GDT: 2023-24 Season Game 1 LA Kings vs Colorado Avalanche @7:00pm 10/11/23

[Sol]

Can’t wait to see people like JohnJm and Axl do mental gymnastics to pretend that this loss has nothing to do with the fact that we’ve all been harping on the fact that the Kings have no goaltending.

 

[Fishhead]

I'd go with Copley for a while. Not that he's much better, but there is more familiarity. I noticed Talbot was not on the same page as his D a lot of times tonight. Can't give up a bad goal when f***ing Rantanen is going apeshit out there, either.

Roy struggled a lot, wasn't expecting that. Laferierre looked really solid. Fiala was off a bit too. Byfield looked really fast and good. Definitely more confident.

Overall whatever, we know how the Kings play in most openers. But goaltending is the obvious issue. A positive is Laferierre looks like he can make someone expendable already. I expected his game to transfer eventually but not this fast. He looks better in the NHL than he looked in most Harvard games last year.

 

[DoktorJeep]

This team isn't a Stanley Cup contender regardless with a goaltender. Who thought this team was a serious contender on here? Until the goaltender is fix, (and) some toughness that can score is iced, this team will be just a playoff team.

I know he’s not on here, that we know of, but the team President believes this is one of the top ten teams in the league and a contender.

 

[BaileyFan]

No real surprises tonight. Even shorthanded and with no Arvidsson this could've been a 4-4 game with all the PP's and chances we had. The Kings are going to feast on bad teams with bad goalies. If they had a good goalie they can probably hang with teams like the Avs but what they have in net now is just so far from that level.

Someone said it earlier but if Talbot looks like this in a few more starts they need to seriously consider pulling the plug before he hits his 10 games played bonus. Gonna need every penny of that cap space next year to bring in an actual goalie.

 

[Fishhead]

This team isn't a Stanley Cup contender regardless with a goaltender. Who thought this team was a serious contender on here? Until the goaltender is fix, (and) some toughness that can score is iced, this team will be just a playoff team.

Not as constructed now, obviously, but with a good goaltender? They would be tough to handle for any team in a series. With better goaltending tonight I think at worst they go to OT.

 

[King'sPawn]

Bjornfot on his wrong side still outplayed Englund on his natural side. And he still played only 10 minutes to Englund's 12.

Byfield with under 17 minutes. And he was 12th among all forwards in ice time.

So in the "Around the League" thread where I pointed out that Seth Jarvis (from the same draft class as Byfield) led all forwards and had almost 22 minutes. I asked if Byfield would get more than 17 minutes or be top 10 among all forwards in time on ice. And the answer is no to both.

Stutzle got almost 22 minutes, and was second among all forwards (5 fewer seconds than Jarvis).

What a rebuilt team. Two of their top-10 picks in the past 5 years are in the AHL, and their other one is getting middle-six minutes.

Hopefully Kempe or Danault aren't hurt from the boards they took. Because they wouldn't be able to call up anyone else.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Can’t wait to see people like JohnJm and Axl do mental gymnastics to pretend that this loss has nothing to do with the fact that we’ve all been harping on the fact that the Kings have no goaltending.

Bustfield looked good, eh?

 

[King'sPawn]

We shipped our talent (Vilardi) to Wpg.

Well, more than just Vilardi. Kupari and Iafallo along with a pick. Iafallo has more points than Dubois.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

That's probably the best I've seen Byfield look and play...keep it coming and keep the Energy up,good things come to those that work their ass off

 

[Sol]

Bustfield looked good, eh?

That’s just one player, how did the defense and goaltending look? Lmfaooo

 

[ru4reals]

First game of the season and against Colorado so not going to worry too much. Just need a goaltender neither of these guys are gonna cut it. We all know that. Turcs might be a piece we can trade perhaps for anything at this point.

 

[Herby]

The players who could be traded to address the goaltending

Roy - Expiring contract, but that is a positive to some teams. Really small cap hit for this season, will probably make $5-6m on his next contract. The expiring contract and the surplus of RHD in Clarke and Spence.

Moore - Are Turcottte and Laf capable of producing at the offensive level Moore did a couple of years ago? Probably not, but again this is a player with a pretty big cap hit with young players on ELC's that could replace a lot of what he does. 10 team no trade list and he could be strategic and block trades to teams with excess goaltending but that could open him up to being dealt somewhere he doesn't want to go.

Danault - Probably the least likely due to to NTC, and the inability of Byfield, Turcotte and JAD to be decent C's at the NHL level. But a pretty big cap hit, and probably has the most value to teams with a goalie to trade. Possibly he would consider moving his NTC, especially if he were being traded to a contending team. I'd prefer to trade Moore or Roy, but if Danault was willing to go and it brought back the needed goaltender I think you have to consider it and just see what Turcotte can do as the 3C.

 

[tny760]

Bustfield looked good, eh?

 

[AbsentMojo]

Any idea why Dubois line matched against Makinnon most of the game? That shouldev been Danault

 

[Moses Doughty]

Colorado was straight up the better team today anyways, but Grundstrom cannot take that lazy penalty in a 1-0 game. The goals and resulting momentum change were killers

 

[Sol]

I liked PLD today too. I don’t think he was bad. I think their goaltending was the difference as well
As the defense. I just can’t wrap my head around the idea of a GM playing chess with strictly rooks and no bishops or knights. I can’t fathom how that was a good idea by Blake.

 

[KINGS17]

Here's the thing...this is the same shitty management style the Kings had back when Robitaille and Blake played here.

They don't know how to build anything. We are right back to the "just get into the playoffs, and anything can happen" hope BS mentality.

 

[AbsentMojo]

I liked PLD today too. I don’t think he was bad. I think their goaltending was the difference as well
As the defense. I just can’t wrap my head around the idea of a GM playing chess with strictly rooks and no bishops or knights. I can’t fathom how that was a good idea by Blake.

Blake doesnt play chess, just checkers

 

[EmuRidingLuffy]

People on Twatter saying Coach said Arvy is dead. Merely an adjustment. Good stuff.

 

[Telos]

Any idea why Dubois line matched against Makinnon most of the game? That shouldev been Danault

We had to keep Danault fresh for the first powerplay unit.

 

[Herby]

This team isn't a Stanley Cup contender regardless with a goaltender. Who thought this team was a serious contender on here? Until the goaltender is fix, (and) some toughness that can score is iced, this team will be just a playoff team.

Many fans here questioned the decision to end the rebuild. But when people are fed lies like "Ahead of schedule on the rebuild" (Pravda) or "we are one of the 8 true contenders" (Robitaille) they believe it.

I just look at this team and I don't see how what they did after the 20-21 season was ever a smart thing. Teams just aren't trading superstar A-level players (well one was due to weird circumstances, and Blake passed ), all these guys get locked up to 7-8 year deals and built around by the teams who draft them. Guys like PLD and Fiala are moved because they just aren't at that level, they are good players, but they aren't game breakers. You need to draft those kinds of players, we should have made difficult decisions with some veterans and been terrible in 21-22, 22-23 and probably this year too. We needed to give ourselves a chance at not only Bedard (someone was going to get him) but also Cooley, Fantilli, Carlsson, Eiserman, Celebrini, Demidov.

 

[kingsfan28]

I’m telling you guys I look forward to the day that the Kings are without Doughty.

...as the top pp guy.

 

[BaileyFan]

People on Twatter saying Coach said Arvy is dead. Merely an adjustment. Good stuff.

Like I said, they're going to end up putting him on LTIR retroactively making all of this short roster BS completely pointless in the end. See you in November Viktor.

 

[Choralone]

Any idea why Dubois line matched against Makinnon most of the game? That shouldev been Danault

Coach got some marijuana leaves accidentally mixed in with his eucalyptus blend.

 

[Kingkopitar]

Man, Talbot looks like some hot garbage. Cloutier flashbacks.