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

[KingsFan7824]

Outside of the draft, Blake has really done little to improve the team on the ice in its current state. His trades are uninspiring and lack any sort of real plan.

Explain.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Eh, somewhat, they’ve talked about it, but they’ve also made moves for guys who would fit the Lombardi mold with the likes of Phaneuf, Nate Thompson, Torrey Mitchell. Who have the speedy additions been? Tobias Rieder and Andreas Athanasiou?

It’s not like the Kings are a faster team just because they have a couple of fast skaters. The team is lacking in skill and their inability to connect with passes still makes them a slow ass team due to their shitty transitional play.

If they were trying to be some finesse team with speed and skill, I doubt we’d see MacDermid in the lineup, or a move to add a player like Brendan Lemieux.

I don’t completely disagree and it’s why I was perplexed on why this management chose Byfield over TS. Not to make this a Byfield/TS discussion but the point is that management doesn’t know what they want the identity of the team to be. If management wanted flash and speed, they wouldn’t be making some of the decisions they are making.

Management says SPEED but most of their actions seem to be trying to replicate the glory days that Taylor/DL started mixed in with guys with just speed. Hence the identity crisis.

I’m not sure management knows what they are doing or are just over their heads. I’m not sure AEG cares about winning games, everyone writing about the Kings, even the Broadcast team are too scared to criticize two individuals upstairs.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

Kinda shocked Hoven is so positive AI is gone

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I just realized that this is Kopitar’s sixteenth season.

He has only been in the playoffs six times.

Not that he hasn’t made them count but just thought that was interesting how many Kings teams he has been on that have just sucked.

The first few years weren't very good that's for sure just like the last few have not fun watching or I imagine playing for Kopi-star!

 

[Johnny Utah]

Kings are stupid if AI is asking for anything less than 4 million and they can’t get this done.

We have no LWs who can score any sort of goals. AI and AA, a UFA and RFA.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I don’t completely disagree and it’s why I was perplexed on why this management chose Byfield over TS. Not to make this a Byfield/TS discussion but the point is that management doesn’t know what they want the identity of the team to be. If management wanted flash and speed, they wouldn’t be making some of the decisions they are making.

Management says SPEED but most of their actions seem to be trying to replicate the glory days that Taylor/DL started mixed in with guys with just speed. Hence the identity crisis.

I’m not sure management knows what they are doing or are just over their heads. I’m not sure AEG cares about winning games, everyone writing about the Kings, even the Broadcast team are too scared to criticize two individuals upstairs.

My criticism starts and ends with Kubalik!Blake shit the bed on that one big time...but hey he could offer sheet him in a year or so's time and make amends

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Kings are stupid if AI is asking for anything less than 4 million and they can’t get this done.

We have no LWs who can score any sort of goals. AI and AA, a UFA and RFA.

A pylon scores 20 goals with Kopi-Star...and with Yafallo gone we have tonnes of players drooling to play his wing...the only thing left is getting turn-over machine Dusty Bottoms outta here pronto

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Seider is hyped over players like Bjornfot because he is taller. By the time he fills out, his wingspan and reach will be hard to beat, on top of the skating.

Bjornfot is a great young D-man,as is Mikey Anderson and Kale Clague

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I’m not sure it hurts us as I really don’t see who is going to stump up significant cash and term, maybe one of them but not both. I could see him maybe doing a 2 year deal in the hope he can then cash in when the cap starts climbing again. I think that’s the only way he hits 4m.

Don’t get me wrong, I really like him as a player but I just don’t see he has much leverage in his favour. He’s our top left wing right now, no doubt, but for most other teams he won’t fill that role. I think he’s probably more valuable to LA than anyone else and I really hope they come to a deal, but I expect him to get less than he wants. A trade maybe gives up a pick to move up in the draft, but we really don’t need extra draft picks and have enough to package up and move up if we need to.

Trade his ass(Yafallo) he's not a numero uno LWing that's for sure! He was put into the role when the Kings had nothing on the "Farm" and we squandered all those draft picks to continue the orgasmic ride of the 2012,2014 Stanley Cup wins

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Lolololol we suck at winning the lottery too. But I love how dynamic hall can be. Don't care how bad he was on the Sabres. He's proven to be a good player most of his career. That speed and finish.

I wouldn't want to dole 10 Million plus for T Hall since we have a tonne of prospects that will fill out just fine...maybe not a Hall type but fine nevertheless

 

[Peter James Bond III]

Bjornfot is a great young D-man,as is Mikey Anderson and Kale Clague

Am so pleased and have gratification with the way so many young defensemen have developed and how well they are playing..several
beyond expectations; Roy, Walker, Bjornfot, Anderson, Strand, Clague....just waiting and waiting for a few forwards to break through
and have even 85% of the success the D corp has shown - please - any of - Kupari, Fagemo, Kaliyev, Byfield, Turcotte, Thomas, Madden please
arise! Next up: Kupari (I think) And Lias Andersson, if he ever gets a real chance.

 

[ru4reals]

I don't know if we can, but man if Blake can get a 1st for AI somehow I might be all in for that. Doubtful they will but maybe a desperate team can cave in.

 

[Herby]

I don’t completely disagree and it’s why I was perplexed on why this management chose Byfield over TS. Not to make this a Byfield/TS discussion but the point is that management doesn’t know what they want the identity of the team to be. If management wanted flash and speed, they wouldn’t be making some of the decisions they are making.

Management says SPEED but most of their actions seem to be trying to replicate the glory days that Taylor/DL started mixed in with guys with just speed. Hence the identity crisis.

I’m not sure management knows what they are doing or are just over their heads. I’m not sure AEG cares about winning games, everyone writing about the Kings, even the Broadcast team are too scared to criticize two individuals upstairs.

Going to talk here instead of the GDT. But as I said on there, I am starting to have some major concerns with what exactly the Kings are trying to do, there should be a plan as to when the team is ready to contend again, and I just don't see a situation where that is possible with the current roster make-up. At some point the Kings have to just stop accumulating picks and try and win games, forge an identity etc, when is that going to be?

Is it next season they return to the playoffs? I'd argue that is very unlikely unless the Kings make a big trade, but if the rumors are true Blake has no intention to do that and plans to stick with the youth plan then what is the path to success next season? Plenty of high picks have been contributors at 19, but with no (or little) NHL experience can we expect Byfield to have the type of year as a 19 year old that the Kings probably need him to have to be a playoff contender. Seguin went from 22 to points to 67, but he got a lot of the NHL culture shock stuff out of the way as an 18 year old, the Kings for some reason have never given QB a chance, despite his turnaround in the AHL the last few weeks. What other path do the Kings have to be a playoff team next season, does Vilardi have a breakthrough year and establish himself as a 2C? I am skeptical because his skating is waaay worse than ever advertised and the Kings just don't have the type of speedy finishers he is going to need to be successful. Kopitar and Doughty have been great this year, but they are both a year older. Brown has overachieved and it's unlikely he matches what he did this season next year at age 37, so that is even more scoring that is going to have to be made up for, on a team that already lacks scoring.

So if not next season, is it 22-23 season? Byfield will be 20, Bjornfot, Turcotte and Kaliyev will be 21, so its more realistic to expect NHL contribution, but on the flip side Kopitar will be 35, Doughty will be 33. Where is the championship window with this age gap? Are the Kings going to have a 2 year window where they hope Byfield is a dominant player and can team with Kopitar for a season or two?

Plenty of teams in the past have tried to just add as many prospects as possible, hell the Kings did it a lot in the post-Blake era. But there has to be steps made to get to the next level. DL did it at the end of a bad season when he traded for Williams, then he brought in Smyth, who while completely washed up and incapable of playing 82 games atleast sent a message of contention. They then added MR.

And yes I get it, DL inherited a completely different team. There were very few high priced players (and no iconic players in franchise history) and he had a Hall of Fame center and goalie in the pipeline. But DL also drafted a Hall of Fame player in the Top 5 and another player he used to get Richards.

If the Kings run it back next season, it is very likely going to be another year picking high in the draft. And they still have Kopitar and Doughty under contract for 2 and 5 more seasons. With both on the wrong side of 30, and Kopitar just flat out old. It's not an ideal spot.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

My criticism starts and ends with Kubalik!Blake shit the bed on that one big time...but hey he could offer sheet him in a year or so's time and make amends

Let it go man.

 

[redcard]

The team dropping games the past two weeks has moved me into the trade AI camp. If he wants to be here next year he can come back over summer, might as well pick up a few more assets now so Blake can be a little more aggressive when its time to add.

 

[HookKing]

Kinda shocked Hoven is so positive AI is gone

Well, if he isn't in the lineup tonight I guess we'll know for sure.

 

[LAKings88]

Now they bring in guys to get a taste. See what they got. Never really was a playoff year. Wish they could move Quick and Carts honestly.

 

[AlphaBravo]

Now they bring in guys to get a taste. See what they got. Never really was a playoff year. Wish they could move Quick and Carts honestly.

No one is taking Quick or Carter. If there were interested parties, they would have been traded long ago, especially Carter. Quick still plays an important role as a reliable backup and he is not that expensive, considering we don't need his cap space. Keep Quick, and buyout or let Carter retire while sitting as a healthy scratch. We don't need his cap space either.

 

[Herby]

Now they bring in guys to get a taste. See what they got. Never really was a playoff year. Wish they could move Quick and Carts honestly.

No one is touching Jeff Carter with another year left at $5.2.

The Kings options are to either let him ride off into the sunset after next season or buy him out.

 

[Reaper45]

No one is touching Jeff Carter with another year left at $5.2.

The Kings options are to either let him ride off into the sunset after next season or buy him out.

Or waive him and assign him to the Manitoba Moose. He refuses to report. Terminate last year of contract.

 

[KINGS17]

Or waive him and assign him to the Manitoba Moose. He refuses to report. Terminate last year of contract.

Probably sending Carter to the Tallahassee Warthogs, boy!

 

[KINGS17]

Going to talk here instead of the GDT. But as I said on there, I am starting to have some major concerns with what exactly the Kings are trying to do, there should be a plan as to when the team is ready to contend again, and I just don't see a situation where that is possible with the current roster make-up. At some point the Kings have to just stop accumulating picks and try and win games, forge an identity etc, when is that going to be?

Is it next season they return to the playoffs? I'd argue that is very unlikely unless the Kings make a big trade, but if the rumors are true Blake has no intention to do that and plans to stick with the youth plan then what is the path to success next season? Plenty of high picks have been contributors at 19, but with no (or little) NHL experience can we expect Byfield to have the type of year as a 19 year old that the Kings probably need him to have to be a playoff contender. Seguin went from 22 to points to 67, but he got a lot of the NHL culture shock stuff out of the way as an 18 year old, the Kings for some reason have never given QB a chance, despite his turnaround in the AHL the last few weeks. What other path do the Kings have to be a playoff team next season, does Vilardi have a breakthrough year and establish himself as a 2C? I am skeptical because his skating is waaay worse than ever advertised and the Kings just don't have the type of speedy finishers he is going to need to be successful. Kopitar and Doughty have been great this year, but they are both a year older. Brown has overachieved and it's unlikely he matches what he did this season next year at age 37, so that is even more scoring that is going to have to be made up for, on a team that already lacks scoring.

So if not next season, is it 22-23 season? Byfield will be 20, Bjornfot, Turcotte and Kaliyev will be 21, so its more realistic to expect NHL contribution, but on the flip side Kopitar will be 35, Doughty will be 33. Where is the championship window with this age gap? Are the Kings going to have a 2 year window where they hope Byfield is a dominant player and can team with Kopitar for a season or two?

Plenty of teams in the past have tried to just add as many prospects as possible, hell the Kings did it a lot in the post-Blake era. But there has to be steps made to get to the next level. DL did it at the end of a bad season when he traded for Williams, then he brought in Smyth, who while completely washed up and incapable of playing 82 games atleast sent a message of contention. They then added MR.

And yes I get it, DL inherited a completely different team. There were very few high priced players (and no iconic players in franchise history) and he had a Hall of Fame center and goalie in the pipeline. But DL also drafted a Hall of Fame player in the Top 5 and another player he used to get Richards.

If the Kings run it back next season, it is very likely going to be another year picking high in the draft. And they still have Kopitar and Doughty under contract for 2 and 5 more seasons. With both on the wrong side of 30, and Kopitar just flat out old. It's not an ideal spot.

If the Kings aren't back in the playoffs by the end of the 2023-24 season, they picked the wrong players in the draft.

I am not expecting Kopitar to be much of a factor by then.

 

[KopitarFAN]

Kings are stupid if AI is asking for anything less than 4 million and they can’t get this done.

We have no LWs who can score any sort of goals. AI and AA, a UFA and RFA.

The statement answers itself, he's probably asking for close to (or north of) 5, if both sides have given up.

 

[SFKingshomer]

Carter sounds like a fit for Arizona due to the amount of salary left to be paid. He may be ok with going there as well because it’s close to LA. Get it done Blake!