feeling that Blake & Co. wants more of their stamp on the staff, but Stothers wasn't an issue whatsoever. If they toss him for Tony Granato or something similar then the old boys club is really pushing it.

I like the direction the youth is going, but it doesn't scream to me masterful leadership by Blake. He's got a ways to go and if he hires more of his buddies, it will make it all the easier to turn on him the next big mistake.

 

[HookKing]

I was looking at the Kings roster and wondering what’s UFA’s they might take a shot at.

...

I made a list of UFA’s the Kings may have interest in.

Joel Edmundson
Travis Hamonic
Justin Schultz
Sami Vatanen
Chris Tanev

On forward:
Wayne Simmonds
Pat Maroon
Matt Martin
Mike Hoffman
Jimmy Vesey

...

I noticed you didn't include Brenden Dillon (LHD that can play both sides). I think he's the guy Blake needs to go after and pair with Doughty. Shark fans hated to see him leave and he apparently paired well with Burns and Karlsson. He's 29 big and a fast skater. He uses his size, stands up for teammates and doesn't handle the puck like a grenade. Shut down guy with no offense but overall I think he would make a great partner to re-energize DD.

The Kings don't have anyone with his attributes in the system. He's also a west coast guy but a lot might depend on what he thinks of TM (he played 1 season under him).

 

[regulate]

No photo captures Mike Stothers better than this one. He will fight to the death for his boys. We'll certainly miss him. I think people are forgetting who hired Mike Stothers, Reign GM (in his first year) Rob Blake. Stothers went on to take a good team all the way to the Calder Cup in his maiden season. Stutts had his flaws like all coaches (overworked his starting goalie due to lack of faith in his back ups), and he probably relied a bit too much on aggressive play as the game has changed which lead to the team taking way too many penalties, penalties the young team defense struggled to handle. Not renewing the team option for one more year on his contract likely has more to do with a different organizational philosophy now with a more developmentally oriented coach to TMac's style of play than anything, not really a bad reflection on the qualities that Stothers has, but wanting to move the team in a new direction with much more talent than the Reign have had to work with in several years. Six seasons is a good run for any coach, they all have a shelf life. The positive things said by his players, fans and media typify how well thought of Stutts is, and no doubt he'll land on his feet, either in the NHL as an assistant, or a head coach in the AHL or even back in Canada in the CHL. I hope he doesn't land with the Silver Knights or the Palm Springs club, I really don't want to face off against him in our division.

 

[KopitarFAN]

 

[Statto]

Great point. I wonder if Stothers is backing on a shot wherever Futa lands.

I've always liked Stothers, but I also don't think it's a stretch that McClellan should have some say in who is coaching down in the AHL. Even if Blake liked Stothers, in my mind it should be a joint decision between him and TM since it's the latter's system they'll need to implement.

I think this is important, about TM. I have zero doubts or concerns about Stothers as a coach in general, however I was concerned that the Reign were not playing the same way as the Kings. I have no view on if Stothers can coach high skilled prospects, however I’m adamant the farm team must play the same way as the big club. If that wasn’t something Stothers was either unable or unwilling to do then it’s the right decision. Equally, sometimes things need to be freshened up, given his tenure it’s not that much of a stretch to say his time has simply come.

The next hire is obviously very important though, I don’t care if it’s one of Blake’s guys or not as long as they are good enough but I do think it should be someone TM is fully behind. It has to be someone TM can work closely with, although I have no idea what his relationship with Stothers was like (so I am not implying there was any issue there).

Edit: fixed typo

 

[regulate]

Look for an announcement as early as tomorrow that the Kings have signed Arthur Kaliyev and Jordan Spence.

 

[kingsfan28]

Look for an announcement as early as tomorrow that the Kings have signed Arthur Kaliyev and Jordan Spence.

It's going to be a great camp, whenever that is. So much scoring potential will be on display.

 

[Herby]

Look for an announcement as early as tomorrow that the Kings have signed Arthur Kaliyev and Jordan Spence.

The Kings may just feel better off having Kaliyev in the NHL than having to be back in the OHL because of that archaic agreement. There is going to be very little skill again next season so he probably should be able to work his way into some PP time. Let him take his lumps as a 19 year old on a bad team as opposed to as a 20 year old on a team that might be in the playoff hunt.

 

[kingsboy11]

I like the ideas that Hoven presented on his podcast and just have him spread out his 9 games with possibly a conditioning stint thrown in there and then send him back down to the OHL. If he spends the whole year back in Juniors he's going to get bored. And in his 9 games, give him time to shine and give him an opportunity to succeed.

 

[Sparky206]

I like the ideas that Hoven presented on his podcast and just have him spread out his 9 games with possibly a conditioning stint thrown in there and then send him back down to the OHL. If he spends the whole year back in Juniors he's going to get bored. And in his 9 games, give him time to shine and give him an opportunity to succeed.

Someone posted a scenario a while back were theres a schedule he can follow where he basically gets his 9 games in early in the year, a "conditioning stint" in ontario then you ship him off to the world juniors after that. It gets him to the middle of January before he has to go back and waste time in the OHL.

 

[KingLB]

All that means nothing. If the OHL starts on time, and the NHL starts in December.

 

[Statto]

The Kings may just feel better off having Kaliyev in the NHL than having to be back in the OHL because of that archaic agreement. There is going to be very little skill again next season so he probably should be able to work his way into some PP time. Let him take his lumps as a 19 year old on a bad team as opposed to as a 20 year old on a team that might be in the playoff hunt.

It is one of the great dilemmas. From a recent article I read they obviously feel that Kaliyev has an NHL shot, a very good one. It seemed they feel that offensively he is NHL ready, but it’s about how ready he is for the rest of it. He was clearly working on his defensive game as the season progressed which was great to see. He could have focused on padding his stats and taking the plaudits but his priority seemed to be about becoming a better player. He’s had time with the break to be able to work on conditioning so will hopefully added muscle where it has been needed. If he’s had access to ice even better.

Kaliyev’s never going to be the second coming of Jere Lehtinen but if they feel he can do an defensive adequate job, whilst being coachable then he’s going to get a very long look. Given he’s clearly worked on the feedback he’s been given on his overall game, you have to feel he’s going to be a good ‘student’. The hard thing is that he’s a top line winger or nothing IMO. He needs to be a scoring threat that teams treat as such, so that the opposition are more inclined to stop him as opposed to targeting him. I’d prefer to see him start on Kopitar’s right wing as opposed to playing on the bottom 6. Kopitar is probably exactly the right Center for him in fact. Defensively he helps provide insurance and as Kopitar is a pass first guy if he gets open Kaliyev will get the puck. So I’d think he gets a long look.

However I’m getting waaaaay ahead of myself. There are a whole bunch of if/buts/maybes before any of that is a consideration. He first has to come to camp and earn the opportunity.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I think it was Wheeler who compared Kaliyev to a poor man's Laine, and I still like the Thomas Vanek comp too.

I'm actually not sure Kopitar is the right center for him because although he's elite at 200 ft and can cover for Artie we know how deferential Kopitar is when paired with shooting talent. That could work great, it could be awful. It's definitely worth a try.

I actually see what a guy like Frk is doing with Vilardi and wonder if that's the long term pairing for Kaliyev. Gabe can mix it up. He's got a deadly shot himself but he's got better vision than even Kopitar imo. Or Turcotte, but he seems to suffer from the same 'unselfish-itis' that plagues Anze if his time playing next to Caulfield is any indication.

 

[funky]

I think it was Wheeler who compared Kaliyev to a poor man's Laine, and I still like the Thomas Vanek comp too.

I'm actually not sure Kopitar is the right center for him because although he's elite at 200 ft and can cover for Artie we know how deferential Kopitar is when paired with shooting talent. That could work great, it could be awful. It's definitely worth a try.

I actually see what a guy like Frk is doing with Vilardi and wonder if that's the long term pairing for Kaliyev. Gabe can mix it up. He's got a deadly shot himself but he's got better vision than even Kopitar imo. Or Turcotte, but he seems to suffer from the same 'unselfish-itis' that plagues Anze if his time playing next to Caulfield is any indication.

Fagemo - Turcotte - Kaliyev.

Fagemo is all over pucks and plays a great defensive game. Turcotte plays two ways and is creative enough to get both wingers the puck in shooting areas. In 2 to 3 years I see this is a really good second line.

now my pipe dream is to draft Drysdale and sign Edmundson and we have a completely new 2nd line that should be able to produce offensively and play good enough team Defence to cover for Kaliyev’s weaknesses. Plus teams cannot double cover Kaliyev as Fagemo, Turcotte and Drysdale should all grow into legit threats and Edmundson has a rocket from the point. I know it’s my best case scenario but with no hockey the last three months I need to live in my dream world to stay sane.

 

[KopitarFAN]

I asked Hoven what I thought was an interesting question concerning player development and the 20-21 AHL/CHL seasons being up in the air:

 

[BringTheReign]

I asked Hoven what I thought was an interesting question concerning player development and the 20-21 AHL/CHL seasons being up in the air:

I could see the Sharks, Ducks, Kings, Yotes, and Knights all organizing a rookie tournament-style "season" for their signed prospects/AHL pros. They could make it weekend games only where teams all meet at one site twice per month. Players get ready on the bus, walk in to play their games, then get shipped back to the hotel after.

 

[KINGS17]

View attachment 348377



No photo captures Mike Stothers better than this one. He will fight to the death for his boys. We'll certainly miss him. I think people are forgetting who hired Mike Stothers, Reign GM (in his first year) Rob Blake. Stothers went on to take a good team all the way to the Calder Cup in his maiden season. Stutts had his flaws like all coaches (overworked his starting goalie due to lack of faith in his back ups), and he probably relied a bit too much on aggressive play as the game has changed which lead to the team taking way too many penalties, penalties the young team defense struggled to handle. Not renewing the team option for one more year on his contract likely has more to do with a different organizational philosophy now with a more developmentally oriented coach to TMac's style of play than anything, not really a bad reflection on the qualities that Stothers has, but wanting to move the team in a new direction with much more talent than the Reign have had to work with in several years. Six seasons is a good run for any coach, they all have a shelf life. The positive things said by his players, fans and media typify how well thought of Stutts is, and no doubt he'll land on his feet, either in the NHL as an assistant, or a head coach in the AHL or even back in Canada in the CHL. I hope he doesn't land with the Silver Knights or the Palm Springs club, I really don't want to face off against him in our division.

Caption for this picture: Get off my rink!!

 

[KINGS17]

I think it was Wheeler who compared Kaliyev to a poor man's Laine, and I still like the Thomas Vanek comp too.

I'm actually not sure Kopitar is the right center for him because although he's elite at 200 ft and can cover for Artie we know how deferential Kopitar is when paired with shooting talent. That could work great, it could be awful. It's definitely worth a try.

I actually see what a guy like Frk is doing with Vilardi and wonder if that's the long term pairing for Kaliyev. Gabe can mix it up. He's got a deadly shot himself but he's got better vision than even Kopitar imo. Or Turcotte, but he seems to suffer from the same 'unselfish-itis' that plagues Anze if his time playing next to Caulfield is any indication.

Yeah, as a center you can't defer so often. Goaltenders and defensemen start to cheat and anticipate when the center is all "pass first".

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Probably the most stressful win in Kings history.

 

[jfont]

Talk about stress, I think I lost 5 years off my life after that game...