Speculation: 2021-21 LA Kings News/Rumors/Roster discussion

[YP44]

I really don't know. I but expect low risk / high reward moves. That's what Blake has done since becoming GM. And we've already seen that with Tkachyov.

The X-factor is AEG. Do they want to spend money? Considering their business has been getting absolutely wrecked for over a year, I suspect not.

Major UFA signings seem unrealistic.

I would think any significant move would be a trade; a young-player/prospect for an equivalent young-player/prospect. Like a Turcotte for Sergachev type deal.

If Blake makes moves to win now, that means he instantly puts himself and Tmac on the hot seat.

I don't think a Doughty trade is as unrealistic as people think.

If they trade the 2022 1st round pick I will be absolutely livid.

depends who they bring back IMO

 

[johnjm22]

depends who they bring back IMO

I think the absolute worst thing as a fan is when your team is terrible, and you don't even have your 1st round pick.

If they move the 2022 1st rounder, they're really setting up the potential for that scenario.

Look at the Sharks in 2019. An aging team with no hope of contending. They traded their 1st OA pick for Karlsson. That pick turned out to be 3rd OA (Stuetzle).

Let's not make the same embarrassing mistake as SJ.

 

[BigKing]

I really don't know. I but expect low risk / high reward moves. That's what Blake has done since becoming GM. And we've already seen that with Tkachyov.

The X-factor is AEG. Do they want to spend money? Considering their business has been getting absolutely wrecked for over a year, I suspect not.

Major UFA signings seem unrealistic.

I would think any significant move would be a trade; a young-player/prospect for an equivalent young-player/prospect. Like a Turcotte for Sergachev type deal.

If Blake makes moves to win now, that means he instantly puts himself and Tmac on the hot seat.

I don't think a Doughty trade is as unrealistic as people think.

If they trade the 2022 1st round pick I will be absolutely livid.

I agree that a big UFA signing is highly unlikely but that generally applies to the entire history of the franchise.

I believe you felt that Kovalchuk was low risk but it was high risk as far as the cap implications if the idea was that they were a contender. If he busted and they were still playing at a 2018 level, it would have caused issues since they wouldn't have blown it up in January of 2019. Other than that, I do agree he goes low risk. I just feel like this is the offseason where he ups the risk.

You're right about AEG but that goes hand-in-hand with the hot seat: they aren't on the heat seat unless AEG tells them to go for the playoffs so, yeah, they are the X-factor.

Are you okay with trading this year's 1st?

 

[YP44]

I think the absolute worst thing as a fan is when your team is terrible, and you don't even have your 1st round pick.

If they move the 2022 1st rounder, they're really setting up the potential for that scenario.

Look at the Sharks in 2019. An aging team with no hope of contending. They traded their 1st OA pick for Karlsson. That pick turned out to be 3rd OA (Stuetzle).

Let's not make the same embarrassing mistake as SJ.

sorry i read that as the 2021 first. I 100% agree. There are too many cases of it going poorly when you trade a pick that far out.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Adding two top 6 forwards doesn't make us a playoff team.

It basically just means instead of picking top 5 in the 2022 draft we'd be picking around 10th-15th.

Highly unlikely any big name UFA would come here unless you're ready to vastly over pay.

I don’t expect management to spend big in free agency, they say they’ll utilize the cap space etc. but it’s hard to believe anything this FO says given their track history.

 

[johnjm22]

I agree that a big UFA signing is highly unlikely but that generally applies to the entire history of the franchise.

I believe you felt that Kovalchuk was low risk but it was high risk as far as the cap implications if the idea was that they were a contender. If he busted and they were still playing at a 2018 level, it would have caused issues since they wouldn't have blown it up in January of 2019. Other than that, I do agree he goes low risk. I just feel like this is the offseason where he ups the risk.

You're right about AEG but that goes hand-in-hand with the hot seat: they aren't on the heat seat unless AEG tells them to go for the playoffs so, yeah, they are the X-factor.

Are you okay with trading this year's 1st?

I'd trade the 2021 1st if it's for a long term asset in exchange.

2021 1st + Vilardi & Kupari for Buffalo's 1st OA.

That type of deal. Not saying I think that value is realistic, I just mean that type of deal.

 

[tny760]

from a ticket sales email this morning:

"We're extremely excited about the direction of the Kings and how well "The Plan" is moving along."

"The Plan"

 

[Schrute farms]

2021 1st + Vilardi & Kupari for Buffalo's 1st OA.

Yikes. Do NOT answer this guys phone call Blake

 

[FSL KINGS]

Yeah, lets send Byfield to the OHL and dress Imama... Thank god you are not making these decisions

YES! IMAMA!!!

Oh wait, my sarcasm detector is blinking at me. This thing might be broken.

 

[Mats26]

Idk how it’s rinse and repeat when it’s been 2 seasons since we made our first major move (Muzzin). Blake has built the #1 prospect pool in the league by trading 4 players. In my eyes, his success depends on how he brings that #1 pool to nhl talent, whether it’s players within our system or trades. You can’t shit on his rebuild before it’s had time to show results.

You trade a 4th liner so you spend a 4rd pick for a fourth liner.
Your trade a top 6 scorer, you go out and sign a lower tier "scorer"
You bring in a Russian, doesn't work, try signing another Russian, didn't work, sign another ...
You trade a vet defenseman , get a worse vet to replace him
You trade a physical d man, you bring up a big physical dman that can't play hockey
You get rid of a coach, didn't work, hire another , didn't work, hire another...

Rinse and Repeat... see the pattern. Moves made yet no progress, team is stuck in netural and rolling down a hill.
At what point is it enough already? This summer, next summer, in 3 years? If the local Media doesn't call out this crap we Fans need to.

Rebuilding you say.
Well, history says that around half the prospects will underperform and some will bust. So what is the plan then? Before we get to that point in the "plan", we need to start adding quality players and get rid of fillers for NHL talent. This summer we need to do that.

I am not shitting on the rebuild, I am shitting on the tear down and what foundation do we have to support the prospects to allow them to thrive in LA. I don't want a repeat of what happened after the cup wins.

 

[KingsFan7824]

It is hard to argue your point when there has been a ton of young guys given a chance to be NHL regulars on this team the past few seasons and they seem to fall into the complacent trap as well.

I mean, I'm not saying there has been a ton of talent but this is a sport where hard work and caring can really make a difference.

You watch the Bruins though and they just keep bringing in guys that instantly have their teammates back because they know they won't be accepted in that locker room if they don't. Here in LA, it is way too much of a 9-5 clock punching atmosphere compared to the winning teams that are full of dudes that take their work home with them and do weekends.

Well that ended for sure then when Brown had the C taken away. He longer took the game home.

I would do schwartz over saad.
Kaliyev over Wagner for me too.
I fully agree Reinhart would be a great get

Schwartz and Saad. 2yr/$13m for both.

Adding two top 6 forwards doesn't make us a playoff team.

It basically just means instead of picking top 5 in the 2022 draft we'd be picking around 10th-15th.

Highly unlikely any big name UFA would come here unless you're ready to vastly over pay.

All Doughty wants is a better chance.

Kings need 1 top six forward 1 top 4 D.

If people think we are winning the Cup with Doughty, Anderson, Roy, Bjornfot, and Walker - then they haven't been watching the playoffs.

It's not about winning the Cup yet. Stop jumping the gun.

I think the absolute worst thing as a fan is when your team is terrible, and you don't even have your 1st round pick.

If they move the 2022 1st rounder, they're really setting up the potential for that scenario.

Look at the Sharks in 2019. An aging team with no hope of contending. They traded their 1st OA pick for Karlsson. That pick turned out to be 3rd OA (Stuetzle).

Let's not make the same embarrassing mistake as SJ.

You protect the pick as much as needed. Problem solved.

 

[DoktorJeep]

AEG cares about revenue first and expense second. When the Kings don’t attract a crowd, the businesses around LA Live take a hit. AEG is the landlord of that whole area, as well as the owner of Staples which loses concession revenues.

It’s a no brainer that Kings crowds have decreased year over year since 2016. During that time, the NBA tenants have both massively outperformed the Kings. Higher ticket prices, more concessions, more utilization of LA Live businesses, higher in arena ad sales, etc. The list goes on and on. And the money brought in by the hockey team has decreased. It’s easy to make a case that the NBA teams have effectively subsidized the Kings owners bottom line in downtown LA.

And the Clippers will soon depart for their own building in Inglewood, with no replacement for AEG. You don’t make that money up with concerts and mega church events. Kings management will 100% be feeling the heat to make money for AEG. The pandemic bought some time, but that’s done now. So hearing rumors of two top six forwards is zero surprise.

What fans who bother to watch this team should ask, is this team two top six forwards away from the playoffs? For me that’s an easy no. Because whoever they are, with the rest of the roster and coaches, if two new guys score 25 goals between them, that will be a shock.

 

[legitarita19]

I think this is being oversold a little bit. I wouldn't be surprised if this meant signing someone like Tatar as a stop gap. Obviously it could be other teams in cap trouble that make a desperate move and LA gets a good player for not a lot of assets.

Still believe that the need for a top 4 Dman is priority. If you get Werenski then you solve two problems. You find a top pairing LD who can play the PP and you also get a #1 or #2 defenseman for a good amount of time.

The biggest unknown is how they decided to use the #8 overall pick. It may be a draft day decision because the top 8 picks are not set in stone. Beyond Power, Edvinsson and Eklund, I believe 4-8 is a crap shoot. Hughes or Clarke could fall to # 8. Guenther may fall to #8. Lots of decisions to make.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

It's totally relevant. People in this thread are bitching about him mouthing off; he's earned it.

You spend most of the year playing Norris caliber hockey on a basement team, doing literally everything one can to win a game, and no one else is carrying their weight...and now he's getting criticized for saying exactly what this forum is thinking, 'hey get me some help,' and people are complaining about it. Which Doughty do people want, the passionate one who cares about winning and is a little mouthy? Or one that just falls in line like a good little soldier?

No wonder this dude is sick of the media when a bunch of armchair cowboys who are saying the literal exact same thing look at his comments and go "hey wait, you can't do that, primadonna."





And he played almost 50% of the playing time including the hardest minutes.

Drew Doughty's salary is earned. Is he overpaid by a million or two at this stage? Sure. But when you have guys like Trouba et. al. making 8-9 million, realize that an all situations dman that can play half a game at a world class level is more valuable than anyone wants to admit.

You and apparently many others are going to be absolutely miserable when you see who Doughty's eventual 'replacement' is.

Pretty f***in sick of this forum acting like players like Anze and Drew grow on trees. Maybe one day they'll be appreciated.

Nobody thinks that DD grows on trees. However, I do think that he needs to stop holding feet to the flames. He talks too much and it's rarely good. I'm all for being a vocal leader, but being a leader and using his platform to vent is 2 different things.

Giving Drew credit for saying what we the fans are thinking is not acceptable to me. He is not a fan. He is the face of the franchise.

 

[SFKingshomer]

You trade a 4th liner so you spend a 4rd pick for a fourth liner.
Your trade a top 6 scorer, you go out and sign a lower tier "scorer"
You bring in a Russian, doesn't work, try signing another Russian, didn't work, sign another ...
You trade a vet defenseman , get a worse vet to replace him
You trade a physical d man, you bring up a big physical dman that can't play hockey
You get rid of a coach, didn't work, hire another , didn't work, hire another...

Rinse and Repeat... see the pattern. Moves made yet no progress, team is stuck in netural and rolling down a hill.
At what point is it enough already? This summer, next summer, in 3 years? If the local Media doesn't call out this crap we Fans need to.

Rebuilding you say.
Well, history says that around half the prospects will underperform and some will bust. So what is the plan then? Before we get to that point in the "plan", we need to start adding quality players and get rid of fillers for NHL talent. This summer we need to do that.

I am not shitting on the rebuild, I am shitting on the tear down and what foundation do we have to support the prospects to allow them to thrive in LA. I don't want a repeat of what happened after the cup wins.

What choice did Blake have? He had an aging team with no cap space and no prospects or draft picks. Did you expect teams to give them NHL ready studs for the players who were struggling here?

 

[Steve Zissou]

Giving Drew credit for saying what we the fans are thinking is not acceptable to me. He is not a fan. He is the face of the franchise.

If you say so, bud.

 

[tomd]

What choice did Blake have? He had an aging team with no cap space and no prospects or draft picks. Did you expect teams to give them NHL ready studs for the players who were struggling here?

But What. Was. The. Plan??

Was it to suck all the way through the contracts of 11 and 8? Or was it to do a quick rebuild and compete with 11 and 8 still around? It has to be one or the other. And if it is the latter, then the time has arrived to add the pieces to be competitive. Why would they wait another year to do that?

 

[Mats26]

What choice did Blake have? He had an aging team with no cap space and no prospects or draft picks. Did you expect teams to give them NHL ready studs for the players who were struggling here?

Not at all, but I expected him to find out why they were all struggling here to begin with. Did we lose the culture? Was it coaching? Talent? All of the above? What exactly happened and how do we prevent that from happening again. We need to build a system\environment that allows players to thrive here. We don't have that now, and I worry the prospects might be affected by this.

 

[The Lukeman]

You trade a 4th liner so you spend a 4rd pick for a fourth liner.
Your trade a top 6 scorer, you go out and sign a lower tier "scorer"
You bring in a Russian, doesn't work, try signing another Russian, didn't work, sign another ...
You trade a vet defenseman , get a worse vet to replace him
You trade a physical d man, you bring up a big physical dman that can't play hockey
You get rid of a coach, didn't work, hire another , didn't work, hire another...

Rinse and Repeat... see the pattern. Moves made yet no progress, team is stuck in netural and rolling down a hill.
At what point is it enough already? This summer, next summer, in 3 years? If the local Media doesn't call out this crap we Fans need to.

Rebuilding you say.
Well, history says that around half the prospects will underperform and some will bust. So what is the plan then? Before we get to that point in the "plan", we need to start adding quality players and get rid of fillers for NHL talent. This summer we need to do that.

I am not shitting on the rebuild, I am shitting on the tear down and what foundation do we have to support the prospects to allow them to thrive in LA. I don't want a repeat of what happened after the cup wins.

I see what you're saying, and you're right. This is the summer the team needs to start realizing the talent. I'm getting a little sick of the "When this player reaches his potential" talk. My expectations for this team are high going into next season. Anything short of a playoff birth will be considered a failure.

Outside of College free agents, I believe that Blake was off to a poor start as GM, with stevens, Kovalchuk, WD, etc. But since the Muzzin trade, I think Blake has done a great job. He moved expiring UFA's for draft picks. He signed McLellan (who I am a lot higher on than most here). He has signed players to good contracts like Iafallo, Roy, and Walker. He hasn't had an overpayment since Kovy.

He has put the team in a good position with over $20 million in cap space to play around with this summer. This summer is the most important offseason in a while. He wants to bring in talent. We need to move away from relying on the Blake Lizottes and Austin Wagners of the team. Those guys are 4th liners on a good team. We need another threat other than Kopitar. Drew Doughty needs a partner still.

UFA/Trade - Kopitar - Kempe
Iafallo - UFA/Trade - Vilardi
Turcotte/AA - Byfield - Brown
Grundstrom - JAD - Moore

UFA/Trade - Doughty
Anderson - Roy
Bjornfot - Walker

Obviously, this is can move around a lot depending on draft day and who sign/trade and im not the coach, but is this lineup a team that can get a wildcard spot? Is there a better team in the pacific outside the oilers and knights?

 

[No Name The Nameless]

If you say so, bud.

A picture says a thousand words but a stupid picture says a thousand stupid things. Give us your opinion.

 

[SFKingshomer]

But What. Was. The. Plan??

Was it to suck all the way through the contracts of 11 and 8? Or was it to do a quick rebuild and compete with 11 and 8 still around? It has to be one or the other. And if it is the latter, then the time has arrived to add the pieces to be competitive. Why would they wait another year to do that?

The initial plan was to retool but that didn’t work because the team was complacent and they started a rebuild about 2.5 years ago. Much like Chicago, they’re handcuffed with 2 huge contracts that are tough to move. The Hawks have had their draft picks arrive sooner and they lucked out on Kubalik wanting to play there. The plan now is to acquire some talent in the age range the Kings are lacking to insulate the kids and play meaningful games down the stretch. I don’t think they’re going to go all in and abandon the long term goal of winning a cup or two.

 

[johnjm22]

AEG cares about revenue first and expense second. When the Kings don’t attract a crowd, the businesses around LA Live take a hit. AEG is the landlord of that whole area, as well as the owner of Staples which loses concession revenues.

It’s a no brainer that Kings crowds have decreased year over year since 2016. During that time, the NBA tenants have both massively outperformed the Kings. Higher ticket prices, more concessions, more utilization of LA Live businesses, higher in arena ad sales, etc. The list goes on and on. And the money brought in by the hockey team has decreased. It’s easy to make a case that the NBA teams have effectively subsidized the Kings owners bottom line in downtown LA.

And the Clippers will soon depart for their own building in Inglewood, with no replacement for AEG. You don’t make that money up with concerts and mega church events. Kings management will 100% be feeling the heat to make money for AEG. The pandemic bought some time, but that’s done now. So hearing rumors of two top six forwards is zero surprise.

What fans who bother to watch this team should ask, is this team two top six forwards away from the playoffs? For me that’s an easy no. Because whoever they are, with the rest of the roster and coaches, if two new guys score 25 goals between them, that will be a shock.

These are the big expenditures Bluc as made:
Doughty Contract: 88M
Kovalchuk Contract: 18.75M
TMac Contract: 25M

The result has been on-ice failure and declining revenue.

Increasing Spending ≠ Increasing Revenues

Considering the above, if you're AEG, would you want to spend more money when Bluc comes to you with their next big idea? Not to mention the terrible business environment AEG has been in for the past year.

 

[Sol]

Our biggest trade is going to and has to include this year's 1st.which I'm cool with.

 

[SFKingshomer]

Not at all, but I expected him to find out why they were all struggling here to begin with. Did we lose the culture? Was it coaching? Talent? All of the above? What exactly happened and how do we prevent that from happening again. We need to build a system\environment that allows players to thrive here. We don't have that now, and I worry the prospects might be affected by this.

Then why trade for other teams headaches like Eichel, Reinhart, Jones, Laine etc? That is the complete opposite of a culture shift. They should do minor moves on vets with character to show the kids how to be pros and work hard. The big moves will come once they know what they have in the system. It would be idiotic and shortsighted to trade any of the kids at this point unless they have soured on them.

 

[Sol]

Kings are in a weird spot though. I can see them going balls deep on a big trade for a younger established star so the can build the new core while they slowly are taken behind the bar one by one.