Dealing for Eichel now is precisely the type of move DL was smart enough to avoid and precisely the type of move I fear Blake and Luc would go for. Maybe they're thinking that adding Eichel and a top #2 LD will move them instantly into Cup contention. But I really doubt that's the timeline they should be thinking about, sadly I could also see them thinking just that.
Speculation: 2020-21 LA Kings News/Roster/Rumors Discussion Part VI
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SFKingshomer
Registered User
I will be disappointed if they move a top prospect or 2 for a 29 year old with 1 year until he hits UFA. If they make a move for Eichel that doesn’t complete mortgage the future then I’d learn to live with it. Bernstein’s, Turcotte, Byfield and multiple picks is crazy to me.
BigKing
Blake Out of Hell III: Back in to Hell
It would be nice to see the 11th OA pick from 2017 being more of a force at this point but Lombardi didn't get high impacts from his first two first round picks--or his third first round pick for that matter--for years. Some would argue "ever" depending on your Trevor Lewis stance. Lombardi did well with his 4th 1st round pick, however. Blake's already had five.
It's on track in the sense that there are a lot of prospects and they are still not a playoff team. I'm just of the opinion that nobody should be okay with next season being like this season. That doesn't mean contender status but it does mean no more of this limp dick garbage.
I too think that the Kings should be trying to put a good team together for next year. With the cap space we have and the sheer volume of NHL ready prospects we have it's time to stop tanking.
johnjm22
Pseudo Intellectual
- Aug 2, 2005
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Next year is the year for Vilardi and Andersson. If these guys are going to ever be good, then they're going to have to show something next season. They both have ample NHL experience under their belt, they're at prime physical ages, and they have an off season to prepare.
From next season on, we'll be having exciting rookies coming into the lineup every season for a while.
My concern is things getting stale. A losing environment. Losing begets losing, and that cycle has to be broken at some point. The culture is part of that.
I don't much care what their record is next year, but if things still feel stale, a shake up move might have to be made. Like a big trade, coaching change, or front office clean out.
Usually the GM that starts the rebuild isn't the one that finishes it.
Herby
How could Blake have known?
Dean Lombardi traded the pick they were going to use to draft Barzal, plus Jones and Miller for a declining rental winger he had 0 chance of signing.
I'm not Luc or Blake defender but unless Eichel's injury ends up being career ending there is almost zero chance that trade could ever be as awful as the Lucic trade. Even if Byfield turned into Barkov on the Sabres it still wouldn't be as big a disaster.
Completely different situations. I don't see DL dealing for Eichel at this point in the building process.
DryIslandBartender
KCCO
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DryIslandBartender
KCCO
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I do, DL loved broken down players that wanted redemption. Nobody on this board wanted Justin Williams or Willie Mitchell but those two were integral parts to the cup runs being in the top 6 and Top 2-4 dman.
Herby
How could Blake have known?
I also think Dean would have been smart enough to realize.
"I am going to be paying two guys who are 30+ $66m for the next 3 years, maybe we should try and open the window a bit earlier"
It still blows my mind how many people are on board with a slow rebuild with Doughty and Kopitar's contract situations.
johnjm22
Pseudo Intellectual
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That is not true. There were plenty of people around here who liked those moves.
But you could probably add Stoll to that list as well. He was a very good looking up and coming player who had a terrible concussion when he was with the Oilers.
SFKingshomer
Registered User
Why should we fast track it to get potentially 1 or 2 more runs out of them when they have shown they are inconsistent at best the past few years? They signed the retirement contracts that are tough to trade so they will go through a rebuild because it’s what is best long term. Trading them isn’t much of an option due to their contract and age.
It's a salary cap argument imo. When you have a bunch of young cheap players about to come up, plus a bunch of cap space. Then we are wasting a window where we can be ultra competitive.
Having a number one dman and number one center already on the roster is just icing on the cake.
KingsFan7824
Registered User
- Dec 4, 2003
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Kopitar wasn't going anywhere by April 2017, so it would've had to be Doughty, and if he wanted to stay, they weren't going to force him out. I doubt there's a GM anywhere that would've gotten rid of him. Demitra was not Doughty either.
Was he? How many UFAs were the Kings at least somewhat linked to in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010? There would've been some dumb contracts handed out if players were willing to come here. Those aren't trades, but I'm sure there must've been rumors back then. Were the Kings ready for the Richards deal? Not really. Hell we killed DL trading Purcell for Halpern.
Had Gagne not gotten hurt, Carter probably isn't here. Had Penner been able to score, the whole reason DL brought him in for, maybe there's less of a need for Carter.
We can look back at the bigger picture and say DL weaved a tapestry. There's plenty that had he done, that picture might look different.
BigKing
Blake Out of Hell III: Back in to Hell
It kind of comes down to what is considered "slow", right? To me, expecting playoffs in Year 3 of basically a total rebuild (this past season is Year 3 for this argument) is silly since that is a retool and not a burn-it down rebuild. That's where it is okay to say things are "on-track" timeline wise; however, this off-season is where the two camps start to split.
For me, a rebuild doesn't mean you simply add placeholders ad nauseum while sucking and acquiring prospects until all of the prospects are good and then you add to them but rather you use your assets wisely during the rebuild to add long-term pieces that help you become a contender. That means that Blake needs to identify and add players this offseason that offer something to the long-term plan with that something not being making sure the Kings draft in the lottery again. It doesn't mean trade every high-end prospect to try and be "all-in" starting next season but it means that the time has come for some proven talent to be added so the process of starting to win can take shape.
With the way this team plays, they should give Foligno a one-year $8MM contract if he'd take it just for the culture impact. I say that mostly tongue-in-cheek but this is the kind of guy this team needs on the culture front. Why would he want to come here though unless the Kings overpaid with dollars, term or both? Turns 34 at the end of October so he wheels could fall off real soon but I'd overpay dollar wise if they keep the term to two years or less.
They were talking about Eichel's neck surgery and the issues with that - wow, I would be careful to any team trading for him.
SFKingshomer
Registered User
Scary part is they tried like 6 other doctors before the 7th suggested surgery.
DryIslandBartender
KCCO
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I don’t see Kopitar and Eichel being teammates on a Kings team. Blake and Luc aren’t going to be able to resist a 24-25 year old that is a proven ppg player when as you’ve noted scoring is the number one issue plaguing this franchise for years.
I just don’t see a Eichel/Kopitar/Byfield lineup under any circumstances because if Blake is as high on Byfield as reports indicate where he’s off the table for anyone (save Gretzky) then you really run the risk of having a 10 million dollar center being demoted to the third line and a captain being demoted from first to third doesn’t look good for the team.
Bottom line is, if your going after Eichel and keeping Byfield, you need to jettison Kopitar because you aren’t paying 10 million for a third liner. You have to bite the bullet, retain salary and recoup what you can in terms of assets.
Herby
How could Blake have known?
Because the ownership is paying them $22m a year. You think at some point an AEG bean counter isn't going to finally say "What the hell is going on?"
If they trade for Eichel this summer and add a d-man and winger, all of which are possible and based on the outlook of the Pacific next season the Kings window opens next season. They have Kopitar for 3 more, Doughty for 6 more and Eichel for 5 more.
And it's not as if they are trading every one of their young players. There will still be plenty of prospects left in the system.
I'd prefer it to be built around a combo of people not named Byfield. But even if Blake deals Byfield, Turcotte and the Kings 1st this year as Bernstein hinted. (not saying I believe that, but that is probably the worst case scenario as far as what would be traded)
Kempe - Eichel - FA
Iafallo - Kopitar - Kaliyev
AA - Vilardi - Brown
Moore- JAD - Kupari
Extra: Lemieux, Lizotte
Bjornfot - Doughty
FA - Roy
Anderson - Walker
Peterson
Quick
That is a playoff team in the Pacific next season, it's a good lineup and it still has upside to get better. By 2022-2023 the Kings would probably be at a position where they could challenge Vegas.
If this were the Kings 4 centers next season they would have the best position group in the league, IMO.
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SFKingshomer
Registered User
What FA is going to sign in LA? Also, Eichel probably doesn’t want to go to a team in a rebuild. Big no trading Byfield right now, that’s really short sighted.
johnjm22
Pseudo Intellectual
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Byfield + Turcotte + 1st for Eichel would set this organization back another decade.
It's a great move if all you want is mediocrity for a few years.
It's a great move if all you want is mediocrity for a few years.
BigKing
Blake Out of Hell III: Back in to Hell
I was on board the Eichel train earlier this season since he is elite and it would allow for Kopitar to have his minutes reduced which I think would allow him to thrive and the Kings would have two scoring lines. I can still stomach an Eichel trade but that suggested Byfield/Turcotte/1st offer seems pretty insane and means you are all-in while still needing to fill those FA holes you have above...those holes are RW1 and D3 which aren't cheap to fill via free agency.
If they could pry Reinhart away while keeping Byfield/Turcotte/Kaliyev, I'd be way more interested in that play at this point in time. Getting Hamilton also sounds nice but he's 28 in June and will probably be looking for a lot of term. RH shot as well but whatever.
Kempe-Kopitar-Reinhart
Iafallo-Byfield-Kaliyev
AA/Moore-Vilardi-Andersson
AA/Moore-JAD-Brown
Doughty/Hamilton/Bjornfot/Roy/Anderson/Walker
I'm not married to these lines or anything but it feels like the Kings could potentially ice two scoring lines if you are able to put a goal scorer with Kopitar while also being able to stick Iafallo with one of the young centers in Byfield/Vilardi. Maybe Vilardi has to go in the Reinhart deal but Turcotte is here eventually.
Could Reinhart and Hamilton be had for $14-15MM v. Eichel's $10MM while keeping two of Byfield/Turcotte/Vilardi? Is that a better use of assets and cap?
That lineup has little to no cap space. I don't think counting on a guy recovering from neck surgery to be 1c is the way to make the playoffs. Byfield could be the better player next season if Eichel has any issues recovering.
AlphaBravo
Registered User
I am in the pro-Eichel trade (assuming he gets medically cleared). However, the above price is way to steep. So I would decline and keep what we have. I think Byfield is off the table. I would consider Turcotte+1st+Walker/Clague or another add. That is basically as far as I would go. Anything more (including Byfield) will really hurt our rebuild. Adding Eichel only without the appropriate prospects will only make us a bubble team.
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