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Speculation: 2020-21 News/Rumors/Roster Thread Part IV

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AlphaBravo said:
What character issues? I see a player sick of losing and desiring to win on a well managed team. The guy gives it his all on the ice and has that drive Doughty has. An elite center like Eichel rarely is available. I highly doubt any of our prospects will get anywhere near his level.
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When it constantly gets leaked about how unhappy he is with x,y,z to me that’s a major problem for a guy that is supposed to be the leader of that team.

Leadership is one of Buffalos biggest issues and has been for a while. They can’t keep blaming the coach... there is an issue in that room.

Besides, if we make a move it’s got to be for an elite D, a C doesn’t make sense. Nor does the timing.
 
Martyros said:
have we traded all our futures for Eichel yet? Looking forward to our next encounter with the black hole.
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The chatter out there, was that Rob is looking to upgrade the D....but who knows?
I actually wonder, if PART of the Kupari recall, is that some team wants to see him play an NHL game or 2. I think that a player earns the recall
and a cup of coffee, but there have been times when it is also to showcase a player. And now, Hults is on the taxi squad? Does he get a game soon?

Any team talking to the Kings, is going to be looking at: Byfield, Turcotte, Kupari, Kaliyev, Fagemo, Thomas, Madden, Hults, Clague, Strand.
And probably scouting Faber, Spence, Parik too.

The Kings have too many futures to go black hole....if they gave up 3 prospects and a #1, there are many great young prospects and
Eichel is 24...not even 26 or 27, like Richards and Carter were...and Eichel is a higher calibre player then them. Who knows who the defensemen are that
Blake *may* be inquiring about. Eckholm?

If I am a GM, besides the more 'elite' King prospects, I want JAD, Grundstrom, Clague, Strand.
I can't see the Kings trading Bjornfot or Anderson....but teams would then go after Clague and Strand.
They both have showed they can play NHL hockey. Jad and Grundstrom have impressed this year.
 
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Blake has to know that he needs to get this team some scoring help for a realistic chance to make the playoffs. No need for an Eichel at this point though.
 
Peter James Bond III said:
The chatter out there, was that Rob is looking to upgrade the D....but who knows?
I actually wonder, if PART of the Kupari recall, is that some team wants to see him play an NHL game or 2. I think that a player earns the recall
and a cup of coffee, but there have been times when it is also to showcase a player. And now, Hults is on the taxi squad? Does he get a game soon?

Any team talking to the Kings, is going to be looking at: Byfield, Turcotte, Kupari, Kaliyev, Fagemo, Thomas, Madden, Hults, Clague, Strand.
And probably scouting Faber, Spence, Parik too.

The Kings have too many futures to go black hole....if they gave up 3 prospects and a #1, there are many great young prospects and
Eichel is 24...not even 26 or 27, like Richards and Carter were...and Eichel is a higher calibre player then them. Who knows who the defensemen are that
Blake *may* be inquiring about. Eckholm?

If I am a GM, besides the more 'elite' King prospects, I want JAD, Grundstrom, Clague, Strand.
I can't see the Kings trading Bjornfot or Anderson....but teams would then go after Clague and Strand.
They both have showed they can play NHL hockey. Jad and Grundstrom have impressed this year.
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I sincerely doubt Kupari's recall, or any other player movement in the King's organization is about what other teams want to see. Kupari earned his recall, and the poor showing of Amadio and at times Lizotte this year made the timing right. At one point Kupari was leading the entire AHL in scoring, he earned the look and the call up. Hult's got the taxi squad today because quite frankly he had a poor game against San Diego, so the taxi squad =healthy scratch, nothing more. Neither Clague nor Strand has played very well since being sent down to the Reign. I wouldn't read anything into these moves. If a player rocks it with the Reign, he'll get a look, but he'll have to earn it. Blake has made it very clear they are competing to make the playoffs.
 
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Peter James Bond III said:
The chatter out there, was that Rob is looking to upgrade the D....but who knows?
I actually wonder, if PART of the Kupari recall, is that some team wants to see him play an NHL game or 2. I think that a player earns the recall
and a cup of coffee, but there have been times when it is also to showcase a player. And now, Hults is on the taxi squad? Does he get a game soon?

Any team talking to the Kings, is going to be looking at: Byfield, Turcotte, Kupari, Kaliyev, Fagemo, Thomas, Madden, Hults, Clague, Strand.
And probably scouting Faber, Spence, Parik too.

The Kings have too many futures to go black hole....if they gave up 3 prospects and a #1, there are many great young prospects and
Eichel is 24...not even 26 or 27, like Richards and Carter were...and Eichel is a higher calibre player then them. Who knows who the defensemen are that
Blake *may* be inquiring about. Eckholm?

If I am a GM, besides the more 'elite' King prospects, I want JAD, Grundstrom, Clague, Strand.
I can't see the Kings trading Bjornfot or Anderson....but teams would then go after Clague and Strand.
They both have showed they can play NHL hockey. Jad and Grundstrom have impressed this year.
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The problem is that Bjornfot, Anderson and Roy have been so damn good that other than Byfield they have likely jumped every single person you listed as far as trade value. I think that those 3 are criminally underrated, even on this board. I think if we talk about re-drafts that Bjornfot would be a lock to be a top-10 pick right now if the 2019 draft were re-done, I think he is that impressive, and there is some offensive potential too that hasn't shown through yet. Anderson, like Bjornfot also looks like a 10 year veteran at age 21, although he is at a level less than Toby.

I'm all aboard the Eichel train, but trading any of those three guys is going to sting the back end of the NHL roster right now and for years to come. That bothers me more than trading away any of our unproven forward prospects. Adding Eichel makes the loss of any of the forwards negligible as none of them will likely ever be close to his level anyways.
 
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Herby said:
The problem is that Bjornfot, Anderson and Roy have been so damn good that other than Byfield they have likely jumped every single person you listed as far as trade value. I think that those 3 are criminally underrated, even on this board. I think if we talk about re-drafts that Bjornfot would be a lock to be a top-10 pick right now if the 2019 draft were re-done, I think he is that impressive, and there is some offensive potential too that hasn't shown through yet. Anderson, like Bjornfot also looks like a 10 year veteran at age 21, although he is at a level less than Toby.

I'm all aboard the Eichel train, but trading any of those three guys is going to sting the back end of the NHL roster right now and for years to come. That bothers me more than trading away any of our unproven forward prospects. Adding Eichel makes the loss of any of the forwards negligible as none of them will likely ever be close to his level anyways.
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I feel that Blake sees things the same way. At this point, we are seeing development and depth that makes any sort of major move premature. It's better to ride this thing out this year. If they can do some tweaking then fine but even a guy as electric as Eichel isn't going to make this team a Cup contender and it could rob them of significant depth in other spots. At some point, the Kings will have to figure out what to do with the Center position since they seem to have a surplus unless they move guys into other spots. Maybe at that point, they decide between Byfield and Turcotte in a move for an impact guy.
 
AzKing said:
I feel that Blake sees things the same way. At this point, we are seeing development and depth that makes any sort of major move premature. It's better to ride this thing out this year. If they can do some tweaking then fine but even a guy as electric as Eichel isn't going to make this team a Cup contender and it could rob them of significant depth in other spots. At some point, the Kings will have to figure out what to do with the Center position since they seem to have a surplus unless they move guys into other spots. Maybe at that point, they decide between Byfield and Turcotte in a move for an impact guy.
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The problem with this thinking and why I am all aboard the Eichel train is.

1. Jack Eichel type players aren't available every year. They become available once every few years. If teams have elite 1C's they just don't move them, unless the player specifically asks for a trade. The Kings are in a unique Goldilocks type position where they have the assets, the cap space and the roster construction to make a play for one of those rare elite 1C's if one **might** be available this summer. So it won't be easy for Blake to just say in 2 years, "Ok, now we can trade for the star 24 year old", it very likely won't be an option.

2. Prospects can be depreciating assets very quickly or they can quickly develop into assets you don't want to move. You mention Byfield and Turcotte. It's only been about 2 years since the Kings took Turcotte, but he wouldn't bring back the #5 pick in this years draft. Byfield at this time next year could easily go one of two ways, he could really establish himself in the NHL to where you maybe don't want to move him because he's really good and under an ELC for 2 more years or he could struggle next season and Buffalo might say "We'd rather look elsewhere for the cornerstone piece" and suddenly you have missed out on a chance to get a sure thing 24 year old #1C and lose at one the chance to have an elite #1C on your roster from 2006 to 2030, which trading for Eichel would guarantee the Kings the chance to have. It's kind of like the QB situation for the Green Bay Packers.

I think after this season the Kings have probably 2-3 years where they can realistically count on DD and AK both being high end players, that is why it's so appealing to add a player like Eichel and take a shot for a few years as opposed to waiting for Byfield. How good will those two be when Byfield is ready to be a 1C? And I actually disagree that Eichel doesn't make them a contender. The Kings have some really nice complimentary pieces in the bottom 6 and a defense that has made huge strides. You have Jack Eichel, Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, Gabe Vilardi, Toby Bjornfot (would really try to keep him over any of those 3), Matt Roy. You build a championship caliber third line around Kempe and Turcotte, solid gritty bottom sixers in JAD, Grundstrom, Moore. Good goaltending in Cal + a solid coach. I think the Kings are closer than you think post Eichel trade.
 
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If we are looking at Buffalo, stop talking about Eichel, start talking about Dahlin :naughty:

We already have our #1 C in Kopitar for at least a couple seasons. We still do not have a partner for Doughty. Eventually, 1 of Byfield, Vilardi, or Turcotte will become our new #1 C. Either way, a move like this would happen at the draft/offseason, not during the season.
 
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The Lukeman said:
If we are looking at Buffalo, stop talking about Eichel, start talking about Dahlin :naughty:

We already have our #1 C in Kopitar for at least a couple seasons. We still do not have a partner for Doughty. Eventually, 1 of Byfield, Vilardi, or Turcotte will become our new #1 C. Either way, a move like this would happen at the draft/offseason, not during the season.
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Anderson and Toby are both perfect partners for Doughty now and for as long as Doughty has left as a #1 d-man in the league, whether it's 3 years of 10 years.
 
Herby said:
Absolutely.

And I agree with Jim Fox, it's unfortunate that much of the continent doesn't see just how good he is.

*Can't believe I have agreed with both Jim Fox and Dennis Bernstein takes today :help:
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Who are you and what have you done with the real Herby?

:laugh:
 
Stimpythecat said:
Who are you and what have you done with the real Herby?

:laugh:
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I actually think that Fox has been much much better this season than he has been in a very long time. Not nearly as much blatant homerism, not nearly as much ridiculous cheering and "yeahs" in the booth. He knows the game well, always has, as well as any color guy in the league, that was never my issue with him.

Maybe someone finally said something in his end of year evaluations, it was borderline unprofessional in years past. He was starting to go down the Hawk Harrelson path. I actually choose the Kings broadcast now most games on NHL.tv
 
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Herby said:
Anderson and Toby are both perfect partners for Doughty now and for as long as Doughty has left as a #1 d-man in the league, whether it's 3 years of 10 years.
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Nope, they aren't even close to being his perfect partners. Anderson has played great but he gets run over too easily. Toby is very good but DD's perfect partner is a big shutdown guy that can skate.
 
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