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

[Fat Elvis]

All this after game #1?
Pace yourself folks. Got 81 more High's and Low's ahead for the next 6-7 months.
The key is to stay hydrated

 

[Brownie to Pancakes]

I promise I'm not doing this directed at you, but it's an example of a general problem I have.

All preseason we heard about how Byfield "looking good" wasn't enough anymore. Because he needs to put up points.

There have been days, weeks, and months pointing out where he did things right, room for improvement, and areas he's grown. And he's still making $894k.

Dubois is making 10 times the amount and hasn't been dicked around with questionable opportunity and developmental decisions. And the package the Kings traded away to acquire him, which also has a lower cap hit, outscored him. But people are okay with him 'looking good'.

I agree. He did look good. But why is 'looking good' good enough for the player taking up 10x the cap space, while also getting paired regularly with arguably the singularly most offensively talented player on the team (Fiala)?

I just see a double standard in general.

Heck, Kempe was the biggest anchor and drag on the Kopitar line all night. It wasn't until it culminated in an empty net goal against that some started pointing out anything negative against him. He didn't even look that great at all, aside from his drive to the net that contributed to Byfield's goal.

It's not a double standard. PLD is a vet with a proven track record of production and that's what he got a contract for. Byfield can hardly buy a beer and has a proven track record of jack shit, and that's why his contract is what it is. What they 'look like' in a single game is irrelevant

 

[AbsentMojo]

I don’t disagree. I think his acquisition cost was way too high and I don’t think he brings that “value” nor do I think he can either based upon the fact that Kopitar is still taking the number 1 spot. I think he looked good, however I absolutely think acquiring PLD makes no logical sense. I would have preferred they have Byfield a center shot rather than acquire PLD. I don’t think the offense was bad last year at all, I think the goaltending and defense killed the Kings. And it’s going to be the same thing this year. Good player, redundant player, expensive acquisition, and bad asset management.

Vilardi is quite easily the most talented player from the draft and Iafallo had decent production. I don’t think we would be losing much at all if we kept them.

Agree w this. I was for moving Iafallo since he is mostly replaceable for his 4mil hit and I wouldve ditched Grundstrom, JAD (possibly Lizotte), and Kupari for anything. That right there creates room for a #1 and then some... then as you say making the 3C up for grabs between Byfield and Turcotte.. Then you plug any holes with the likes of Laf, Fagemo, and Thomas... and see what happens and correct at deadline.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

All this after game #1?
Pace yourself folks. Got 81 more High's and Low's ahead for the next 6-7 months.
The key is to stay hydrated

Did you really expect anything different?

I called this last week...very good chance we start season 0-2 and this board will be full-on meltdown mode.

 

[King'sPawn]

It's not a double standard. PLD is a vet with a proven track record of production and that's what he got a contract for. Byfield can hardly buy a beer and has a proven track record of jack shit, and that's why his contract is what it is. What they 'look like' in a single game is irrelevant

When "looking good isn't good enough" for one but not another, yes. It's a double standard.

And Byfield's contract is what it is because he's still on his ELC. That's the most he can get.

What about Kopitar also getting years of "he didn't score more goals"? Or leading the team in scoring year after year, but he's being raked for not being meaner or not "looking good enough"?

You want to keep defending the new toy, it's cool. But the acceptance of lack of production while expecting it out of players who have been here longer, regardless of age or experience, is absolutely a double standard.

And he's averaged low 60 points per season. His cap hit is 43rd for the entire league. But he was 87th in scoring last season as a purely offensive player with favorable deployments. What kind of shit is this "proven track record" to justify that contract?

 

[Sol]

All this after game #1?
Pace yourself folks. Got 81 more High's and Low's ahead for the next 6-7 months.
The key is to stay hydrated

Same song and dance of last year. Maybe you missed the previous season.

 

[Sol]

When "looking good isn't good enough" for one but not another, yes. It's a double standard.

And Byfield's contract is what it is because he's still on his ELC. That's the most he can get.

What about Kopitar also getting years of "he didn't score more goals"? Or leading the team in scoring year after year, but he's being raked for not being meaner or not "looking good enough"?

You want to keep dedending the new toy, it's cool. But the acceptance of lack of production while expecting it out of players who have been here longer, regardless of age or experience, is absolutely a double standard.

And he's averaged low 60 points per season. His cap hit is 43rd for the entire league. But he was 87th in scoring last season as a purely offensive player with favorable deployments. What kind of shit is this "proven track record" to justify that contract?

I’m not saying Kopitar isn’t a producer, but yeah I do think he’s a bad captain and the Kings haven’t gone anywhere with him at the helm. And if I remember correctly, Fiala was set to be the team leading scorer last year until he got injured. Fiala has done a lot for the Kings but he gets no respect. If we want to talk about players that get unfairly treated by our fanbase then Fiala is undoubtedly number 1

 

[Brownie to Pancakes]

When "looking good isn't good enough" for one but not another, yes. It's a double standard.

And Byfield's contract is what it is because he's still on his ELC. That's the most he can get.

What about Kopitar also getting years of "he didn't score more goals"? Or leading the team in scoring year after year, but he's being raked for not being meaner or not "looking good enough"?

You want to keep defending the new toy, it's cool. But the acceptance of lack of production while expecting it out of players who have been here longer, regardless of age or experience, is absolutely a double standard.

And he's averaged low 60 points per season. His cap hit is 43rd for the entire league. But he was 87th in scoring last season as a purely offensive player with favorable deployments. What kind of shit is this "proven track record" to justify that contract?

You made up the part about anyone thinking it's "good enough" for PLD to look decent in a preseason plus a game

 

[Sol]

My issue with the PLD trade is that they extended Kopitar for no reason. I don’t see why a line of

PLD
Byfield
Danault

As the centers of this team isn’t good enough? I think we can have that center group and add defense or goaltending. Kings would be a far balanced team rather than the glass cannon they are now.

The Kings gave up on Vilardi and Byfield being top 6 centers when they hadn’t been given another chance to prove themselves. Even Vilardi took a massive step forward last year and got traded before he was tried at center.

Kings lost last year because they couldn’t out offense the oilers. And they still won’t be able to. But the Kings didn’t change their philosophy strangely enough.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

TM's take on Quinton Bustfield's performance last night:

>>We talked about one young player in Laf, the other young player that I thought had a really good night, maybe his best game as a King, was 55. I thought he was all over the ice. He looked confident, he made great plays not only offensively but defensively. Nice to see him score a goal for all the hard work he did, but I thought he had a really strong night and something to build on as he goes forward.<<

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

Anyone have a link to the play?

 

[Sol]

Anyone have a link to the play?

The DPS can suck a fat one

 

[Telos]

At least it's just a fine. Imagine getting another suspension with this roster situation... It was a slash and it definitely caught Ross the wrong way outside the glove.

 

[Herby]

Byfield looked good, he is more comfortable playing wing, and the Kings should go forward with that being the plan, some guys just don't process the game quick enough and QB probably falls into that category. On the wing he can focus on less things and use his natural tools and athleticism to better impact the game. It's kind of the same reasons why people proposed back in the day that Jack Johnson should play wing, another great athlete with really good tools who just didn't process the game that well. I think had JJ come up as a winger he would have had a better career than he had as a d-man.

I still don't see anything that resembles a star player that you would expect from the top of the draft, the Kings and the scouting community as a whole probably fell for the size /skill combination that has kind of historically gotten teams who take players 6'4+ in the Top 5, chasing those unicorns. But if QB can effectively play as the 3rd best player on a 1st line or the 2nd best player on a second line for the next 3 seasons in the Kings window he can be a quality piece to the team. Alex Smith was still pretty good for the 49'ers even if he wasn't Aaron Rodgers.

 

[King'sPawn]

I’m not saying Kopitar isn’t a producer, but yeah I do think he’s a bad captain and the Kings haven’t gone anywhere with him at the helm. And if I remember correctly, Fiala was set to be the team leading scorer last year until he got injured. Fiala has done a lot for the Kings but he gets no respect. If we want to talk about players that get unfairly treated by our fanbase then Fiala is undoubtedly number 1

Aside from bland who moreso points out that Fiala doesn't fix the issues of the Kings, and me who didn't like the package traded to get him, who has said anything negative about Fiala or not given him respect?

You made up the part about anyone thinking it's "good enough" for PLD to look decent in a preseason plus a game

I literally quoted Sol saying PLD looked good but the puck didn't go in for him, and used it as an example of the general attitude others have shown in contrast to expecting Byfield "needing" to put up points, because looking good isn't good enough for a 21 year-old.

So why isn't anyone aside from me (ironically) pointing out that PLD, as a 25 year-old at 10x the cap hit, didn't score? He played with Fiala a lot. And the Kings only scored 2 goals. They probably could have used his offense to give them a better chance to win.

Ask yourself honestly - if Byfield DIDN'T score at the last second, and the Kings lost 5-1, who do you think would be getting more criticism?

Anyone have a link to the play?

I don't, but it was shown on the telecast. It was a retaliatory slash after Danault got a reverse hit despite being nowhere near the puck.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I’m sorry, when I see someone “like” a ridiculous post that takes a shot at one of the best posters here, someone who literally spends more time covering the teams prospects than any media source (granted not much competition) I find it appalling and a really bad look on people. If that’s “taking it to personal” so be it, I value this community and people’s ability to have quality discussions on both the good and bad without stupid responses questioning their fandom.

I don’t agree with everything people here say, I’ve had my battles with KP and RJ on many things. But there are never “shut the f*** up and be a Ducks fan” or “you’re not a true fan” or any of the other bs comments that get said by the Axl’s of the world, because that is not the way reasonable people respond to disagreements over their favorite hockey team. But you are not capable of seeing that and instead think people who have spent decades talking about the Kings on this forum, aren’t Kings fans.

You threw the first stone by saying I hate everything about the Kings. No need to go down that path. Many of us have fundamental disagreements with the management (and some with the coach), it doesn’t mean we aren’t fans of the team. We will all still be here long after Blake, TMac and Luc are gone. When Brown is the President, Kopitar is the GM and Clifford the coach.

This is not a competition. Everyone can have an off day.

You are not the one who decides what is ridiculous or what is not. I like whatever i like and that could be against a person i deeply have respect for. Dont go down that road.

I think its ridiculous you say the same thing over and over again about LA and the rebuild as well. Does that stop you, no and rightfully you dont.

I am pretty sick of some borderliners (not you specifically) here too. Axel is right about that.

 

[Schrute farms]

The Kings SOG are like junk food -- empty calories. Has been that way for years. No real threat and scoring ability from 90-95% of them. Just easy goalie saves....NHL goalies should give money back to the Kings for helping their save stats and getting them bigger contract deals.

So does the Head of Propaganda

Great line -- wish i thought of that.

 

[funky]

Anyone have a link to the play?

It was an asshole play by Phil. Lucky he only had a $5000 fine.

still love the way he plays though.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

Aside from bland who moreso points out that Fiala doesn't fix the issues of the Kings, and me who didn't like the package traded to get him, who has said anything negative about Fiala or not given him respect?


I literally quoted Sol saying PLD looked good but the puck didn't go in for him, and used it as an example of the general attitude others have shown in contrast to expecting Byfield "needing" to put up points, because looking good isn't good enough for a 21 year-old.

So why isn't anyone aside from me (ironically) pointing out that PLD, as a 25 year-old at 10x the cap hit, didn't score? He played with Fiala a lot. And the Kings only scored 2 goals. They probably could have used his offense to give them a better chance to win.

Ask yourself honestly - if Byfield DIDN'T score at the last second, and the Kings lost 5-1, who do you think would be getting more criticism?


I don't, but it was shown on the telecast. It was a retaliatory slash after Danault got a reverse hit despite being nowhere near the puck.

Just found it. No wonder Colton was in pain, didn't see it live.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I was told you can win with just any average goalie though

And also called the arvy thing the moment he left practice, someone owes me an apology for teeing off on me after that

But the thing is the “this is a good team just need a good goalie” talk seems to neglect that’s WHY the roster looks so mean, there’s only so much money to go around and Blake blew his wad on shiny new toy forwards instead of starting to integrate the youth they should have been integrating for the last five years. They can exchange that for a goalie now…then they won’t look as good. It’s not as simple as “just make a move for a goalie” for that reason, to say nothing of the fact That Blake waits till his back is fully against the wall and can be taken hostage in a trade to address a need. We saw this with LHD and we will see it with G.

These guys will sell the farm to save their jobs. Gettin ready for the black hole of all black holes.



You and I both know that these guys would trade Roy only to play Englund next to Gavrikov then run a 3rd pairing of toby and Santini.

Every time I saw Englund out there last night I remembered how far away we are from actually contending from a championship.

 

[Herby]

This is not a competition. Everyone can have an off day.

You are not the one who decides what is ridiculous or what is not. I like whatever i like and that could be against a person i deeply have respect for. Dont go down that road.

I think its ridiculous you say the same thing over and over again about LA and the rebuild as well. Does that stop you, no and rightfully you dont.

I am pretty sick of some borderliners (not you specifically) here too. Axel is right about that.

You replied to me making a factual statement about lotteries and who the Kings passed on by calling it, let me check, oh yeah "ridiculous". So just to confirm, stating a fact about lottery results is ok for you to decide it's "ridiculous", but calling someone "ridiculous" for liking a post that told KP, a long-time and respected poster who contributes greatly to the community to "shut the f up and go be a Ducks fan" doesn't warrant a response that includes the worlds "ridiculous"? Haha.

If you don't like what I post then by all means ignore me and ignore more of the "borderliners" and you can have wonderful discussions with Axl, Wildturkey and fearthefur. If there was a poll here for worst poster it would look like the results of a North Korean election, so if you want to agree with that person and what he thinks, that is on you. I'm sure the "borderliners" (whoever they may be) contribute significantly more to the forum than Axl does.

 

[Herby]

Just found it. No wonder Colton was in pain, didn't see it live.

This should be a suspension, talk about a way to bust someones wrist. I am still amazed that with as many players injured every year by cheapshots that the players union continues to fight so hard for fines over suspensions. A weakness of many unions, they negotiate to protect people that do wrong, even if it's at the expense of the safety and well being of other members.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Some typical LAK own goals: Lewis on the "2nd" line - a guy that was a 4th liner in his prime. Even Grundstrum wouldve been a better call. Englund/BJ at the expence of Spence.. Forcing Roy to PP2 and fielding a garbage 3rd pair that was hardly used.

 

[bland]

Aside from bland who moreso points out that Fiala doesn't fix the issues of the Kings, and me who didn't like the package traded to get him, who has said anything negative about Fiala or not given him respect?


I literally quoted Sol saying PLD looked good but the puck didn't go in for him, and used it as an example of the general attitude others have shown in contrast to expecting Byfield "needing" to put up points, because looking good isn't good enough for a 21 year-old.

So why isn't anyone aside from me (ironically) pointing out that PLD, as a 25 year-old at 10x the cap hit, didn't score? He played with Fiala a lot. And the Kings only scored 2 goals. They probably could have used his offense to give them a better chance to win.

Ask yourself honestly - if Byfield DIDN'T score at the last second, and the Kings lost 5-1, who do you think would be getting more criticism?


I don't, but it was shown on the telecast. It was a retaliatory slash after Danault got a reverse hit despite being nowhere near the puck.

Hated that trade from minute one, still hate it.

Faber has the very real potential of being a franchise cornerstone for a decade. You want to get past McDavid and go for a long playoff run, you need a Faber far more than a Fiala.

Fiala is essentially Neymar. Flashy talent, an eye catching style, but a ten cent head, a ridiculous diver, and a propensity for putting himself over the team game with over-handling and incredibly selfish penalties.

The Kings would simply be much, much better off if they hadn't made that trade. Real, tangible stuff over smoke and mirrors, all day every day.

 

[Fishhead]

Some typical LAK own goals: Lewis on the "2nd" line - a guy that was a 4th liner in his prime. Even Grundstrum wouldve been a better call. Englund/BJ at the expence of Spence.. Forcing Roy to PP2 and fielding a garbage 3rd pair that was hardly used.

That line was getting tougher matchups when possible, I really don't want Grundy on anything but the 4th for deployments alone. At least Lewis can defend still.