Speculation: 2020-21 LA Kings News/Roster/Rumors Discussion Part VI

[KINGS17]

It would be no shame (and no surprise) that a barely 19 year-old isn't ready to endure the grind of an 82 game pro schedule. His six games showed promise but didn't conclusively determine that he was "ready". Vilardi looked "ready" after 10 games last year and then flopped this year. I'm not advocating an Eichel trade but I think we agree that the team can't go into next season just planning to promote 2-3 guys from Ontario and sign a cheap UFA and call it a day. Trades are coming...

This could happen, but all it does is move the Kings up the ladder from really bad to mediocre. No one wants mediocre with an old roster.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

If no prospects are blowing anyone away why do you have Kopitar as a 3c if they trade for Eichel? Wouldn’t he then be a 2c? And whatever prospect would be 3c until they surpass Kopitar?

And paying Kopitar 10mil to be a 3c for a season or 2 doesn’t matter when your 2c is on a ELC. You don’t think even Kopitar slowing down would feast on other teams 3cs and 3rd defensive pairings? Or they use the 2c and 2nd pair against Kopitar leaving our 2c to play against 3-4th lines and bottom pairing Dmen.

I have Kopitar as a 3c because the Kings traded for Eichel (top 5 center) and used a #2 selection on a center. Total waste of assets to have them sitting behind Kopitar for sentimental reasons when he’s aging and can be used to recoup assets in an Eichel trade, that further can be used to upgrade the wings.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Ottawa is further along in the rebuild that the Kings. They have a legit 1st line of young players. Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson.

The issue is the same issue I’ve pointed out - no Kings forward prospect is either experienced enough or proved enough to be put on the 1st line. And, to add to that, the Kings are still married to Kopitar and Brown on the top line.

Doughty can say what he wants, but Carter had to go. The Sens wouldn’t be the Sens now if they didn’t deal Stone and the rest the vets and let the kids play.

Compare the Senators top 5 scorers and age vs the Kings. Ouch.

Ottawa Senators 2020-21 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com

Los Angeles Kings 2020-21 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com

 

[Reclamation Project]

Ottawa is further along in the rebuild that the Kings. They have a legit 1st line of young players. Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson.

The issue is the same issue I’ve pointed out - no Kings forward prospect is either experienced enough or proved enough to be put on the 1st line. And, to add to that, the Kings are still married to Kopitar and Brown on the top line.

Doughty can say what he wants, but Carter had to go. The Sens wouldn’t be the Sens now if they didn’t deal Stone and the rest the vets and let the kids play.

Compare the Senators top 5 scorers and age vs the Kings. Ouch.

Ottawa Senators 2020-21 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com

Los Angeles Kings 2020-21 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com

Brady Tkachuk is 21 years old and was drafted in 2018. He scored 45 points his rookie season and was on pace for about 60 points this season over 82. He didn't arrive, he kicked the door down SWAT style and punched the NHL right between the eyes. He'll be the captain soon, probably next season. Matthew kicked ass from day one too. Those two are the type of player this team desperately lacks, not just because they are very talented and score, but they also have the hunger and anger to really take over games and crush the opposing team. They always compete. The opposing team always knows when they're on the ice.

Honestly it gets REAL tiring seeing all these stud kids throughout the league immediately step in and start kicking serious ass. Kings have no one even close who has made an instant impact and transitioned from being drafted to NHL dominance immediately. This team is so devoid of any powerhouse offensive player it's sad. This team doesn't need a scoring winger, they need 4 or 5. Same old story, Kings have no firepower and can't score. I'm all for a trade for a high power offensive player or two because I don't expect anything to change and don't expect these prospects to turn into that type of player. I'm all for Eichel because he possesses a skill set no one on this roster has AND I don't have any confidence our prospects outside of Byfield will become an ELITE player. He'll get healthy and get into a stable team environment and will put up 40/60/100 like clockwork.

Best part about the Stone trade is he's gotten even better since that trade, considerably better, he's one of the best players in the league and should win the Selke this year. He's a machine, one of my favorite players to watch. Again, intensity, he has it. I watch him play and see one of the hardest working players in the league, just relentless.

 

[BigKing]

Keith Tkachuk is my favorite player of all time and I hate that we didn't fall into having one of his kids on the Kings.

They both play a style that says "Keith Tkachuk is my dad" and it's a style that's sorely lacking across the NHL but even more so on the Kings.

 

[Reclamation Project]

I believe Brady was the first player ever to be top 5 in hits and shots in a season (happened this year)...

 

[Johnny Utah]

Norris is a 2017 1st rounder
Tkachuk is a 2018 1st rounder.
Batherson was a 2017 4th rounder.

Norris was picked after Vilardi.
Tkachuk was picked before Kupari.
Batherson was picked after JAD and Mikey Anderson.

Seems like Sens and Sharks are scouting a bit better than LA. When was the last time a 4th round pick played on our 1st line and was in his early 20’s?

 

[Sparky206]

Norris is a 2017 1st rounder
Tkachuk is a 2018 1st rounder.
Batherson was a 2017 4th rounder.

Norris was picked after Vilardi.
Tkachuk was picked before Kupari.
Batherson was picked after JAD and Mikey Anderson.

Seems like Sens and Sharks are scouting a bit better than LA. When was the last time a 4th round pick played on our 1st line and was in his early 20’s?

Mikey Anderson

 

[Statto]

Trade and retain. Kopitar still has great value in a deal for the right team.

So who eats his minutes? No one in the org is ready and just dividing it up between those guys likely hurts their development. So what’s the next move because trading Kopi has implications and you can’t do it without a proper plan for that.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but the next steps are import. There are lots of big risks with the next steps and they could easily send us backwards. Do we trade for a new 1c which costs way more than we got for Kopi, that then rips out our assets depth and moves us no further forward. Would we need those assets to get a LHD? Do we sign a UFA to a contract we maybe regret in a year or 2, to eat Kopitars minutes and shelter the young guys? So what do you see as the steps to eat those C minutes and then fill the holes at LD and wing? For me, at this point, C is the one position we need to leave alone and be patient with how it plays out.

 

[KingsFan7824]

That's another difference about the teams each GM had. DL didn't have franchise icons breathing down his neck. I'd be impressed if Blake essentially told Doughty that players are paid to play.

If they're running out of time, then there are just the two options. You tell the vets that you can go now if you want, or, you use every dollar of cap space, any prospect, and any draft pick, to get a lot better next year. You're not worried about 2 years from now, let alone 4 years from now. Either way, at least something interesting will finally happen. We won't have to talk about DL or Richards again either. Or, hopefully not.

 

[KopitarFAN]

Norris is a 2017 1st rounder
Tkachuk is a 2018 1st rounder.
Batherson was a 2017 4th rounder.

Norris was picked after Vilardi.
Tkachuk was picked before Kupari.
Batherson was picked after JAD and Mikey Anderson.

Seems like Sens and Sharks are scouting a bit better than LA. When was the last time a 4th round pick played on our 1st line and was in his early 20’s?

Vilardi also missed the better part of a year due to injury.
Comparing the 4th and 20th picks is like comparing oranges and fire trucks when it comes to development after 3 years.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

No offense, but Vilardi went through hell with back issues and was out of hockey for a while. I personally thought he was toast as a hockey player. I think he’s starting to get back to where he is capable of playing. For Byfield, he just needs an NHL level off-season program that will get him stronger for the grind.

If Eichel is the target, you cannot just stop there. You got to add more than just Eichel,

Trade for Eichel, sign Hamilton. Call it a day.

 

[tomd]

That's another difference about the teams each GM had. DL didn't have franchise icons breathing down his neck. I'd be impressed if Blake essentially told Doughty that players are paid to play.

If they're running out of time, then there are just the two options. You tell the vets that you can go now if you want, or, you use every dollar of cap space, any prospect, and any draft pick, to get a lot better next year. You're not worried about 2 years from now, let alone 4 years from now. Either way, at least something interesting will finally happen. We won't have to talk about DL or Richards again either. Or, hopefully not.

I've been saying for 2 years that the timing of this rebuild made no sense if Doughty and Kopitar were not included in the players shipped away. And now the chickens have come home to roost. Blake has created this situation and there are only two ways out...(1) become Buffalo for the next 4-5 years (during which Blake gets fired next year) or (2) use existing assets (cap space, draft picks, prospects) to build a competitive team now.

People who want to pursue a Buffalo approach are ignoring so many factors that make that a very difficult sell for AEG, their employees, STH, players, and sponsors. And at the end of the 4-5 year tunnel of misery there is absolutely no guarantee that the team is successful in building a solid team. This is a bad bad situation that Blake and Luc have willingly entered into.

 

[SFKingshomer]

Kings are in the drivers seat with loads of assets and cap space to strike at the perfect time this summer. I’d like to see some moves but hell no to trading the farm for 1 player who has a huge contract and neck issues.

 

[KopitarFAN]

Kings are in the drivers seat with loads of assets and cap space to strike at the perfect time this summer. I’d like to see some moves but hell no to trading the farm for 1 player who has a huge contract and neck issues.

Doesn't have to be Eichel, their are plenty of options, probably many we haven't even thought of because they are on teams in a cap crunch or roster crunch heading into the expansion.

 

[KINGS17]

So who eats his minutes? No one in the org is ready and just dividing it up between those guys likely hurts their development. So what’s the next move because trading Kopi has implications and you can’t do it without a proper plan for that.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but the next steps are import. There are lots of big risks with the next steps and they could easily send us backwards. Do we trade for a new 1c which costs way more than we got for Kopi, that then rips out our assets depth and moves us no further forward. Would we need those assets to get a LHD? Do we sign a UFA to a contract we maybe regret in a year or 2, to eat Kopitars minutes and shelter the young guys? So what do you see as the steps to eat those C minutes and then fill the holes at LD and wing? For me, at this point, C is the one position we need to leave alone and be patient with how it plays out.

This is always the retort, "Who does this, or that if Kopitar is gone?" The answer is some vet from the other team you get in the trade or a UFA. Blake is not limited to selecting only from the centers left in the organization.

What's next? It depends on what the Kings received in return in the trade. Someday Kopitar will retire, and when that happens the Kings will get nothing, and it is very likely the team will still not have won a round in the playoffs during his entire 8-year retirement contract.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Trade for Eichel, sign Hamilton. Call it a day.

This team isn’t two players away from the playoffs. There needs to be a series of moves, not just Eichel.

 

[KingLB]

If management is keen on acquiring Eichel, then keeping Kopitar around while having a glutton of centers is not savvy roster/lineup management. Either you are paying a center 10 million to anchor the third line for sentimental reasons or you wasted a #2 selection on a guy that is anchoring the third line/stuck in Ontario. Either way, it’s not smart and indicates that the front office doesn’t have a clue what they are doing.

Wasted the same way Jordan Staal was wasted on a cup wining team behind Crosby and Malkin?

 

[KingLB]

This team isn’t two players away from the playoffs. There needs to be a series of moves, not just Eichel.

Huh? The Kings were literally in it until the last week of the season? You don’t think adding Eichel gets you at least 2-3 more wins? If not closer to 6-7 than you are just playing the fool.

Let alone adding Hamilton and the division being markedly weaker next year.

 

[Herby]

Huh? The Kings were literally in it until the last week of the season? You don’t think adding Eichel gets you at least 2-3 more wins? If not closer to 6-7 than you are just playing the fool.

Let alone adding Hamilton and the division being markedly weaker next year.

I am for adding Eichel and I do think with him, a defender and a top 6 winger the Kings will be a playoff team especially in what is looking like a horrific Pacific Division next season... but the Kings still did miss the playoffs by 14 points in a 56 game season and were only in it because no one wanted that last spot. The Kings point % this season was actually worse than it was last season, and I don't think anyone would be calling the 2020 Kings close to a playoff spot.

But yeah, next season with two teams in complete tear down (SJ & Ana), an expansion team and really questionable situations in Calgary and Vancouver the playoffs are a possibility no matter what, and a strong probability if they add Eichel.

 

[KingLB]

I am for adding Eichel and I do think with him, a defender and a top 6 winger the Kings will be a playoff team especially in what is looking like a horrific Pacific Division next season... but the Kings still did miss the playoffs by 14 points in a 56 game season and were only in it because no one wanted that last spot. The Kings point % this season was actually worse than it was last season, and I don't think anyone would be calling the 2020 Kings close to a playoff spot.

But yeah, next season with two teams in complete tear down (SJ & Ana), an expansion team and really questionable situations in Calgary and Vancouver the playoffs are a possibility no matter what, and a strong probability if they add Eichel.

Meh, I’m not nearly as worried as the rest of the board in regards to how they finished the season (once they were officially eliminated).

Look how they finished last year? We like to add a bunch of value to the last group of games, just because that is the most recent in our mind, but it’s no different than any other string of game’s during the season. Maybe even less once there is nothing to play for, for one or both teams.

 

[Schrute farms]

Add Eichel and he isn’t 100% yet from surgery or gets injured again sitting for 40-50+ games....then where are we?

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Wasted the same way Jordan Staal was wasted on a cup wining team behind Crosby and Malkin?

Did he spend his whole career in Pittsburgh?

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Huh? The Kings were literally in it until the last week of the season? You don’t think adding Eichel gets you at least 2-3 more wins? If not closer to 6-7 than you are just playing the fool.

Let alone adding Hamilton and the division being markedly weaker next year.

Kings weren’t in anything other than a better lottery selection in the last week. They weren’t catching up to the Blues under any circumstances. If it wasn’t for a crazy 6 game winning streak, this team would be closer to the Quacks than the blues. So yes, it’s going to take more than Eichel to get to the playoffs.

 

[KingLB]

Did he spend his whole career in Pittsburgh?

Did they win a cup? Isn’t that the goal here?