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GDT: 2021-22 season game 47 LA Kings vs Detroit Red Wings @4:30pm 2/2/22

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Herby said:
I respectfully disagree.

The Kings are in a playoff race and have a pretty large hole on the roster that they have tried to fill with a lot of younger players, if they thought Gabe was the guy I think he'd be up right now in a role that ideally he fits pretty well, a lower-pressure scoring role on a bottom six next to a center with elite talent and a consistent 20G speedster on the other side, you couldn't ask for a better role for Gabe, but for some reason they won't do it.

Gabe is in his D+5 and turns 23 later this year, he is kind of past development stage, especially with a season in the NHL already. I wish they would give him a shot, because I think he'd provide more offense than the guys who have tried and not worked out (Kupari, Brown, Turcotte, Grundstrom, Andersson) but it just seems that for whatever reason (likely skating), they don't think he can be an asset for the current team.
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I totally understand your take. I do think there's a reason why Gabe played wing next to Byfield when he was sent to Ontario. I'm hoping that they'll hit it off with some chemistry when Gabe gets recalled.

Right now Athanasiou and Brown are in the way, but that might be resolved by trading Athanasiou, COVID, or injury.
 
apocalypse said:
Success is progressing as a player. To do that, you need to put up points. To put up points, you need a fully functioning line. Brown doesn't fit the mold of an NHL player anymore.
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They wouldn't have Byfield on the 3rd line if they expected him to put up points that equate to his draft projection. So, as I said, you are wrong...the organization is not looking at his point total as a metric for success.
 
Herby said:
So you want to (I assume) break up the Kings red hot 2nd line in the middle of a playoff race to make QB's life easier? He is playing in a 3rd line role with a 20 goal, 40 point forward. You act like he's playing with 2015 Mike Richards and Nick Shore.

This is not a development year, do I wish it was? Yes, I said so as much in the summer when the Kings brought in all these guys. The Kings are trying to make the playoffs and as of right now they are in a playoff spot. This is what Blake and TM wanted, not to prepare QB for down the road. If any of the older 1st round centers the Kings drafted in the years before him had actually been able seize a spot by now he might not even be playing in the role he's in now.
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I mean, didn't they break up Iafallo - Danault - Kempe when they moved Kempe up to the first line? The line seemed to hold its own for the most part.

Then didn't they break up Iafallo - Danault - Arvidsson when they moved Iafallo up to the first line? The line is now red hot according to you.

Why are we expecting Moore - Danault - Arvidsson will lead to failure?

The veterans are the ones who should be a bit more flexible than expecting a rookie learning the pace of the game to also play in a new role as a bottom-six player. Moore or Iafallo are the perfect players to line up with a rookie center, as they are very adaptable and versatile and skilled enough to help put up points.

The ice time could also be distributed more equitably. Again, one of the goals was to make sure Kopitar's line didn't have to be trotted out 20+ minutes a night and kill penalties.
 
My hope WRT the organization's GV handling since the demotion is that they want to give him as much time as possible to learn to play wing and master that position before coming up. That way he can seamlessly slot into a winger spot as a permanent fixture -- instead of still learning on the job in LA and potentially running into struggles. I know that's probably wishful thinking....but that's my hope.
 
Herby said:
It is a myth that AA is an offensive black hole. He has played 61 games for the Kings and has 14G and 31 points. That translates to 19 goals and 42 points over a full 82. That is about on par with what Iafallo has done his entire career here, and with better linemates.

I don't particularly like the guy. I think the mercenary description is right, he's really not a guy who has ever been on good teams but it's really a stretch to say that he is holding anyone back offensively. But why try dumping him only to replace him with younger players who have not scored at the same level he has on the same team.

For a team that doesn't have a lot of offensively gifted players he is fine in his current role, he isn't holding QB back.
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He's not an offensive black hole. On the contrary, I think he's an excellent player on a team with crappy depth because he's instant offense, like Kovalchuk.

Similarly, though, he's a puck possession atrocity and a total liability on this side of the red line. THAT is why it's a bad match w/Byfield and Brown--Byfield's only possibilities for advancing the puck are to either make the defensive play himself or get it from a dman and then hope Brown is in position for a give and go or give it to AA to turn over. Brown isn't skating the puck thru the neutral zone so the D doesn't even glance at him, and AA is a soft turnover waiting to happen so they just double up on Byfield and AA, forcing QB to overhandle or dump with no help on his line to forecheck.

It is what it is at this point, just get through it going into the break and sort it out on the other side.
 
I dont see a spot for Lias either. He's just got over taken by better players. With that said, I do think the Kings need to give Vilardi another shot at wing on Byfields line. Id sit AA for that opportunity. I think its kinda ridiculous that he's not being given another shot

there's no spot for Walker, Andersson, Matta and potentially Vilardi if he keeps falling.

Kings should look to making a trade for some picks, or put a nice package with Vilardi for a LD to get rid of Maatta.
 
bouncesonly said:
Or...if he is the player everyone hopes he is, QB will elevate the plays of Brown and AA.
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That's hilarious since Hall of Famer Kopitar couldn't do it. You think Brown is graciously playing on the misfit line because he volunteered to be the veteran presence for rookies?
 
bouncesonly said:
Or...if he is the player everyone hopes he is, QB will elevate the plays of Brown and AA.
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He's already shown he can elevate brown beyond what kopitar could do this year (without AA anyway).

It's when he was thrown ANOTHER anchor in AA this shit started coming undone. No center in the NHL can outskate those problems.

Can see the stats here: Line Stats - Natural Stat Trick

Summary: Byfield Brown > Kopitar Brown (albeit much smaller sample). AA is an absolute drag as an individual. Brown is plodding along but not awful individually. Kopitar is awesome regardless, but much better without Brown. Byfield is absolutely unstoppable without those two.

Also Byfield with AA is awful...but Kopitar with AA, as an illustration--22% cf% and ZERO goals for percentage.

Again, Byfield has PLENTY to learn...all he's gonna learn from Brown and AA in combination is how to drown.
 
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Raccoon Jesus said:
He's already shown he can elevate brown beyond what kopitar could do this year (without AA anyway).

It's when he was thrown ANOTHER anchor in AA this shit started coming undone. No center in the NHL can outskate those problems.
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Since AA has joined that line the performance has plummeted. Cratered even.
 
cyclones22 said:
Since AA has joined that line the performance has plummeted. Cratered even.
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AA is possession armageddon and putting him with Brown is a terrible idea no matter WHO the third linemate is. I'm convinced they could turn Danault into a plug.
 
Raccoon Jesus said:
AA is possession armageddon and putting him with Brown is a terrible idea no matter WHO the third linemate is. I'm convinced they could turn Danault into a plug.
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When AA joined Danault, Danault dropped anywhere from 8% to 10% in possession. Danault is over 60% with VA, Kempe, Moore and Iaffalo. Add AA to the mix and he's barely over break even. The law of averages eventually catches up to you. If you're getting your teeth kicked in on shots against, your line will be punished.
 
Raccoon Jesus said:
He's already shown he can elevate brown beyond what kopitar could do this year (without AA anyway).

It's when he was thrown ANOTHER anchor in AA this shit started coming undone. No center in the NHL can outskate those problems.

Can see the stats here: Line Stats - Natural Stat Trick

Summary: Byfield Brown > Kopitar Brown (albeit much smaller sample). AA is an absolute drag as an individual. Brown is plodding along but not awful individually. Kopitar is awesome regardless, but much better without Brown. Byfield is absolutely unstoppable without those two.

Also Byfield with AA is awful...but Kopitar with AA, as an illustration--22% cf% and ZERO goals for percentage.

Again, Byfield has PLENTY to learn...all he's gonna learn from Brown and AA in combination is how to drown.
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Plus I think the Kings can play QB and Brown sheltered minutes, where as you need Kopitar to play against top competition and start anywhere on the ice.
 
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Once again I'm forced to choose the USMNT over the Kings to watch tonight. The only head coach more annoying to me right now than TMc is Gregg Berhalter.
 
There's a reason why AA couldn't get a sniff until the woeful Kings gave him a prove-it deal last season and it has nothing to do with his individual skill.

Going into the season, I wanted Iafallo on a line with QB so he could have a steady vet with smarts and scoring touch to ease his transition. Figured this would help to lead to more zone time and more "structured" reps v. the one-and-done that was a criticism of his OHL days. What he has now are the two wingers that will provide the least amount of zone time and are bad defensively going the other way: it's no surprise that QB's defensive shortcomings have been on full display since he's been attached to a former Green Jacket winner.

I said heading into Byfield's first game this season that I would break up the Kopitar line. They are getting points on this road trip though and will be fine with him getting NHL minutes with whoever as long as he can still get in 11-13 minutes, isn't complete garbage and they keep getting points. Is what it is at this point.
 
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Not that I'm a big fan of AA or anything, but I will say this. Somewhere I read the Kings are 2nd overall in Expected Goals For but only 21st in actual goals.

Getting another Corsi God who can't finish is a waste of time.

AA sucks the life out of any line that he plays on, but I'm willing to bet he's the only King whose Actual Goals For is higher than his Expected Goals For.

Nothing people on this board don't already know... but we need finishers.
 
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