Doughty and Kopitar can be moved. They just can't be moved in a way that would be advantageous for the Kings.
Well past the time to let the fantasy go.
I agree but I think it's very visible that late in games and on B2Bs he is absolutely hurting, dude could hardly get up and down the ice in OT.
He's 34 and has played more hockey than nearly anyone in the world over the last decade...he's still an amazing player but I don't see why this org doesn't believe in 'load management' for him and Drew especially with the depth behind them that can play the defensive minutes so they can get some softer minutes.
You don't want upper management to make ice time decisions. Upper management can not give a coach a veteran option, but if they do give him one, you have to let the coach do what he wants to do. Or get another coach. Who will likely do the same thing anyway, but maybe a really old or really young coach won't know any better, and will keep Kopitar on the bench because they want to be cool.
Hopefully the organization isn't to blame. If old men are playing 22min, that has to be the fault of the coach. If BLuc are dictating TOI, then the Kings have much bigger problems than whatever else is going on. Give a coach weapons, or not, but then you have to step back.
I think you are hyper-vigilant on that point, I seem the same speed from the 1st to the 3rd etc.....been that way since they won......very even keel, he's never had McDavid Speed, but he's never been "slow"
Since they won 2011-2021
Kopitar has the most minutes by a forward at 16,185....then
Giroux - 15470
Kane - 15398
Ovechkin - 15265
ROR - 14980
He;s had the 3rd most shifts, behind Pavelski, and Giroux
And average TOI
McDavid - 21:38
Kopitar
Kane
St Louis
Crosby
ROR
Eichel - 20:19
Kopitars scoring per 60 5 on 5
2011-2012 - 2.10 - TOI - 21:20
2012-2013 - 2.04 - TOI - 20:29
2013-2014 - 2.01 - TOI - 20:53
2014-2015 - 1.77 - TOI - 19:25
2015-2016 - 2.19 - TOI - 20:52
2016-2017 - 1.39 - TOI - 20:46
2017-2018 - 2.25 - TOI - 22:05
2018-2019 - 1.55 - TOI - 22:18
2019-2020 - 1.70 - TOI - 21:02
2020-2021 - 1.75 - TOI - 21:11
2021 - 2022 - 2.01 - TOI - 21:22
Are there other factors in play, of course, but I don't see what you are seeing, he's not averaging 24-25 minutes a game, he's 8th in Average TOI per game, and 56th in SH, though most above him are bottom six, the top sixers above him playing more SH are RNH, Zibnajead, Huberdeau, Marner, Backlund, Barkov, Couturier, Miller, Aho, Lindholm, and Eriksson Ek, and Kopitar is 18th in PP toi per game,
The numbers from what I can tell, aren't telling the story you are.
It's relative to the rest of the Kings team, not to the league as a whole. What we thought, or hoped, would happen, and I think Blake did mention it, at least in some form, was that bringing Danault in would decrease the burden on Kopitar. What's happened instead, is that Kopitar's ice time is the same, and Danault has been playing the 5th most total and ES ice time over the last 2 years for forwards on the team. Lizotte has had his time cut a bit. Kupari barely played any games last year, but his time is technically lower than last year. Vilardi, when he was here, was playing less. A minute and a half less. Moore was a C for a few games, and his minutes are down from last year. JAD played less on average in the couple games he's gotten. Turcotte is at 11min, 10:30 at ES. Andersson, like Moore, got a couple games at C, and his minutes are down.
Maybe TM is just a very generic coach. Like most coaches, you give him a vet, he's going to play him. Give a coach like TM Kopitar and Danault, and he's going to play Kopitar and Danult instead of other guys, not Danault instead of Kopitar. I don't think anyone thought that was going to happen. Then again, we thought someone like Vilardi would have more of a role on the team. Maybe if Vilardi had been better, or Byfield hadn't gotten hurt, that plus Danault would take Kopitar's minutes down. Or, Kopitar would keep getting thrown out there every shift, Danault would get his minutes, Vilardi/Byfield would be getting theirs, and whoever was the 4C would be getting like 5min a game.
But TM is a coach, and he's trying to win every game. He's not coaching for 2 years from now. He's coaching for tonight. If that means he thinks Kopitar has to play 25min, then Kopitar will end up playing for 25min.
Even older than Kopitar Getzlaf is not only playing 19min a night, but he's leading the Ducks in F ice time. Now the Ducks have been better than the Kings, they have more young guys producing than the Kings, but they didn't bring in any vets over the summer. Not that that's stopped Getzlaf from not playing. He's playing 3 more min per game than last year, and he's 2 years older than Kopitar.
I think it's just a matter of people probably had the image of Kopitar's ice time going down with Danault here, not every non-Kopitar center having their ice time cut.
