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

[cyclones22]

Willie D was a lot worse IMO.

Coaches are evaluated against expectations. The kings this are expected to be a bubble team that will either sneak in or just miss. Right now that is what they are. I am not a of TM, but you bringing up Willie makes me remember how much worse it can actually be.

The only reason I'm bringing him up was because he put unnecessary mileage on Kopi's and Drew's tires when the Kings were playing for nothing. The Kings aren't playing for nothing now, but I'm seeing the same pattern of leaning on these guys unnecessarily when there are competent options to pass a couple of minutes along to.

 

[BigKing]

Here is an updated snapshot of the recent 9 games set of performances.

Season - Games	Record	Rank	Goals	Goals per game	Special teams	Shots per game	Faceoffs
21/22 season - Second 9 games	5-2-2, 12 pts, .667 P%	17th of 32 teams	22 GF, 19 GA	2.44 GF/GP, 2.11 GA/GP	6.9 PP%, 89.5 PK%	34.1 SF/GP, 29.9 SA/GP	57.0 FOW%
21/22 season - First 9 games	3-5-1, 7 pts, .389 P%	26th of 32 teams	24 GF, 27 GA	2.67 GF/GP, 3.00 GA/GP	23.5 PP%, 69.2 PK%	35.8 SF/GP, 29.7 SA/GP	51.2 FOW%
20/21 season - Last 9 games	4-5-0, 8 pts, .444 P%	25th place out of 31 teams	21 GF, 25 GA	2.33 GF/GP, 2.78 GA/GP	11.8 PP%, 78.3 PK%	23.8 SF/GP, 31.3 SA/GP	47.4 FOW%
20/21 season - First 9 games	3-4-2, 8 pts, .444 P%	26th place out of 31 teams	26 GF, 29 GA	2.89 GF/GP, 3.22 GA/GP	21.6 PP%, 87.9 PK%	28.2 SF/GP, 31.8 SA/GP	49.6 FOW%

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Some additional details on this stretch...

• Covers games from Nov 3 to Nov 21
• 5 home games vs 4 road games
• 3 western conference teams (0 pacific division), 6 eastern conference
• 2 back to back sets
• 6 opponents are playoff teams as of today, 3 are below a wild card spot

Snip

Like I said last week: great goaltending will make things look better than they are. Of course, the goalie is part of the team so we can say they are better than last year since the goaltending (Quick primarily) has been much better.

As you said though, the powerplay is a gigantic issue. Kings have been in a ton of one goal games and a PP goal here or there is going to be the difference between winning/losing or at least getting a chance at more loser points in OT/SO.

I'm not over the moon about this team but I was fully on board with the belief the season was over with the Doughty injury. The fact that they are 7-5-2 since he went down (7-5-3 if you want to count the Dallas game) is pretty surprising but they are currently in the midst of a four game losing streak and--as you said--you can't count on this team to win the games they are supposed to win: they are still a team that hasn't earned that type of respect. 11 out of 18 games have been one goal games and the Caps game featured an EN goal to make it a 2-0 loss so that was almost 12. They are on such a razor's edge as there isn't much room for error due to the lack of scoring and you have to wonder if this goaltending can last. They've given up over three goals twice so far this season compared to seven times through 18 games last year.

The former coach says this is a 3-2 league. Well, the Kings have not won a game this year when giving up three or more goals. Seven games with three or more goals allowed: all losses with only two loser points mixed in. That was a huge part of the frustration with Saturday's game: they finally give some run support but five goals go in on 20 shots.

I feel that the GAA number is a little unsustainable. I'd like to say the goals for number is also unsustainable except it is pretty on par with what we've seen from these guys. They've got to figure out the power play but the blueline is just so brutal offensively.

 

[YP44]

The only reason I'm bringing him up was because he put unnecessary mileage on Kopi's and Drew's tires when the Kings were playing for nothing. The Kings aren't playing for nothing now, but I'm seeing the same pattern of leaning on these guys unnecessarily when there are competent options to pass a couple of minutes along to.

When Drew is healthy I want him logging 25 min a game because 1)LA should be in the thick of it 2)LA does not have better options on D
As for Kopitar, I wonder what Kopitar thinks his best ice time and usage are. Never will get him to say anything publicly but I hope the coach has had that discussion with him and taken it into account.

I like the TM saw that the Lizotte and Lemieux lines were going well the last few games so he gave more ice time to them and even started them against Arizona. That was a reward for that line. Also, even though I am bullish on Brown and have him on the longest of possible leashes, hard to argue with the fact TM has cut his ice time huge. Something most on here are also advocating for.

The 5 on 5 game I have been fine with. LA out chanced Carolina and Arizona just could not burry it. And alot of the chances were solid chances not just perimeter shit. The special teams needs to get it together, and players need to start finishing.

Side note, anyone else think Arvidsson is trying to replace Brown given the fact he could not stay on his feet last night.

 

[Kudelski37]

By 10 seconds. Oh wow, what a gotcha moment. Guess all those examples aren't enough.

Great work, Todd, but while you're here--is it literally too much to ask to try Kaliyev on the top lines next to our top centers since their wingers are failing to score and our top PP since it's a disaster?

Because that's the point. McMichael is being used as a 2C/3C most nights with Washington's best players and in positions to succeed. TM stumbled into a line that's been excellent with Kaliyev/Lizotte/Lemieux by demoting him to the 4th line, but still isn't even bothering with the above. And that's our best used prospect! Do we need to go back to having a chat about the others, or are you 100% comfortable with development since Arty is getting 10 more seconds per game than McMichael?

It blows my mind that people can look at all of this and continue to try to rationalize it.

Washington was forced to use McMichael as 2c/3c this season. Backstrom (2c) hasn't played this season. Eller (3c) and Dowd (4c) are out injured too. So McMichael gets to play less time than Kaliyev despite all of the Caps injuries at center at the same time. This isn't a choice by the Caps coaches or management. They have no other options.

Kaliyev did start on PP1 at least once yesterday so your wish was granted.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Like I said last week: great goaltending will make things look better than they are. Of course, the goalie is part of the team so we can say they are better than last year since the goaltending (Quick primarily) has been much better.

As you said though, the powerplay is a gigantic issue. Kings have been in a ton of one goal games and a PP goal here or there is going to be the difference between winning/losing or at least getting a chance at more loser points in OT/SO.

I'm not over the moon about this team but I was fully on board with the belief the season was over with the Doughty injury. The fact that they are 7-5-2 since he went down (7-5-3 if you want to count the Dallas game) is pretty surprising but they are currently in the midst of a four game losing streak and--as you said--you can't count on this team to win the games they are supposed to win: they are still a team that hasn't earned that type of respect. 11 out of 18 games have been one goal games and the Caps game featured an EN goal to make it a 2-0 loss so that was almost 12. They are on such a razor's edge as there isn't much room for error due to the lack of scoring and you have to wonder if this goaltending can last. They've given up over three goals twice so far this season compared to seven times through 18 games last year.

The former coach says this is a 3-2 league. Well, the Kings have not won a game this year when giving up three or more goals. Seven games with three or more goals allowed: all losses with only two loser points mixed in. That was a huge part of the frustration with Saturday's game: they finally give some run support but five goals go in on 20 shots.

I feel that the GAA number is a little unsustainable. I'd like to say the goals for number is also unsustainable except it is pretty on par with what we've seen from these guys. They've got to figure out the power play but the blueline is just so brutal offensively.

I think part of any evaluation is knowing what is working versus what isn’t when it comes to players.

What’s Working	Whats Not	Tweeners
Kopitar Iafallo Danault Kempe Lemieux Lizotte — Roy Edler Anderson Bjornfot — Quick	Brown Arvidsson Athanasiou Moore — Maata	Kaliyev Kupari Grundstrom — Clague — Petersen

That’s just over $19M against the cap for 5 NHL regulars who aren’t consistent contributors. If you had to find 4 forwards and 1 defenseman at an average of $4M each, you have to think you could improve on the Kings current roster.

 

[BigKing]

I think part of any evaluation is knowing what is working versus what isn’t when it comes to players.

What’s Working	Whats Not	Tweeners
Kopitar Iafallo Danault Kempe Lemieux Lizotte — Roy Edler Anderson Bjornfot — Quick	Brown Arvidsson Athanasiou Moore — Maata	Kaliyev Kupari Grundstrom — Clague — Petersen

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

That’s just over $19M against the cap for 5 NHL regulars who aren’t consistent contributors. If you had to find 4 forwards and 1 defenseman at an average of $4M each, you have to think you could improve on the Kings current roster.

At least the "What's Not" box drops to ~$6MM next season.

 

[KingTech]

AA does not belong in that box. He has 5 points in 7 games He gets a breakaway pretty much every game.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Washington was forced to use McMichael as 2c/3c this season. Backstrom (2c) hasn't played this season. Eller (3c) and Dowd (4c) are out injured too. So McMichael gets to play less time than Kaliyev despite all of the Caps injuries at center at the same time. This isn't a choice by the Caps coaches or management. They have no other options.

Kaliyev did start on PP1 at least once yesterday so your wish was granted.

There's always a choice. Eller and Dowd are in and out, not dead. Oshie can play C. They also have Pilon and Sgarbossa in the minors and HAD Lapierre up at the beginning of the year.

If it were the Kings we'd see him at 4C/scratched while calling up Tynan/JAD/Turcotte to ride the bench and play the other guys over him.

Still, the fact that you're scratching and clawing this hard to rationalize one single example in the defense of TM is something, that's for sure.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I understand defending McLellan to a degree. I like the guy and think he communicated a few key points early on:
- play your game, but in my system
- you can't just tell a player what to do. You have to explain why

So... I get it. I like him and may find myself defending him for various reasons.

But there is a major disconnect between what the organization needs and what McLellan is doing. I don't know if that's his fault, Blake's, or a combination.

I like him as a human a lot. He's a well spoken guy and has communicated well with the public and others. And he seems to have the idea of how to communicate with younger players, at least.

But actions speak louder than words and that disconnect at all points of the organization is ridiculous.

 

[kilowatt]

You know where Moore should be to slot into the "What's working" box? Fourth line right wing. Lemieux / Lizotte / Moore would be the best fourth line since our last cup.

 

[Schmooley]

I think part of any evaluation is knowing what is working versus what isn’t when it comes to players.

What’s Working	Whats Not	Tweeners
Kopitar Iafallo Danault Kempe Lemieux Lizotte — Roy Edler Anderson Bjornfot — Quick	Brown Arvidsson Athanasiou Moore — Maata	Kaliyev Kupari Grundstrom — Clague — Petersen

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

That’s just over $19M against the cap for 5 NHL regulars who aren’t consistent contributors. If you had to find 4 forwards and 1 defenseman at an average of $4M each, you have to think you could improve on the Kings current roster.

Put in Lias and Vilardi for Moore and Brown to flank Kupari. If anyone in the bottom six gets hurt or underperforms you have Moore and Grundstrom ready to come in and if you need a bottom 6 center call up JAD. If anyone in the top six gets hurt or underperforms call up Turcotte or Tkachev.
Once Byfield returns I wonder what happens to the centers. I imagine Kupari comes out.

 

[Eagle Fang]

I understand defending McLellan to a degree. I like the guy and think he communicated a few key points early on:
- play your game, but in my system
- you can't just tell a player what to do. You have to explain why

So... I get it. I like him and may find myself defending him for various reasons.

But there is a major disconnect between what the organization needs and what McLellan is doing. I don't know if that's his fault, Blake's, or a combination.

To me it's on Blake. Never was a fan of him taking over the GM role and every time he talks it just reaffirms my opinion. Same with Robitalle. Every time he talks about the team, it makes me want to vomit.

 

[Kudelski37]

There's always a choice. Eller and Dowd are in and out, not dead. Oshie can play C. They also have Pilon and Sgarbossa in the minors and HAD Lapierre up at the beginning of the year.

If it were the Kings we'd see him at 4C/scratched while calling up Tynan/JAD/Turcotte to ride the bench and play the other guys over him.

Still, the fact that you're scratching and clawing this hard to rationalize one single example in the defense of TM is something, that's for sure.

You don't follow the Caps. Backstrom has missed all season. Eller has been injured and is currently out for covid protocol. Oshie and Dowd have been injured. They played three rookie centers against the Kings because Kuzentsov was the only available veteran, not by choice. One had to be the 2c, although with both second line wingers out with injuries is it really being out on the second line? Despite all of these injuries none have played as much as Kaliyev. The Caps should not be used as an example of playing rookies in a position to succeed this season. They are simply filling holes with healthy bodies. This is similar to Clague playing when the Kings get a few injuries on D.

You think I'm defending TMac. I'm just correcting your statement about my local team. Just check my posts over the summer where I was against signing Danault because I wanted the young players to play more.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

You don't follow the Caps. Backstrom has missed all season. Eller has been injured and is currently out for covid protocol. Oshie and Dowd have been injured. They played three rookie centers against the Kings because Kuzentsov was the only available veteran, not by choice. One had to be the 2c, although with both second line wingers out with injuries is it really being out on the second line? Despite all of these injuries none have played as much as Kaliyev. The Caps should not be used as an example of playing rookies in a position to succeed this season. They are simply filling holes with healthy bodies. This is similar to Clague playing when the Kings get a few injuries on D.

You think I'm defending TMac. I'm just correcting your statement about my local team. Just check my posts over the summer where I was against signing Danault because I wanted the young players to play more.

Okay, fine, scratch the Caps off. That only leaves 7 other easy examples off the top of my head. Anyone else want to split hairs?

 

[apocalypse]

I think part of any evaluation is knowing what is working versus what isn’t when it comes to players.

What’s Working	Whats Not	Tweeners
Kopitar Iafallo Danault Kempe Lemieux Lizotte — Roy Edler Anderson Bjornfot — Quick	Brown Arvidsson Athanasiou Moore — Maata	Kaliyev Kupari Grundstrom — Clague — Petersen

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

That’s just over $19M against the cap for 5 NHL regulars who aren’t consistent contributors. If you had to find 4 forwards and 1 defenseman at an average of $4M each, you have to think you could improve on the Kings current roster.

I have to disagree with your chart. Roy is not really working. He's ok, but you'd expect more from somebody that's been in the system as long as he has. Clague is working. He has his occasional mistakes, but he's learning and playing well. Arvy, Athanasiou, and Moore are working, although Moore to a lesser extent. He just needs some help and time to get going. Kaliyev, Kupari and Grundstrom are working. They are providing secondary support in scoring and I expect further growth from Kaliyev and Kupari. Quick and Peterson are both working, although, Quick being the better of the 2.

What's not working is our development with our players. If we can't nail Vilardi, Byfield, AND Turcotte, we're toast. I see Kaliyev coming around and Kupari's not far behind him.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

I have to disagree with your chart. Roy is not really working. He's ok, but you'd expect more from somebody that's been in the system as long as he has. Clague is working. He has his occasional mistakes, but he's learning and playing well. Arvy, Athanasiou, and Moore are working, although Moore to a lesser extent. He just needs some help and time to get going. Kaliyev, Kupari and Grundstrom are working. They are providing secondary support in scoring and I expect further growth from Kaliyev and Kupari. Quick and Peterson are both working, although, Quick being the better of the 2.

What's not working is our development with our players. If we can't nail Vilardi, Byfield, AND Turcotte, we're toast. I see Kaliyev coming around and Kupari's not far behind him.

I think Roy was stellar and outstanding...after the Fialla hit and concussion, he's not been the same. He was never going to be a PP guy, but he was playing great hockey.

It still pisses me off, that Fialla came in that high and went out of his way on that hit. POS.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Roy has some offensive tools, but who doesn't after lower levels of play? He has a good hard shot (accurate) and some decent offensive instincts which makes him a good modern shutdown Dman.

But not at all the kind of dude you put on the powerplay.

I do think he's working and his consistency needs some work but let's not forget no one can replace Drew Doughty.

 

[YP44]

AA does not belong in that box. He has 5 points in 7 games He gets a breakaway pretty much every game.

he is Sean Donavan 2.0

 

[LAKings88]

AA has tunnel vision but on a team so dearth of killer instinct I don’t mind him all that much.

 

[bland]

Roy has some offensive tools, but who doesn't after lower levels of play? He has a good hard shot (accurate) and some decent offensive instincts which makes him a good modern shutdown Dman.

But not at all the kind of dude you put on the powerplay.

I do think he's working and his consistency needs some work but let's not forget no one can replace Drew Doughty.

If they had any sort of net front presence then his shot would yield results. From the last several games it appears that they actually scheme AWAY from having any kind of traffic. They just don't have a player on the roster who is inclined to use size snd strength to cause a ruckus down low.

Brown is done, they would never use Grundstrom or Lemieux on the PP, and for some reason they insist on using Kempe and Kaliyev on the point. Kaliyev seems custom built to be used down low, but hey, what do I know, I didn't play bottom six hockey with my buddies and be put in charge of player development...

 

[bland]

AA has tunnel vision but on a team so dearth of killer instinct I don’t mind him all that much.

Thing is that he won't make any difference towards making the playoffs now or in the future and there are multiple young players who could use his shifts with a strong possession line to grow into their NHL games.

Fine player, just unnecessary and part of a suspect plan that postpones using the fruits of recent suffering.

 

[KingsCourt]

Brown needs to go...he literally kills the line he's on...can make a pass, can't receive a pass, can't shot, can't backcheck...hits occasionally
I feel bad for Kupari, not getting a fair chance...he has Brown and Moore. Not sure what happened to Moore this year (besides the Leaf game).
Still fan of Arvidsson, i think maybe changing him with Danault

 

[LAKings88]

Thing is that he won't make any difference towards making the playoffs now or in the future and there are multiple young players who could use his shifts with a strong possession line to grow into their NHL games.

Fine player, just unnecessary and part of a suspect plan that postpones using the fruits of recent suffering.

I get it. The team still wants to win tho. We are complaining about lack of scoring and he is a bit of a weapon even if one dimensional. I would adjust the lines personally. I think they are still trying to find the right fits too. I expect AA to be shopped at the deadline.

 

[YP44]

AA has tunnel vision but on a team so dearth of killer instinct I don’t mind him all that much.

there are bigger issues for sure. I just don't think he is destined to be a king long term, so at what point does he get moved to bring in someone who maybe a king longterm?

 

[YP44]

Brown needs to go...he literally kills the line he's on...can make a pass, can't receive a pass, can't shot, can't backcheck...hits occasionally
I feel bad for Kupari, not getting a fair chance...he has Brown and Moore. Not sure what happened to Moore this year (besides the Leaf game).
Still fan of Arvidsson, i think maybe changing him with Danault

I wonder if you put Kupari on the right side with Danualt and Iaffalo for a game or two.
Bring up JAD or Vilardi for the 3rd/4th line center. Lias could also fill in.