GDT: 2022-23 season game 79 LA Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights @7:00pm 4/6/23

[ibleedkings]

I don’t know. There’s so much missing from his game that makes it hard to buy in for me.

I do think it’s become clear though that he was the wrong choice.

I said before we even picked him that a lot of his goals in junior came off the rush and that wouldn’t translate in the NHL. I was blasted here like crazy.

 

[Telos]

It is tough, and most will drive themselves mad pointing fingers, but in the end, the team made the playoffs, has been playing injured, and is trying to get and stay healthy for the postseason. This year's results matter more than anything and I am going to reserve my ire and disappointment for the offseason if it comes to that.

Like everyone, I am disappointed with lineups, player utilization, individual performances, and Byfield's development. Byfield is an enigma. He has all the tools to be great but lacks the ability to execute and/or the confidence to do so. He is still young, but so far is exhibiting more and more scary and dangerous signs of going in the opposite direction. Will continue to hold my breath on him for another season or two, but it is definitely fair to be critical and worried about him at this point despite his age. I think he will, at least, turn into a quality 2nd line-playmaking winger, but obviously, that would be a far shot of what anyone had hoped for him.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

It is tough, and most will drive themselves mad pointing fingers, but in the end, the team made the playoffs, has been playing injured, and is trying to get and stay healthy for the postseason. This year's results matter more than anything and I am going to reserve my ire and disappointment for the offseason if it comes to that.

Like everyone, I am disappointed with lineups, player utilization, individual performances, and Byfield's development. Byfield is an enigma. He has all the tools to be great but lacks the ability to execute and/or the confidence to do so. He is still young, but so far is exhibiting more and more scary and dangerous signs of going in the opposite direction. Will continue to hold my breath on him for another season or two, but it is definitely fair to be critical and worried about him at this point despite his age. I think he will, at least, turn into a quality 2nd line-playmaking winger, but obviously, that would be a far shot of what anyone had hoped for him.

Agree with every sentence of this.

 

[Pucknut50]

Stutzle scored more in his rookie year than Byfield has in his entire NHL career.

I get there are projects and prospects develop at their own speeds, some much slower than others. Byfield still has a chance to become a good player in this league. But we need to stop deluding ourselves. Stutzle is the better player now and in the near future. There is no argument.

Does anyone legitimately see Quinton Byfield becoming a 40 goal point per game forward in this league? Please wake the f*** up. Unlike in years past, he has been given every opportunity to succeed since his call up. He has played top line minutes with both Kempe and Kopitar. PP time. The full platter. And what has he done with it? A smattering of assists and three f***ing goals?

He has completely shrunk in the face of meaningful playoff-like hockey down the stretch. That’s damning in my book. He never asserts himself. He plays piss pants scared. Not physical. Not anything. Just a big dumb talented hockey player, all the tools and no toolbox.

I really started to throw my support behind QB this back half of the season, but the way he has wilted in the face of pressure these past 7-8 games really bothers me.

Eight games in a row now without a single point. Embarrassing for a player of his talent, draft pedigree, TOI, and opportunity.

 

[jgs]

When you have a pick in the top 5 and especially 2nd overall. You have to hit big with that pick. You don't pick a project player at that position. project players should be taken in the second or later rounds. Teams that blow their first round picks never amount to anything. look at Turcotte, top 5 pick, been in the minors what 4 years know and is nowhere NHL ready and most likely never will.

 

[Herby]

I wasn't pointing in your direction necessarily.

Byfield was selected exactly where he was ranked so I don't see this as the egg on Blake's face that people make it out to be.

Kid can't even get a beer yet, I don't see him as a player who needs to prove anything at this point.

It's not as much a criticism of QB as it is just a praise for Stutzle and the remarkable start to his career that he has had. That is why saying in hindsight that the Kings made the wrong pick is not the same as saying QB sucks or is a bust.

 

[Nasti]

At least half the teams in the league would have picked Byfield. This isn’t a case where you can say the Kings scouting sucks. The entire hockey world saw Byfield and Stutzle as neck and neck. So far, the project label was correct. Nothing has really changed except for some reason people think once the player is drafted, he should no longer be a project because we need help now. Anything is possible with Byfield but lack of patience is really on the fans rather than the player.

 

[bland]

At least half the teams in the league would have picked Byfield. This isn’t a case where you can say the Kings scouting sucks. The entire hockey world saw Byfield and Stutzle as neck and neck. So far, the project label was correct. Nothing has really changed except for some reason people think once the player is drafted, he should no longer be a project because we need help now. Anything is possible with Byfield but lack of patience is really on the fans rather than the player.

And that lack of patience is largely due to management trying to accomplish two opposing goals simultaneously.

If you want to properly develop players you have to be patient. If you want to win now, patience is no virtue. Byfield is on pace for what SHOULD have been expected from him, but what they NEED from him as a top line winger chasing a division title is clearly not there yet.

Its undue pressure on somebody who probably feels very down on himself for not knowing how to play at that level yet. Hopefully it doesn't do irreparable harm.

 

[kingsfan28]

Holy ship the Kraken, have CHi, AZ and end with 2 against LV when they may be locked in position and resting players.
Probably starting Quick.
We could end up with Avs in round 1 , or whoever tops the central behind top Pacific

The Kings will probably end up with 104 if they can get their shit together.
Seattle would need to get to 104, which they can only do if they win out. They're not beating Vegas twice.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

In about 8min of ice-time, MacEwen was a -2, and had 10 PIMs.

He's not an NHL player. Get him off the ice.

To be fair, he was a -2 with 10 penalty minutes after the first period with 1:10 of ice time, so improvement!!!

 

[King'sPawn]

It's not as much a criticism of QB as it is just a praise for Stutzle and the remarkable start to his career that he has had. That is why saying in hindsight that the Kings made the wrong pick is not the same as saying QB sucks or is a bust.

You don't think, "he only scores in rushes" and "there has been zero growth to his game" are criticisms?

 

[Herby]

You don't think, "he only scores in rushes" and "there has been zero growth to his game" are criticisms?

I was more talking about the general idea of why the Kings made the wrong pick. The Kings made the wrong pick because Stutzle is a huge star more than it is because Byfield is some kind of for sure failure.

The scoring off the rush thing is not fair, because lower levels of hockey lack structure and often involve the best players just dominating because that gives their teams the best chance to win. I think it's wrong when people cherry pick certain instances and pretend it doesn't happen everywhere, whether it is fans on this forum doing it or the man in your avatar doing it. Both were unfair criticisms.

I would argue that Byfield's offensive game has not had zero offensive growth, but not the kind of offensive growth that would be expected of a player taken that high and with the skillset he has. I also think the Kings wasted about 60 games worth of potential progress with the AHL nonsense which certainly didn't help the player.

Next year is a big year for QB, there has to be some kind of step taken where he looks like a legit top 6 player for the entire season.

 

[SmytheKing]

Next year is a big year for QB, there has to be some kind of step taken where he looks like a legit top 6 player for the entire season.

I feel like this is something that's been said for the past two off-season's though. At what point is the realization that the "big step" isn't going to happen? That it's just going to be a little more progress and then the peak is what it is? He'll be a 3rd line C or a contributing winger on the 2nd line for several years.

I'm just not sure why folks still think he can be a 1st line center. Whether or not half the teams in the NHL would have taken him is irrelevant. It'd been a bad pick by them too. They happen EVERY draft. This one just happened to have happened to the Kings. Instead of lamenting it, they need to figure out the solution. I see two choices:

1. You just ride it out and try to win one more before the wheels fall off in two years.
2. You throw in the towel and move Doughty and Kopitar and start over.

There's never a "let's compete and hope we can keep it going for 20 years by plugging in FA's" path that works. Eventually those FA's take up a lot of cap room and all of your prospects are middle of the road 3rd liners.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I feel like this is something that's been said for the past two off-season's though. At what point is the realization that the "big step" isn't going to happen? That it's just going to be a little more progress and then the peak is what it is? He'll be a 3rd line C or a contributing winger on the 2nd line for several years.

I'm going to give him an offseason without a broken leg or an illness making him lose 20 pounds before I throw dirt on his casket.

 

[Surf Nutz]

I hope with Tmac's expiring contract, Blake looks for an upgrade in coach.
Someone with a better playoff record.
Not a history of losing series after gaining the lead.
Playoffs and next year will decide who coaches or if Tmac is resigned.
The season after that Blake's tenure is in the balance.
Makar is healing up and will probably be back, and the Avs are winning without him.
I will take LV, or the sOil over that.
The kings were right there against the sOil and LV was hopefully a one off.
And with Fiala very likely to be back,, we have a shot.
I am hopeful we get Ando.
Less hopeful about GV and I feel Edler would help'
Major step back on Korpi, goals 1 and 5 especially.'
Not sure we can't find another cheaper , better alternative.
Hopefully he can bounce back.
Copper's been better the last 2 games he played.
Byfield and Turcotte need to be held and allowed to break out ala Kempe and GV.
No point in trading them for peanuts.
A lot of catastrophization here.
If you don't think ownership and executive management is watching and knows whats going on you are a simp.
They just don't share your one sided views on Blake.
Blake bolstered the team to go for it and then injuries hit the key defensive player and key offensive players.
Of course the uber critics here are going to pounce and deny these intensifiers.

tmac doesnt even give him much PP time- and when you have that elite level shot the coaches job is to put him in position to take advantage and utilize the tools he has.

I watched him lose possession on the PP multiple times recently.

 

[Herby]

At least half the teams in the league would have picked Byfield. This isn’t a case where you can say the Kings scouting sucks.

The Kings scouting doesn't suck, but the Kings development decisions absolutely suck. They sucked on Byfield, they sucked on Turcotte, they sucked on Clarke. Those are only the three highest picks of the last dozen years. No teams handle similar players the way the Kings handled those three. There have already been clear negative effects from the first two, lets see if Clarke can overcome it or if he will be damaged too.

 

[King'sPawn]

The Kings scouting doesn't suck, but the Kings development decisions absolutely suck. They sucked on Byfield, they sucked on Turcotte, they sucked on Clarke. Those are only the three highest picks of the last dozen years. No teams handle similar players the way the Kings handled those three. There have already been clear negative effects from the first two, lets see if Clarke can overcome it or if he will be damaged too.

This is why I kept harping that trading away Kopitar, Doughty, etc doesn't make a difference if you aren't making sure your development decisions adequately prepare prospects going forward.

I'm still holding out hope that Byfield, Vilardi, Turcotte, Clarke, etc all work out. But waiting until your second overall pick's D+3 season to TRY him on the top line regularly is something I've never agreed with.

 

[Herby]

This is why I kept harping that trading away Kopitar, Doughty, etc doesn't make a difference if you aren't making sure your development decisions adequately prepare prospects going forward.

I'm still holding out hope that Byfield, Vilardi, Turcotte, Clarke, etc all work out. But waiting until your second overall pick's D+3 season to TRY him on the top line regularly is something I've never agreed with.

It's just frustrating, because it's both rushing and slow-playing, with the one common theme being intense AHL usage and "paying dues" at both the AHL level and on the bottom lines of the NHL team.

I wonder if there is any awareness at all that other teams are doing things so drastically different with high draft picks?

 

[SmytheKing]

I'm going to give him an offseason without a broken leg or an illness making him lose 20 pounds before I throw dirt on his casket.

I totally understand that, and I'm not going to begrudge anyone from believing...but I just do not see it. He'll be a fine complementary piece but I've seen nothing at all that leads me to believe he'll be worth the draft capital that was spent on him.

I hope to GOD I'm wrong, but outside of a handful of of moments in a handful of games...I'm not buying it.

 

[Surf Nutz]

In about 8min of ice-time, MacEwen was a -2, and had 10 PIMs.

He's not an NHL player. Get him off the ice.

We need a deterrent many nights and he is what we got right now.
Lemiuex was a liability as the officials were taxing him but maybe they tax the Kings overall more than I relaized.
Using McDicvids 2 minute minor on his concussion hit on Mikey, Mcewe should have reciece a 2 minute or no penalty at all on that hit to the sice where he backed off and did not drive the player into the boards.
And its the catch the retaliation m.o. we see over and over.
Proves we would have paid double or quadruple for any forms of payback on McDichead and the sOilers

Sometimes people get busy with life and posting on HF boards is not the center of their existence.
It seems like the better peoples counterpoints are the more personal the original poster takes it and then the name calling starts.

Byfield is an acknowledged project pick who is 20 years old.
Stutzle is miles ahead right now and benefited from a losing team that had space for him to play in a greenlight manner.
Not where the Kings are or how they operate, especially with Tmac in the toll booth.

I wanted Kempe launched right before he broke out.. he was a case of darkest before the dawn - taking dumb penalties every game, not producing for shit.. then all of a sudden he decided to aggressively shoot and found his shot was very hard and accurate . Its that experience that tempers my disappointment with Byfield so far.

Byf. was playing a good game and opening up space and the top line benefited while his stats only did marginally.
His shot/finishing/ hex is concerning, especially with him and the line being less effective.
Probably too late to switch it up now and try to have other players reintegrate.
Except maybe Iafallo who has a lot of previous experience with Kopi.
I would consider Iaf with Kempe, Kopi now, HEAVILY, for a look.
Tough decisions cropping up all over for player usage and minutes.
For the playoffs, I keep the top 3 lines what they were before Fiala injury, Grundstrom in for Vialla if he is still out.
Except considering Iafallo on line 1, but that needs to be looked at pre playoffs.
On D I put Bjo with Dough, unless Mikey is back, Gavri and Roy, Durzi and Walker unless Edler is back. then its Durzi and Edler.'
Copper in goal.
Most guys are not in top 2 lines, top 2 pairs on a short leash.

The Foauxst hexxing neeeds to be curbed!

 

[bouncesonly]

His passing skill is already evident, but he still needs to fill out more(with muscle) and work on shooting the puck. To go 30+ games w/out scoring a goal is crazy, even for his young age. When the goals are not coming, then he needs to get some ugly goals in front of the net to get going! The more he goes to the net, more likely he scores some goals.

He's at ~50 shots on goal the 30 games. With a ridiculous 20% shooting average, that'd still be just 10 goals

 

[Sol]

At least half the teams in the league would have picked Byfield. This isn’t a case where you can say the Kings scouting sucks. The entire hockey world saw Byfield and Stutzle as neck and neck. So far, the project label was correct. Nothing has really changed except for some reason people think once the player is drafted, he should no longer be a project because we need help now. Anything is possible with Byfield but lack of patience is really on the fans rather than the player.

I don’t think that’s exactly true. I remember seeing many people cast doubt about Byfield for the same reason we are now. There’s no doubt that most of Byfields hype was based upon the speculation that he was the unicorn type player that everyone would want, but it’s a fight against a high probability that he won’t achieve it.

Stutzle was always the safer bet because he was known what he was going to be. Byfield was always based on hope. People saw 6’5 with speed and got chills.

I would bet that most people would have picked Stutzle because everyone knew he was going to be a really good player.


And I think the impatience is true to a very small extent. Byfield has shown nothing to be excited about yet and it’s been a couple years in.

Whenever you have a project you keep people confident in you by updating them on the process.

Byfield is showing very little improvement. If any. And many can argue that stagnation is regression. All the reasons I didn’t like Byfield have come true. The only thing I didn’t expect from Byfield is to have an abysmal shot which RJ was knocking on Stutzle for nonstop.

Byfield was supposed to have a great shot but he looks like shit out there.

 

[Surf Nutz]

The Kings will probably end up with 104 if they can get their shit together.
Seattle would need to get to 104, which they can only do if they win out. They're not beating Vegas twice.

The Canucks are a bad matchup for the Kings
I think Krak will have any tiebreaker.
Vegas may be locked into a playoff position, resting players and starting Quick.
Quick could play like he did for the Kings.
I don't want a rested, healed Makar and the Avs.

The Kings scouting doesn't suck, but the Kings development decisions absolutely suck. They sucked on Byfield, they sucked on Turcotte, they sucked on Clarke. Those are only the three highest picks of the last dozen years. No teams handle similar players the way the Kings handled those three. There have already been clear negative effects from the first two, lets see if Clarke can overcome it or if he will be damaged too.

Look at all the recent injuries to the Kings as soon as playoff position hockey started.
You gotta get these guys ready to play PLAYOFF hockey against the biggest, strongest, fastest, most skilled players in the world.
The path ther runs through the AHL and its desperados, not pushing them onto a NHL team trying to get into the playoffs, and potentially a run at the cup..
Or coddling them in college hockey.
THe AHL needs to bolster its rules, refereeing, player safety and the Kings need to structure players to keep their heads up, on a swivel and back down if in a dangerous position as they adjust to the AHL and the PRO game.

Making players solid team members able to play on both sides of the puck and to the little things right is a good thing.
It frustrates the posters here to no end.

 

[Nasti]

The Kings scouting doesn't suck, but the Kings development decisions absolutely suck. They sucked on Byfield, they sucked on Turcotte, they sucked on Clarke. Those are only the three highest picks of the last dozen years. No teams handle similar players the way the Kings handled those three. There have already been clear negative effects from the first two, lets see if Clarke can overcome it or if he will be damaged too.

I don’t dispute the development criticisms. But there are too many people, Kings and Sens fans, who keep saying Byfield was the wrong pick simply because of what has been accomplished now. They could very well be saying the opposite if the Kings development staff got a hold of Stutzle instead.

 

[bouncesonly]

I feel like this is something that's been said for the past two off-season's though. At what point is the realization that the "big step" isn't going to happen? That it's just going to be a little more progress and then the peak is what it is? He'll be a 3rd line C or a contributing winger on the 2nd line for several years.

I'm just not sure why folks still think he can be a 1st line center. Whether or not half the teams in the NHL would have taken him is irrelevant. It'd been a bad pick by them too. They happen EVERY draft. This one just happened to have happened to the Kings. Instead of lamenting it, they need to figure out the solution. I see two choices:

Even though Byfield's performance hasn't been what we'd hope, you can't right him off just yet as a 1st line center. Consider Mika Zibanejad, he didn't turn in a 1st line center performance until his 3rd year, with the Rangers....which would be his 8th year in the league. Byfield clearly has talent; it'd be almost inconceivable he doesn't eventually score his way to a big contract. Who here predicted Kempe with back to back 30+ goal seasons? Especially after a contract extension? Gotta give Byfield time. How his timeline fits in with the other shenanigans by Blake and Todd.....