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

[HookKing]

I think there is a better chance that Kopitar never plays for another team v. Drew. Forget getting into the "who is better/more important debate" : Kopitar will go down as the greatest King if he puts in 18+ years solely in a Kings sweater.

Riiiight.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Frankly I just think both are grossly underrated at this stage.

This past year, both were close to the best they've ever been while unfortunately on the worst team they've ever been on.

Only 3 players have won multiple Selkes and scored 1000 points - Brind'amour, Fedorov, and Kopitar (all have rings too). Fedorov is considered one of the 100 greatest players of all time. Kopitar will surpass both in points within 3 seasons. I will say Kopitar will go down as one of the most underrated players in NHL history. It's shameful how little respect he gets. If he was a good ol' Canadian boy he'd have statues already and multiple gold medals (Toews is on the top 100 list).

 

[kilowatt]

Only 3 players have won multiple Selkes and scored 1000 points - Brind'amour, Fedorov, and Kopitar (all have rings too). Fedorov is considered one of the 100 greatest players of all time. Kopitar will surpass both in points within 3 seasons. I will say Kopitar will go down as one of the most underrated players in NHL history. It's shameful how little respect he gets. If he was a good ol' Canadian boy he'd have statues already and multiple gold medals (Toews is on the top 100 list).

Kopitar vs Toews: Player Comparison: Jonathan Toews vs. Anze Kopitar | Stathead.com
Kopitar vs Brind'Amour: Player Comparison: Rod Brind'Amour vs. Anze Kopitar | Stathead.com
Kopitar vs Fedorov: Player Comparison: Sergei Fedorov vs. Anze Kopitar | Stathead.com

 

[Rusty Batch]

Only 3 players have won multiple Selkes and scored 1000 points - Brind'amour, Fedorov, and Kopitar (all have rings too). Fedorov is considered one of the 100 greatest players of all time. Kopitar will surpass both in points within 3 seasons. I will say Kopitar will go down as one of the most underrated players in NHL history. It's shameful how little respect he gets. If he was a good ol' Canadian boy he'd have statues already and multiple gold medals (Toews is on the top 100 list).

Even by his own fan base smh

 

[FSL KINGS]

Drew Doughty is the best King -- AINEC. [MOD EDIT]

Thought we were talking about Kempe.

 

[HookKing]

Thought we were talking about Kempe.

Well, he does have the greatest -- doo.

 

[unicornpig]

Even by his own fan base smh

no kidding.

 

[BigKing]

Riiiight.

Doughty is a dipshit while Kopitar is pure class. You don't have to like it, but if they both played 18 seasons for the Kings, why would Drew be considered the "King of Kings": especially while Kopitar wears the "C" for eight seasons at the end of this contract? If Kopitar leaves at the end of this and Drew is made captain, Drew has three seasons of captaincy before his contract ends.

I'm all about what Doughty meant to those championships and I think he is still a stud, but this team has lived and died on Kopitar more than Doughty. Someone has to score and, if it isn't Kopitar, it generally hasn't been anyone else.

 

[deaderhead28]

Doughty is a dipshit while Kopitar is pure class. You don't have to like it, but if they both played 18 seasons for the Kings, why would Drew be considered the "King of Kings": especially while Kopitar wears the "C" for eight seasons at the end of this contract? If Kopitar leaves at the end of this and Drew is made captain, Drew has three seasons of captaincy before his contract ends.

I'm all about what Doughty meant to those championships and I think he is still a stud, but this team has lived and died on Kopitar more than Doughty. Someone has to score and, if it isn't Kopitar, it generally hasn't been anyone else.

God help us if Drew ever gets the "C"...When Kopi drops the "C", it should go to the next wave of King players...

 

[Reclamation Project]

Here's the next captain...

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Kopitar vs Toews: Player Comparison: Jonathan Toews vs. Anze Kopitar | Stathead.com
Kopitar vs Brind'Amour: Player Comparison: Rod Brind'Amour vs. Anze Kopitar | Stathead.com
Kopitar vs Fedorov: Player Comparison: Sergei Fedorov vs. Anze Kopitar | Stathead.com

Brind'Amour was and is completely underrated, too. That's a good comparison. And it's no shock that Anze compares favorably to every one of those dudes.

Here's the next captain...

God damn he's meant to wear that jersey.

 

[Steve Zissou]

All dressed for the party.

 

[YP44]

Simple, one is generational and the other isn't.

how is Kopitar not generational?

 

[KingsFan7824]

how is Kopitar not generational?

99.5% of players at any time aren't even in the discussion. Maybe Kopitar and Doughty are generational at the franchise level, but not the macro scale.

 

[BigKing]

how is Kopitar not generational?

"Generational" is being thrown around too lightly here. Neither are generational.

Crosby and Ovechkin have been playing longer than both Kopitar and Doughty. They are the "generational" players of Kopitar and Doughty's generation. The next generational player is McDavid.

Since Doughty came into the league, Keith and Karlsson have both won one more Norris than he has. Hedman has played one less season but will probably have his second Norris this year. Then you have a smattering of one-offs like Subban, Giordano, Burns and Josi. How can Doughty be "generational"? The last generational defenseman was Lidstrom.

If someone wants to argue that Doughty is more important than Kopitar or that Doughty is a better defenseman v. his peers than Kopitar is compared to his forward peers then that is perfectly fine. My point about how Kopitar will be remembered v. Doughty based on current trajectory remains, however.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

"Generational" is being thrown around too lightly here. Neither are generational.

Crosby and Ovechkin have been playing longer than both Kopitar and Doughty. They are the "generational" players of Kopitar and Doughty's generation. The next generational player is McDavid.

Since Doughty came into the league, Keith and Karlsson have both won one more Norris than he has. Hedman has played one less season but will probably have his second Norris this year. Then you have a smattering of one-offs like Subban, Giordano, Burns and Josi. How can Doughty be "generational"? The last generational defenseman was Lidstrom.

If someone wants to argue that Doughty is more important than Kopitar or that Doughty is a better defenseman v. his peers than Kopitar is compared to his forward peers then that is perfectly fine. My point about how Kopitar will be remembered v. Doughty based on current trajectory remains, however.

Doughty should have more than one Norris and he's got longevity more than the others at this point. What happens next matters. What's for sure is the 2010s were the Keith-Karlsson-Doughty decade. Every decade/generation has one-off d-men that can have a huge year or two. Hedman was a late entry and we'll see what he does from here on out, Chara was the overlap at the beginning. Hedman is starting to get the reputation bullshit acknowledgement that everyone accused Doughty of that he never got--if anything, DD was largely ignored before 2012, after 2016. He's getting the West Coast treatment just like Kopitar. If either of those guys were in TO or Boston, they'd be getting TONS of noise year in and year out.

I'm not going to say whether DD is generational or not but if you believe any single one of those guys is, Doughty is too.

 

[Rusty Batch]

"Generational" is being thrown around too lightly here. Neither are generational.

Crosby and Ovechkin have been playing longer than both Kopitar and Doughty. They are the "generational" players of Kopitar and Doughty's generation. The next generational player is McDavid.

Since Doughty came into the league, Keith and Karlsson have both won one more Norris than he has. Hedman has played one less season but will probably have his second Norris this year. Then you have a smattering of one-offs like Subban, Giordano, Burns and Josi. How can Doughty be "generational"? The last generational defenseman was Lidstrom.

If someone wants to argue that Doughty is more important than Kopitar or that Doughty is a better defenseman v. his peers than Kopitar is compared to his forward peers then that is perfectly fine. My point about how Kopitar will be remembered v. Doughty based on current trajectory remains, however.

Kopitar has more points then Crosby and Ovechkin the last two seasons, if you go back to the last four seasons (since Kopi hit 30) he's only about 10 total points behind Ovie and I think it was 30 total points behind Crosby. When you look at their careers, I wouldn't be shocked to see Kopitar pull a bit closer in point totals when they all hang them up. If Kopitar out lasts those two, continues to play drastically better defense and ends about 200 career points behind them, all with much less talented offensive teammates. Are we really supposed to think that they were in this completely separate tier from him?

 

[BigKing]

Minor thing but Kopitar has more points then Crosby and Ovevhkin the last two seasons. And when you look at their careers, I wouldn't be shocked to see Kopitar pull a bit closer in point totals when they all hang them up. If Kopitar out lasts those two, continues to play drastically better defense and ends about 200 career points behind them, all with much less talented offensive teammates. Are we really supposed to think that they were in this completely separate tier from him?

Yes, they are in a completely separate tier and that isn't a knock on Kopitar. The only argument is the defensive side of things and his durability but the PPG for those two crushes Kopitar's.

Kopitar has only played 70 fewer games than Ovechkin and has actually played more games than Crosby. The differences in offensive output plus everything else those two bring to the table clearly put them in a different tier.

When you move past those two, you then have to deal with Malkin as well. 1 Hart/3 NHL 1st Teams/ 1 Conn Smythe/2 Art Ross/ 1 Pearson/1 Calder and two 2nd place Hart finishes. Kopitar has the two Selkes, a Byng and the 2nd place Hart finish over the exact same amount of time.

 

[bland]

how is Kopitar not generational?

Because he has never been the top player at his position at any point of his career where as Doughty had a good three or four year run as the best defenseman on the planet?

One could argue that 2016 was the only time Kopitar was even in the top 5 centers.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

There are 3 generational forwards playing in the NHL right now, Crosby, Ovechkin, and McDavid, that's it. Generational tag is for the elite of the elite, the faces of the league, no doubt first year hall of famer.I love Kopi and Doughty and think they are the two best career Kings of all time, but they are not on that level (although I feel Doughty is closer among his defensive peers). And that's OK, because almost nobody is. You don't need a generational player to succeed and win cups

 

[johnjm22]

The problem is, if Kopitar and Doughty are so great, why is the team so bad?

This is coming from Kopitar/Doughty lover. I'm not a hater.

I keep hearing "Kings need to add two top 6 forwards and a top 4-dman this offseason". But we already had that in 2018/19 and we were still terrible.

That's why I think it's pointless to add to the current roster.

 

[SFKingshomer]

I was watching the game last night and thought maybe Sergachev will want a bigger role and want out. He’s really 3rd on their depth chart for a LHD and McDonagh would be tough to move.

 

[bland]

The problem is, if Kopitar and Doughty are so great, why is the team so bad?

This is coming from Kopitar/Doughty lover. I'm not a hater.

I keep hearing "Kings need to add two top 6 forwards and a top 4-dman this offseason". But we already had that in 2018/19 and we were still terrible.

That's why I think it's pointless to add to the current roster.

Both are spectacular players, but neither inspires others to play beyond their means or cohere as a team. They lead from the side, not the front.

I don't suspect that will change until somebody else comes in and takes ownership of the locker room. I prefer it coming from within, some want it to come from the outside. I caution that anybody brought in could fall in line behind those two, which could lessen the impact of the acquisition.

 

[KingsHockey24]

I was watching the game last night and thought maybe Sergachev will want a bigger role and want out. He’s really 3rd on their depth chart for a LHD and McDonagh would be tough to move.

Maybe the play is to acquire a top 4D + top six foward together. Sergachev/Cernak + Johnson, Dunn + Tarasenko, Carlo/Grzelcyk + Debrusk.

Also a little article on Jake DeBrusk to LA.

Acquiring Jake DeBrusk makes sense for the LA Kings

 

[johnjm22]

Both are spectacular players, but neither inspires others to play beyond their means or cohere as a team. They lead from the side, not the front.

I don't suspect that will change until somebody else comes in and takes ownership of the locker room. I prefer it coming from within, some want it to come from the outside. I caution that anybody brought in could fall in line behind those two, which could lessen the impact of the acquisition.

I don't know if we need someone to take over the locker room per say, but I do feel like we could use some more emotional players.

We could really use an Ian Laperrière or Deadmarsh type. Someone who can stir things up, get guys going, and add some emotion to the game.

I think Blake knows this, which is why he traded for Lemieux.

It can also come from a coach too.