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

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The 2024 playoffs and contention is a far more reasonable expectation. This is Blake's third draft. Keep in mind Lombardi took six years to get there, and Blake probably started with less talent in the system.

Sure, and maybe I was being a little drastic with my language, but I have a feeling they'll be contending in 2022. It took Lombardi six years, but big big difference is Blake inherited Kopitar and Doughty in their primes.

Yes, Blake had less talent in the system, but he had more talent on the pro roster, and still does, compared to what Lombardi had in the mid aughts, in the non playoff years. Big difference is Kings have proven cup superstars on the team in Kopitar and Doughty who are still within their peak years, and I think they'll both be productive players into their mid-to-late 30s, at least. And now they have the best farm system by leaps and bounds, and that's without having the #2 prospect in the NHL in our system yet. IMO things will start to snowball, in a good way.

Not to mention, I have a lot of confidence in the goaltending moving forward.

And gobs of cap space. And like a million draft picks.
 
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I'm curious what Kings fans are thinking regarding the path the Kings should take - take the short term approach to try to win another Cup when Kopitar and Doughty are still playing at an elite level or a more long term plan to build for the future?

As a Hawks fan, my team is essentially in the same boat with Kane and Toews still playing at an elite level but the team nowhere good enough to have a legitimate chance to win the Cup. Hawks management has been straddling the fence for a couple years now - unwilling to commit 100% to one path or the other and my fear is that is the recipe to more years of wandering in the wilderness.

What say you?

So Blake was just on the Kings of the Podcast with MayorsManor and he talked specifically about this. He said when he first took over he gave the cup core one last run at a cup with the group they had (they earned that chance) and once management realized they couldn't compete they started to rip it down. The first big move was Muzzin and the rest started to fall in place. Whether that was with future trades (Martinez, Toffoli, Campbell/Clifford) or college free agent signings that have made a decent impact already (Iafallo, Walker, Roy, Lizotte). He said that they are building around their veteran 5 (Kopitar, Doughty, Quick, Brown, Carter). They have arguably the number 1 prospect pool in the NHL right now and have multiple prospects starting to get NHL time. Vilardi, Sean Walker, Matt Roy, and Mikey Anderson have already grabbed their spots on the NHL roster. Bjornfot, Clague, JAD will be splitting time between the NHL and AHL this season but could steal a roster spot this year. He said the team should challenge for a playoff spot this coming season. So im guessing a cup contender in 3 years.

I think the Kings lucked out with their rebuild so far. Some things have gone right for them. We just have to see how the team and prospects move forward this season. This season will be a make or break kind of season. One that will show if the "rebuild" is on the right track or if it will be stagnant for another year or so.

I really like Chicago as a team (not the fans that show up to LA games; very rude people). Kane is my favorite player. But I think Chicago is in a lot of trouble. They probably should have started selling off guys last year and look to be in a black hole (ala the Kings of the late 90/early 2000s). I think they have some good young guys to build around but are way to old as a team. Other than Toews and Kane, older cup guys need to go. Sadly enough the Panarin deal was horrible for them but had to be done because of future cap issues. I think if your management doesn't think they can win a cup in the next 2 years; they need to start the rebuild now. Just an outsiders POV.
 
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Sure, and maybe I was being a little drastic with my language, but I have a feeling they'll be contending in 2022. It took Lombardi six years, but big big difference is Blake inherited Kopitar and Doughty in their primes.

Yes, Blake had less talent in the system, but he had more talent on the pro roster, and still does, compared to what Lombardi had in the mid aughts, in the non playoff years. Big difference is Kings have proven cup superstars on the team in Kopitar and Doughty who are still within their peak years, and I think they'll both be productive players into their mid-to-late 30s, at least. And now they have the best farm system by leaps and bounds, and that's without having the #2 prospect in the NHL in our system yet. IMO things will start to snowball, in a good way.

Not to mention, I have a lot of confidence in the goaltending moving forward.

And gobs of cap space. And like a million draft picks.

Blake inherited the last year of Kopitar and Doughty's prime.

They do not have the best farm system by leaps and bounds. Ottawa's will most likely be better after this draft.

The future is promising but to think they are a contender in 2022 depends on what you consider a contender to be. It is playoffs or bust in 2022, in my opinion, but winning more than one playoff round would be shocking to me.
 
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Sure, and maybe I was being a little drastic with my language, but I have a feeling they'll be contending in 2022. It took Lombardi six years, but big big difference is Blake inherited Kopitar and Doughty in their primes.

Yes, Blake had less talent in the system, but he had more talent on the pro roster, and still does, compared to what Lombardi had in the mid aughts, in the non playoff years. Big difference is Kings have proven cup superstars on the team in Kopitar and Doughty who are still within their peak years, and I think they'll both be productive players into their mid-to-late 30s, at least. And now they have the best farm system by leaps and bounds, and that's without having the #2 prospect in the NHL in our system yet. IMO things will start to snowball, in a good way.

Not to mention, I have a lot of confidence in the goaltending moving forward.

And gobs of cap space. And like a million draft picks.
Sorry, but Kopitar and Doughty are not in their prime, or their peak years. Having highest rated prospect pool is great, but they still have to develop these guys. Half the players I keep seeing people pencil the Kings lineup won't even make it to the NHL.
 
What changed the Kings is the 2008 draft because the Kings picked 2nd overall. Previously, we were picking 11-20 going back to 2000.

Then it was Hickey at 4, Doughty at 2 and Schenn at 5.

Also, throw in second round gems like Clifford and Simmonds in addition to lower rounds picks like Martinez, King and Nolan.

The Kings need some lower round picks to hit and the second overall this year to be a franchise changer like Doughty. Then they can parlay other prospects for mid or late 20s talent like the Kings did with the Richards trade to fill holes. Also, we need a middle or late round first to hit like Kopitar did at 11.

Right now I still feel like this is the first years of Lombardi’s run where the Kings transitioned from players like Calder, Handzus, Nagy, Thornton to younger players like Cammy, Brown and Kopitar.

Who is the next Kopitar? Byfield? Vilardi? Who is the next Brown? Turcotte? Who is the next Cammy? Kayilev or Kupari? These kids need to step up and show they are NHL’ers in the next few years or we will keep drafting until we hit.
 
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Sorry, but Kopitar and Doughty are not in their prime, or their peak years. Having highest rated prospect pool is great, but they still have to develop these guys. Half the players I keep seeing people pencil the Kings lineup won't even make it to the NHL.

Eh, disagree. Doughty is 30 and one of the best defensemen of his generation, he's still got it, the team has just been shitty. Kopitar has showed no signs of slowing down, and has been the best forward on the team for how many years in a row now? Even so, by 2022 I see him as the 2nd line center, which would be amazing if he's still putting up 60-80 points, which I think he's capable of. Regardless it will be a while before anyone else on this team has as good of a 200ft game as Kopitar.
 
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So Blake was just on the Kings of the Podcast with MayorsManor and he talked specifically about this. He said when he first took over he gave the cup core one last run at a cup with the group they had (they earned that chance) and once management realized they couldn't compete they started to rip it down. The first big move was Muzzin and the rest started to fall in place. Whether that was with future trades (Martinez, Toffoli, Campbell/Clifford) or college free agent signings that have made a decent impact already (Iafallo, Walker, Roy, Lizotte). He said that they are building around their veteran 5 (Kopitar, Doughty, Quick, Brown, Carter). They have arguably the number 1 prospect pool in the NHL right now and have multiple prospects starting to get NHL time. Vilardi, Sean Walker, Matt Roy, and Mikey Anderson have already grabbed their spots on the NHL roster. Bjornfot, Clague, JAD will be splitting time between the NHL and AHL this season but could steal a roster spot this year. He said the team should challenge for a playoff spot this coming season. So im guessing a cup contender in 3 years.

I think the Kings lucked out with their rebuild so far. Some things have gone right for them. We just have to see how the team and prospects move forward this season. This season will be a make or break kind of season. One that will show if the "rebuild" is on the right track or if it will be stagnant for another year or so.

I really like Chicago as a team (not the fans that show up to LA games; very rude people). Kane is my favorite player. But I think Chicago is in a lot of trouble. They probably should have started selling off guys last year and look to be in a black hole (ala the Kings of the late 90/early 2000s). I think they have some good young guys to build around but are way to old as a team. Other than Toews and Kane, older cup guys need to go. Sadly enough the Panarin deal was horrible for them but had to be done because of future cap issues. I think if your management doesn't think they can win a cup in the next 2 years; they need to start the rebuild now. Just an outsiders POV.

I'll start with this disclaimer: Blake is an NHL GM and I'm just an armchair GM on the internet - so take my opinion for what it's worth, which isn't much. And with that I'm now free to pontificate like a good little armchair GM. :laugh:

What strikes me about Blake's statement that he gave the roster he inherited one more year to take a run at the Cup before deciding to "rebuild" around those 5 core players - is that it doesn't seem like a "rebuild" to me - it seems more like fence straddling than taking decisive action to either truly rebuild or admit they're trying to win another Cup with the 2012/2014 Cup winning core. More or less the same thing the Hawks are doing with Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, and Crawford. Obviously salary cap plays a major role in what the GM can do but in neither case - Blake with the Kings and Bowman with the Hawks - is there a honest effort to do a strip it down rebuild.

In my opinion a rebuild on the fly is more hope and luck than sound long term strategy. As a Hawks fan I would be OK with being a bottom feeder team for a few years because it would mean the Hawks could return to the mountain top sooner than possibly never, which is the way it looks right now unless the Hawks get very lucky.
 
DD was "shitty" too. Maybe the King's were "shitty" because their high priced defenseman was phoning it in on them instead of the other way around.
Having a newborn kid at home paid a toll on Brown, Kopitar, Carter, and now Drew. Better he sucks now then when we contend soon. The other 3 bounced back with time and I expect the same with Doughty.
 
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I'll start with this disclaimer: Blake is an NHL GM and I'm just an armchair GM on the internet - so take my opinion for what it's worth, which isn't much. And with that I'm now free to pontificate like a good little armchair GM. :laugh:

What strikes me about Blake's statement that he gave the roster he inherited one more year to take a run at the Cup before deciding to "rebuild" around those 5 core players - is that it doesn't seem like a "rebuild" to me - it seems more like fence straddling than taking decisive action to either truly rebuild or admit they're trying to win another Cup with the 2012/2014 Cup winning core. More or less the same thing the Hawks are doing with Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, and Crawford. Obviously salary cap plays a major role in what the GM can do but in neither case - Blake with the Kings and Bowman with the Hawks - is there a honest effort to do a strip it down rebuild.

In my opinion a rebuild on the fly is more hope and luck than sound long term strategy. As a Hawks fan I would be OK with being a bottom feeder team for a few years because it would mean the Hawks could return to the mountain top sooner than possibly never, which is the way it looks right now unless the Hawks get very lucky.
It sounds that way, because it is that way. The Kings went with half measures and missed at least one or two opportunities to acquire future assets for players who may have helped teams which were actually contending for the cup. At least they did the obvious and kept their draft picks.
 
I'll start with this disclaimer: Blake is an NHL GM and I'm just an armchair GM on the internet - so take my opinion for what it's worth, which isn't much. And with that I'm now free to pontificate like a good little armchair GM. :laugh:

What strikes me about Blake's statement that he gave the roster he inherited one more year to take a run at the Cup before deciding to "rebuild" around those 5 core players - is that it doesn't seem like a "rebuild" to me - it seems more like fence straddling than taking decisive action to either truly rebuild or admit they're trying to win another Cup with the 2012/2014 Cup winning core. More or less the same thing the Hawks are doing with Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, and Crawford. Obviously salary cap plays a major role in what the GM can do but in neither case - Blake with the Kings and Bowman with the Hawks - is there a honest effort to do a strip it down rebuild.

In my opinion a rebuild on the fly is more hope and luck than sound long term strategy. As a Hawks fan I would be OK with being a bottom feeder team for a few years because it would mean the Hawks could return to the mountain top sooner than possibly never, which is the way it looks right now unless the Hawks get very lucky.

In my opinion, Blake is being nice to some of the veterans on the team when he says they are building around "the veteran five". They are not building around Carter and Quick although the latter falls more into the legacy/leadership category like Brown does. If Blake could move Carter, he would have.

They are, in fact, rebuilding. They haven't been trying to win still like Chicago: Blake waived the white flag when he moved Muzzin and has not tried to sign any sort of good, legit NHL players since he signed Kovalchuk. LA finished next-to-last in '19 and were primed to do so again until a seven game winning streak to close out the year. They've been tanking.

As for those that believe that Blake is in a spot similar to Lombardi was in his 2nd year, that is false as far as the prospect side of things. This will be Blake's 4th draft when he gets the 2OA v. Lombardi getting it in his 3rd. You would have to hope that the Turcotte/Bjornfot 1st round combo in 2019 winds up better than the Bernier/Lewis 1st round combo that DL had. I will not say that this 2OA will be Doughty-like since he is a future HHOF'er and made an immediate impact but I will say that Blake has a better prospect pool than Lombardi did going in to the 2008 draft.

What Lombardi had was 11/23/32 before their primes. That said, I still look at this upcoming season like Doughty's first year. They improved by 8 points over the season before, still picked at 5thOA in the draft but you were excited about the next season. Helping that excitement was the off-season acquisition of Smyth. I don't think it will be the 2OA making the impact next season but rather Vilardi, Anderson, Roy and then a sprinkling in of a '19 draft pick here and there. Blake will have a better idea of what the team really needs next off-season, will have a bunch of assets and a lot of cap space. Playoffs or bust in 2022 just like Lombardi in 2010. Took Lombardi four years to make the playoffs: 2022 will be Year 4 of Blake's rebuild.
 
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If the veterans don't have to be the front line guys, the team can be competitive again, but if they're building it to rely on those guys for another run, I don't think they have it.
 
We are definitely in rebuild mode and shaping up as one of the most promising in the league. I don't care how Blake views it, as long as he keeps his course anything can happen. He and Luc Robitaille are literally the only people on the planet that can f*** this up, and the way it is heading right now, even a blind dog can guide this team to some kind of success, the future is just that bright.

Thought this was interesting. Don’t see it happening, but we’re all bored right?



Although, while I am very much for keeping the course, if Buffalo goes full-on crazy and puts Eichel out there, I would consider it very carefully.

Personally, I lean toward standing pat, drafting Byfield, and try to develop my own Eichel, but when someone is offering the real deal at 23 years old signed long term... It is hard to ignore. I don't like Eichel's injury history, out of five seasons he has only come close to finishing a season once, but still has yet to play 82 games. But similar disaster can happen on the other end where you can go for Byfield and he fizzles or has a career-altering injury, etc. It's a tough choice being a GM, but if the price was reasonable, like 2oA, a prospect, a lesser pick/roster player, and a cap dump, you'd be insane not to entertain the offer.

Either which way, Buffalo would be foolish to rid themselves of Eichel. They have a young franchise talent that wants to win locked up on their team for the long term, you build around that player and try to win a championship. Period.
 
If the veterans don't have to be the front line guys, the team can be competitive again, but if they're building it to rely on those guys for another run, I don't think they have it.
I think this is it... keeping Kopitar and Doughty isn’t about them leading the next cup charge skating big minutes every night. They will need to provide high level veteran knowhow, guiding the next generation. Ideally by 2022 Kopitar is our 2C at best and whilst Drew will mostly likely still be our No1 D, his minutes will be better managed and we will have Björnfot and Anderson logging 18-20 minutes per night and playing in all situations. If Doughty’s minutes are managed he should be able to maintain an elite level of play, energised by the talent infusion. Yes they will have big cap hits but that won’t be what dictates the makeup of the roster as many of these guys will be on ELC’s or second contracts.

If Kopi is still logging 24 minutes and DD 28 minutes every night then something will have gone very wrong.
 
DD was "shitty" too. Maybe the King's were "shitty" because their high priced defenseman was phoning it in on them instead of the other way around.

Not disagreeing that Doughty has phoned it in over the past couple years, but they also over-rely on him to the point of diminishing returns. Too many minutes. Drew's lapses have been mental, and it's no secret that when the team isn't playing for anything he's not playing as well as he's capable of. That will not be the case by 2022. He is still an elite #1 defenseman and will continue to be til at least his mid 30s. He's 30 years old and was 2nd in the NHL in TOI this year. He has shown no signs of wearing down physically.

Not to mention, he's got nearly an entire calendar year to recharge his batteries. This extended break for some of these guys could potentially inject some extra mileage into their careers.
 
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In my opinion, Blake is being nice to some of the veterans on the team when he says they are building around "the veteran five". They are not building around Carter and Quick although the latter falls more into the legacy/leadership category like Brown does. If Blake could move Carter, he would have.

They are, in fact, rebuilding. They haven't been trying to win still like Chicago: Blake waived the white flag when he moved Muzzin and has not tried to sign any sort of good, legit NHL players since he signed Kovalchuk. LA finished next-to-last in '19 and were primed to do so again until a seven game winning streak to close out the year. They've been tanking.

As for those that believe that Blake is in a spot similar to Lombardi was in his 2nd year, that is false as far as the prospect side of things. This will be Blake's 4th draft when he gets the 2OA v. Lombardi getting it in his 3rd. You would have to hope that the Turcotte/Bjornfot 1st round combo in 2019 winds up better than the Bernier/Lewis 1st round combo that DL had. I will not say that this 2OA will be Doughty-like since he is a future HHOF'er and made an immediate impact but I will say that Blake has a better prospect pool than Lombardi did going in to the 2008 draft.

What Lombardi had was 11/23/32 before their primes. That said, I still look at this upcoming season like Doughty's first year. They improved by 8 points over the season before, still picked at 5thOA in the draft but you were excited about the next season. Helping that excitement was the off-season acquisition of Smyth. I don't think it will be the 2OA making the impact next season but rather Vilardi, Anderson, Roy and then a sprinkling in of a '19 draft pick here and there. Blake will have a better idea of what the team really needs next off-season, will have a bunch of assets and a lot of cap space. Playoffs or bust in 2022 just like Lombardi in 2010. Took Lombardi four years to make the playoffs: 2022 will be Year 4 of Blake's rebuild.

I looked a little closer at the last several years and at the Kings prospects pool and I have to agree the Kings are in better shape than the Hawks.

Looking at the standings since Blake took over, the first season (2017/18) when he gave the old roster one more shot wasn't too bad - the Kings finished 12th in the league and made the playoffs with 98 points (the Hawks had 76 points and didn't make the playoffs). The next two seasons, the Kings finished well out of the playoffs with 71 and 64 points respectively (the Hawks didn't make the playoffs either year and finished with 84 and 72 points). My conclusion is Blake did a better job of clearing out players and acquiring prospects than Bowman did.

The prospect pool is definitely in the Kings favor too. The Hawks got lucky by moving up 9 spots in the 2019 draft else their prospect pool would be even worse, course if the Hawks do something silly like beat the Oilers in the play-in series - OR - they don't get lucky and win the 1-in-8 chance to draft Lafreniere, the gap between the Kings and Hawks prospect pools will widen when the Kings take Byfield at #2.

The Hawks have been fortunate over the past few years to acquire some Euro players that have panned out pretty well (including Kubalik - sorry Kings fans), but none other than Panarin would be considered a difference making player like a top of the draft player would.

At this point if I had to bet on which team would get to the SCF first - my money would be on the Kings.
 
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Drew seems like a freak of nature but imagine how good he could be with a serious commitment to fitness ala Dustin Brown. Only gets harder as you get older. Unless you are Chelios.
 
Should the Kings attempt to re-sign Paul LaDue to another 1 year deal? He played on a one-way contract last year, made 850K in the AHL, and did an excellent job as a 1st pairing D man and mentor with young Bjornfot. If he doesn't make the Kings roster, his salary can be buried so it doesn't count against the CAP, he provides RHD depth if one of the 3 regulars from last season on the Kings right-side are injured, and he's solid with all the new kids in the AHL. With that in mind, I'm not sure LaDue won't be shopping as a 28 year old UFA to look for a better NHL opportunity. LaDue and Bjornfot where a combined +24 on a team that was outscored by 32 goals during the season.
 
I looked a little closer at the last several years and at the Kings prospects pool and I have to agree the Kings are in better shape than the Hawks.

Looking at the standings since Blake took over, the first season (2017/18) when he gave the old roster one more shot wasn't too bad - the Kings finished 12th in the league and made the playoffs with 98 points (the Hawks had 76 points and didn't make the playoffs). The next two seasons, the Kings finished well out of the playoffs with 71 and 64 points respectively (the Hawks didn't make the playoffs either year and finished with 84 and 72 points). My conclusion is Blake did a better job of clearing out players and acquiring prospects than Bowman did.

The prospect pool is definitely in the Kings favor too. The Hawks got lucky by moving up 9 spots in the 2019 draft else their prospect pool would be even worse, course if the Hawks don't do something silly and beat the Oilers in the play-in series, AND get very lucky to win the 1-in-8 chance to draft Lafreniere, the gap between the Kings and Hawks prospect pools will widen when the Kings take Byfield at #2.

The Hawks have been fortunate over the past few years to acquire some Euro players that have panned out pretty well (including Kubalik - sorry Kings fans), but none other than Panarin would be considered a difference making player like a top of the draft player would.

At this point if I had to bet on which team would get to the SCF first - my money would be on the Kings.

To be fair, Blake gave them more than just one shot but the second shot in 2019 went so poorly and so quickly, Blake was able to start the rebuild in the middle of that season and secure a Top 5 draft pick. He signed Kovalchuk that summer so everyone was full steam ahead on that roster trying to win another Cup.

It's a little disingenuous on his part to say he gave them one more shot. Thank god they didn't just stumble their way through the 2019 season as simply a mediocre team as the sheer horribleness of their performance led to the rebuild starting mid-season. Credit does go to Blake for not doubling down at that point. Pretty much everything since the Muzzin trade has been the right course of action when it comes building towards the future.

In regards to Chicago, the LA fan base is much more forgiving when it comes to allowing for a rebuild. Nobody is in LA is walking around the streets bemoaning how the Kings suck so bad right now.
 
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I'll start with this disclaimer: Blake is an NHL GM and I'm just an armchair GM on the internet - so take my opinion for what it's worth, which isn't much. And with that I'm now free to pontificate like a good little armchair GM. :laugh:

What strikes me about Blake's statement that he gave the roster he inherited one more year to take a run at the Cup before deciding to "rebuild" around those 5 core players - is that it doesn't seem like a "rebuild" to me - it seems more like fence straddling than taking decisive action to either truly rebuild or admit they're trying to win another Cup with the 2012/2014 Cup winning core. More or less the same thing the Hawks are doing with Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, and Crawford. Obviously salary cap plays a major role in what the GM can do but in neither case - Blake with the Kings and Bowman with the Hawks - is there a honest effort to do a strip it down rebuild.
Both of our franchises had some very dire years before our cup runs.

as far as the 5 go, teams still need vets and leaders. I am fine with the 5 staying as long as Doughty gets his ass in gear
 
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