Speculation: 2021-21 LA Kings News, Rumors, Roster discussion part V

[funky]

Other than grabbing a nasty skilled Dman which are rare (think Sergachev) I don’t see a lot of options for the Kings.

It is a mental thing out there. Your teammate gets hurt defend him. If you can’t throw fist at least get in a scrum and show some emotion. I miss Brown out there blowing people up. It may not be a fight but it kept the other team honest.

because there are few true power forwards available I just ask our guys to grow some balls. You don’t have to be the biggest guy but play big. I have high hopes for guys like Akil and Turcotte because they bring it. Hopefully guys like that and size in guys like Byfield help address this issue moving forward. It hurts that I can’t wait for Lemieux to get back. I hate Charmin Sift players.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Brandt Clarke. The type of defenseman the Kings need NOW. But, I'm hopeful he will be on the team next season. The needle has already moved forward and nothing is going to stop players like Brandt Clarke and Quinton Byfield from making a BIG IMPACT. And yes, by next year.

If this year is about getting better, trying to make the playoffs and getting Kaliyev, Kupari and (by December) Byfield time on the Kings and starting their careers, that's fine.
Others like Turcotte, Fagemo, Madden, JAD, Thomas (soon), Spence, Grans, Durzi, Moverare, Ingham will get better in the AHL and some of them ready to make their marks next year.
Still not down on Tkachev and know he can play in the NHL....but would like to see him skate a little harder (he knows where to go, but would like to see some bursts of speed)
and gel with a line. It's also about Vilardi becoming a threat and putting up 40 points....and Lias Andersson making an impact, when he returns. Martin Chromiak has a contract
and is projecting higher than hoped and may well be a future 25+ goal scorer...within 2 years. If the Kings are a lottery team, will get yet another blue chip prospect.
Some can be traded for that LHD or to upgrade somewhere, that is most needed. And maybe...just maybe, the 5'7" Lizotte is replaced by the 6'6" Helenius next season. Let's make a REAL 4th line, that will give teams some physical beatdowns! Sammy is signed already.

OH. Back to my subject, when I was carried away. New clip on Brandt Clarke! There are some prospects that will take a few years to develop and they may fall somewhat short of their hoped ceilings - but I feel Clarke and Byfield shall not be stopped, from reaching their ceilings....or close to them.

CHL on CBC: Talented Clarke prepares for national audience – Ontario Hockey League

 

[apocalypse]

Brandt Clarke. The type of defenseman the Kings need NOW. But, I'm hopeful he will be on the team next season. The needle has already moved forward and nothing is going to stop players like Brandt Clarke and Quinton Byfield from making a BIG IMPACT. And yes, by next year.

If this year is about getting better, trying to make the playoffs and getting Kaliyev, Kupari and (by December) Byfield time on the Kings and starting their careers, that's fine.
Others like Turcotte, Fagemo, Madden, JAD, Thomas (soon), Spence, Grans, Durzi, Moverare, Ingham will get better in the AHL and some of them ready to make their marks next year.
Still not down on Tkachev and know he can play in the NHL....but would like to see him skate a little harder (he knows where to go, but would like to see some bursts of speed)
and gel with a line. It's also about Vilardi becoming a threat and putting up 40 points....and Lias Andersson making an impact, when he returns. Martin Chromiak has a contract
and is projecting higher than hoped and may well be a future 25+ goal scorer...within 2 years. If the Kings are a lottery team, will get yet another blue chip prospect.
Some can be traded for that LHD or to upgrade somewhere, that is most needed. And maybe...just maybe, the 5'7" Lizotte is replaced by the 6'6" Helenius next season. Let's make a REAL 4th line, that will give teams some physical beatdowns! Sammy is signed already.

OH. Back to my subject, when I was carried away. New clip on Brandt Clarke! There are some prospects that will take a few years to develop and they may fall somewhat short of their hoped ceilings - but I feel Clarke and Byfield shall not be stopped, from reaching their ceilings....or close to them.

CHL on CBC: Talented Clarke prepares for national audience – Ontario Hockey League

Be patient with the kids. They need to be developed. We don't want another kempe or vilardi on our hands. Hopefully Blake has learned from that, but I don't think he has.

 

[DoktorJeep]

There’s 8 points on the line this road trip and you want at a minimum 4 to keep afloat. With two games in 3 nights against StL there is practically no margin for error to get that outcome. The Blues are somewhat surprisingly off to a strong start so they’re due for an off game.

For all the adversity piling up on the Kings, getting two points tonight can change the story real quick. They’ve been in every game they’ve lost, so they could also be due for a turnaround. And you can never discount the fact that Binnington is a clown who loves to melt down when nothing is on the line.

No Saad or Buchnevich opens a window of opportunity to steal a game. I think at least one or both are back Monday night. That may partially offset the loss of Doughty, but there is the looming anchor of Olli Maata to account for tonight. I don’t see Strand getting in since he played last night and then got on a plane.

It’s too early to peer at standings but a glance at the Pacific shows the team close to the bottom. But because they’ve been relatively effective on both sides of the puck, the wild card positions can change overnight with a win. Adversity is a great way to gain mettle for the kids. Let’s hope Vilardi, Kaliyev and Kupari build off a strong last game and give Kopitar and Petersen enough help tonight to overcome Maata and the Blues. It’s either that or Moore and Lizotte unleash some midget fury and Kempe wins it in the shootout.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I was against hiring TMac from the beginning. Seemed strange to hire the guy who was behind the bench for that humiliating series against the Sharks where the Kings came back from being down 3 games. Maybe the players are more professional than I am. I would be like, "This is my new boss? The guy who couldn't get the Sharks to win 1 more game out of 4?" Part of me thinks he only took the job to get revenge on the Kings. Kidding, but I don't know how much...

They quit on the guy that actually did win them the Cup, and then on the guy who was a player's coach, so the opinions of anyone remaining from 2014, and even up to September 2018, I just don't care. Most of the rest of the roster today is lucky to be in the league, so do your job.

I agree with all of this but I kinda wonder if TMac is saying to himself "THESE are the guys that knocked our dicks in back in SJ???"

There are only 4 left, and 5 when he got the job, and they're all old. The 2014 Kings died in 2014. That team lived life on the edge, and when they fell, they did it quickly.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

God watching that replay after the Doughty hit...

f***ing bring in Torts, Mike Keenan, or Crawford. I cannot go another year of this utterly gutless, cowardly, completely p***yfied brand of hockey, Blake's vision be damned. Trying to ice a team of speedy midgets who won't stick up for one another is worse than anything I've seen in Kings history. Might as well be the Willie D year at this point, but at least the players were bonded in their hatred for him!

Lemieux would have done something. Even Lias Andersson would have. Need them back...and the 6'6" Sammy Helenius is signed and 'on loan' to his Liiga team.
Know full well, he's coming here after his season there.

 

[crassbonanza]

Be patient with the kids. They need to be developed. We don't want another kempe or vilardi on our hands. Hopefully Blake has learned from that, but I don't think he has.

Are you trying to say that Vilardi didn't develop because he played 10 games at 20 years old?

 

[NikF]

There's not really much to be said imo. The next wave hasn't really arrived yet, neither Byfield or Turcotte are in the line-up up front, they are players that could add some juice. In my opinion the mix on D is poor, getting Clarke was great but he is years away. Obviously there is a lack of a real top 2 D beyond Doughty and there is no real offensive talent outside of him either. Roy, Bjornfot, Anderson (and even Faber) essentially all fill a somewhat similar role. I like them as players, but they're all varying degrees of "guy with solid D, decent mobility and first pass, competitive but average sized and mediocre offense". A bit redundant to have them all. Overall the team is still a bit soft and easy to push around. Vilardi could be tried at wing at some point. Kempe has long tracked as an inconsistent tweener. I haven't been a fan of Kupari dating back to his draft year and I don't think he will amount to much. Grundstrom's time is probably running out too. It's cool to keep giving all of these guys a shot while there is still time, eventually I'd like to see more character and A+ type personalities inserted (JAD, Turcotte) and the hole on D and mix addressed.

I'd like to move on from focusing on Brown but the fact that he is still one of the best scoring forwards on the team is a sign that the team is still pretty far away from where it needs to be. More waiting. Not sure this is a playoff team and I wonder whether Blake survives another season outside of playoffs, but organizationally it seems to be roughly on track, the reality is key prospects up front have very little to no games played and the D mix has to be addressed. I hope this season through graduations and otherwise they start addressing the character and identity of the team at an increased rate. In reality not much has changed since end of last year and probably won't until key young players start getting more time in the big league. I would like to see them inserted into a team with a clearer identity and more guts than what's out there right now. You can't count on 20 year olds to change your culture which is the key thing Lombardi understood correctly by supplementing them with the right environment. If the team's best prospects are inserted into a "culturally" flat team that could really be a big negative for the whole project.

 

[kingsfan]

I agree with all of this but I kinda wonder if TMac is saying to himself "THESE are the guys that knocked our dicks in back in SJ???"

They aren't. Most are gone and the few that are left are way older. TM is TM though.

 

[lexlavender]

I think just changing the captaincy away from Kopitar back to Brown would do a lot. Kopitar is an amazing player, but he is not a leader. I think getting a new captain with guts and passion would bleed to the rest of the team

 

[apocalypse]

Are you trying to say that Vilardi didn't develop because he played 10 games at 20 years old?

I'm saying his development was stagnated because he was pulled out of Ontario too early. He needed to stay in Ontario, light it up, then come to LA when he was good and primed. Yes, I'm saying he didn't develop. Hopefully he can develop more if placed on the wing and given top 6 minutes.

 

[crassbonanza]

I'm saying his development was stagnated because he was pulled out of Ontario too early. He needed to stay in Ontario, light it up, then come to LA when he was good and primed. Yes, I'm saying he didn't develop. Hopefully he can develop more if placed on the wing and given top 6 minutes.

His development stagnated because he had a serious back injury. Playing ten games when he was 20 had no impact on his development, especially when he produced 7 points in that 10 game stretch. Over developing prospects is highly over rated, the assumption that keeping a prospect below his skill level is the only appropriate way to develop him is wrong in my opinion. If you look at the high end talent in this league, how many of them failed to play an NHL game by their age 20 season? The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Marchand who didn't make the NHL until he was 21, but he is quite the outlier in many ways. The only other guys I can think of that kind of count are Panarin and Wheeler, but they didn't come to the NHL earlier for different reasons. I don't think giving players a taste of the NHL at a young age has any impact on development unless there are larger locker room/coaching issues.

 

[kingsfan]

His development stagnated because he had a serious back injury. Playing ten games when he was 20 had no impact on his development, especially when he produced 7 points in that 10 game stretch. Over developing prospects is highly over rated, the assumption that keeping a prospect below his skill level is the only appropriate way to develop him is wrong in my opinion. If you look at the high end talent in this league, how many of them failed to play an NHL game by their age 20 season? The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Marchand who didn't make the NHL until he was 21, but he is quite the outlier in many ways. The only other guys I can think of that kind of count are Panarin and Wheeler, but they didn't come to the NHL earlier for different reasons. I don't think giving players a taste of the NHL at a young age has any impact on development unless there are larger locker room/coaching issues.

Kaprizov too, but I agree with you. Even further, plenty of kids have bad/terrible first years and still go on to do quite well. See Joe Thornton and Owen Nolan for example.

 

[Fishhead]

The Vegas game is the only time I've seen this team pissy. Since then it's like they play with fear.

 

[kingsfan28]

Blake should be on the phone Monday looking to put a package together for a defenseman who can score from the point , and play actual defense. Right now, I see none who can do both. Will cost us, yes, but seeing what's we have now, we really have no choice. It's the saddest group of guys I've seen in years. Nobody can hit the net, or will even try when they have the puck. We should just call Walker "High and Wide Walker", because that's all he does when he shoots.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I think just changing the captaincy away from Kopitar back to Brown would do a lot. Kopitar is an amazing player, but he is not a leader. I think getting a new captain with guts and passion would bleed to the rest of the team

Brown's time is over. Would he even accept the C back? He checked out a while ago. If they're changing the C again, and I doubt they will while Kopitar is under contract, but if they did, you have to give it someone that's going to be here for a while. Give it to Danault if nothing else. Nobody from the past though. Doughty would probably be next in line, but we all know that's not going to work.

So through 5 games, Tkachev, Vilardi, Kupari, and Kaliyev are 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th in ES ice time per game among the 14 F's that have played so far.

 

[FSL KINGS]

Brown's time is over. Would he even accept the C back? He checked out a while ago. If they're changing the C again, and I doubt they will while Kopitar is under contract, but if they did, you have to give it someone that's going to be here for a while. Give it to Danault if nothing else. Nobody from the past though. Doughty would probably be next in line, but we all know that's not going to work.

So through 5 games, Tkachev, Vilardi, Kupari, and Kaliyev are 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th in ES ice time per game among the 14 F's that have played so far.

Playing the kids more might lead to really lopsided losses?

 

[funky]

We need a top left shot Dman with size and skill in a bad way.

Doughty is still a true number 1

Anderson and Roy are basically good number 4 defenseman. They can log minutes and play the defensive side well but offer no offence and very little physicality.

Walker is a Martinez light. Great third pairing guy if placed with a proper partner. Edler once used to our system and players will be a solid guy with Walker.

in my mind we need a true top pairing guy and we also need a true number 3. I think in a few years Clarke can be that three guy and hopefully develop into Drew’s replacement.

I see a lot of promise in Bjornfot but he is still growing physically and mentally and should be considered in that 4 to 6 range. The guy is vanilla, will be able to do everything well but I don’t see him being super offensive and no physical play.

we need a physical beast back there that can take care of the net and either pair with Drew or run that second pairing.

we have the potatoes and veggies but we need the steak

 

[KingsFan7824]

Playing the kids more might lead to really lopsided losses?

We just shouldn't expect ownership of the team by players that don't play.

We need a top left shot Dman with size and skill in a bad way.

Doughty is still a true number 1

Anderson and Roy are basically good number 4 defenseman. They can log minutes and play the defensive side well but offer no offence and very little physicality.

Walker is a Martinez light. Great third pairing guy if placed with a proper partner. Edler once used to our system and players will be a solid guy with Walker.

in my mind we need a true top pairing guy and we also need a true number 3. I think in a few years Clarke can be that three guy and hopefully develop into Drew’s replacement.

I see a lot of promise in Bjornfot but he is still growing physically and mentally and should be considered in that 4 to 6 range. The guy is vanilla, will be able to do everything well but I don’t see him being super offensive and no physical play.

we need a physical beast back there that can take care of the net and either pair with Drew or run that second pairing.

we have the potatoes and veggies but we need the steak

Outside of incredible luck, you know the level of young player(s) that will have to go to get a top left shot Dman with size and skill? There aren't many teams that can afford to not have one if they have one. Chychrun would be great, but until the Coyotes trade him, they're not trading him. If he was going to be dealt in their latest cap purge, it would've already happened.

 

[bland]

Playing the kids more might lead to really lopsided losses?

That is what is supposed to be happening. The kids are supposed to be playing right now, not patronizing former heroes.

It doesn't matter one bit that Kopitar, Doughty and Brown are playing well, the team isn't in a position to succeed with them - and hasn't been for the last six seasons. Kopitar could put up 40 points or 100, won't make a damn bit of difference. Somebody else needs to be given the shot to prove themselves in those key moments, its the only way they will push through this wall.

Nothing will change until younger players take ownership, and in this organization ALL new players, kids and vets alike, are deferring to a dispassionate, relaxed, timid group of vets who are locked in lifers and based on last summers whining, they hold all the power here.

 

[bland]

Just to add one thing, when kids break in they usually do so with enthusiasm and a determination to show what they can do and prove that they can play here before learning how to dial that down and merge that into a team concept.

That isn't happening here, the kids are being neutered upon arrival. They are settling down before even showing themselves. I would suggest that it erodes confidence and shrinks their potential, and that it is happening because the "leadership" group thinks they are still contenders and management won't allow them to stretch their legs with the same kind of room that Kopitar and Doughty were given.

The rebuild started three years too late because the team wanted to contend with those longterm deals and now the kids are being delayed for the exact same reasons.

 

[HookKing]

Nobody is being delayed. There are what, 2 "old" forwards now? and 1 "old" vet on D?

 

[KingsHockey24]

We have the softest defense in the league.

Nobody on the blueline is nasty or has snarl. Edler is a good stay at home guy that blocks shots but he's not physical; basically our Rob Scuderi.

We're missing the Robyn Regher, Willie Mitchell, Matt Greene, etc.

 

[Johnny Utah]

I keep saying it again - the best Kings game I’ve seen in 7 years was the pre season game against the Ducks where the Kings played all the kids and won 6-3.

That was what Ottawa did - they just played the kids and let Norris, Tkachuk and co play on the top line. Not the same ole stale Kopitar, Brown and Iafallo. Ottawa has only two vets in the top 6 - Connor Brown and Nick Paul and both in there mid 20’s.

 

[Fingolfin]

The Kings’ primary need is not a defensemen who can score, or who is mean. What they need is a defenseman who can manage getting the puck out of the zone and transition to offense. It’s no coincidence that once Doughty went down, the Kings spent 75% of the rest of the game hemmed in their zone. This has been a problem for years, but the fact that Doughty plays almost half the game has masked a good portion of the issue.