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Speculation: 2025 TDL Discussion

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Ziggy Stardust said:
I found the shill!
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This year I haven't watched quite as much hockey as I normally do, but he's not entirely wrong. This is a good but not great team. Are they a cup contender? No. Have Blake & co. done a good job? Also no. But I think we'd be feeling a lot differently if a matchup vs the Oilers for the 4th time in a row wasn't basically locked in. Mix in a couple 1st rd matchups with teams like the Jets/Wild/Canucks and they might've actually won a rd or two instead of this same shit every year.
 
Finally caught up on several threads and pages.
It's honestly too bad the convergence of so many things, with the deadline Friday 12 PM EST.
Only the Blues game and then the deadline...then the Blues again Saturday.
Saturday, can be a different lineup.

Convergence of not playing well, mounting up losses...Edmundson, Kuemper both fallen off.
DD not looking so good, but part of that is Edmundson...which leads me to wonder if Clarke
would never have had a lull, playing with either Anderson or Gavrikov? Will never know and
Brandt only gets that chance next year, if he's still around. I hate that players are dealt, before
you can try options, before jettisoning them....Gabe was gave up too early. Perhaps the 6'3" 215 PLD
with visions of him being that power forward center and Kopi's replacement, was all too alluring,
when if they gave Gabe another year, he could have been tried at center...or even put Kempe back there.
They never try changes that could really help with what they have. Even PLD, once you could see he was not a fit, try him LW1 with Kopi. Try to salvage and see what could be most beneficial for player and team.
I found it alarming in Hoven's first PLD interview, days after the trade...PLD says something about playing wing. Hoven immediately says "PL...what? I don't think they're paying you 7+ million to play wing" PLD replies,. I'm fine with where they want me. Red flag. They should have done more homework. Of course, both Gabe and PLD are thriving, on the 2 best teams in the NHL and both would be leading the Kings in scoring...I'm not saying they should have kept PLD...they should have never made that deal.

Convergence of 48 hours to make deals, Calgary encroaching, Vancouver tailing off. Pettersson doing nothing, Q Hughes not 100%. May be selling Boeser. If the Kings were 7 pts ahead of Cal, Van and Kings haven't lost 3 in a row and playing well...the Kings would be definitive buyers...but with breakdowns and several mot playing well....and mounting losses...the picture is not clear to buy....but the Kings are stubborn about
wanting to win a round and that mindset may mean they're about to overpay for Rakell or Nelson or ?

One problem, is that they need at least 2 NHL forwards and how can they accomplish that?
Watch them claim Cam Atkinson. lol. The truth is, he may honestly help, if he's not done. I haven't seen him or noticed him this yr on TBL. (or he's not horrible, but they need cap room for a deal) Of course, he's not an answer, but the Kings cannot ice 12 NHL forwards, let alone 11. Even if they got Rakell for futures, not enough depth to win a rd, without 3 or 4 Kings having the best games of their lives.

I am 100% for keeping Clarke. The most exciting (drafted) King with game breaking abilities...since?
I want to see him play with Gav or Anderson, play freely and we'll probably never get to.
If they are going to use him for the deadline upgrade, then they'd better have 5+ teams bid for
his services. Get 2 that can play now, that are under 28 and with some term, or signed at time of deal. (or 1 vet + 1 like Molendyk)
This 7 year Gavrikov contract...sounds almost as bad as 4 yrs of Edmundson. Love Gav, but don't want to see him at 36 and 37 yrs.

Someone on X posted rumor...and is not saying much else...but it looks like a legit thing, in that how could they just throw this out there?
Clarke, Turcotte, Danault to Preds
Marchessault, O'Reilly, LHD Molendyk and #2 pick.
From reading this person's page...does not seem like the type of fan that would
even know who Molendyk is. The interesting part, is that Molendyk is similar to Spence,
but on a higher level...he's been called by Scott Wheeler "as the best skater I've ever seen" , Which is saying a lot, as Scott picks apart everyone's skating. #1 2023 and almost made Preds this year....his WHL GM said "i've only seen 2 times in 5 yrs, where he took a bad chance and left his partner out to dry...and raves about him as a 1 man rush....and can go deep and still beat anyone back...no downside and wore an A for Team Canada and thought as the best D on Team Canada...he's just 6 and 185...but if he was bigger, would have been top 10 pick...why would the Preds deal him? To get Clarke and Turcotte...and to move 34 yr olds Marchessault and O'Reilly...Kings make them give Molendyk for Clarke. Brandt Clarke's name alone, sounds like a Southern white boy...lol. Kings probably see Molendyk as a sure thing, with no issues to make it in a yr or 2. (play their system) The #2 pick?? A high rd 2 and the Kings could flip it for a Laughton, Armia, etc and then, all of a sudden, you have a pretty good roster...albeit 34 yr + overload. Do I do this? IDK. I think it would come down to how good Molendyk is. I think Clarke will never get to play freely, with DD and Spence BOTH on this team...I'd deal Spence or DD, before Clarke.

Will be interesting to see who is on the ice at Cryptp come Sat.
Hell, make it easy: deal with Blues, who are in town 4+ days.....Blues deal: QB, CLARKE, + ? for KYROU, PARAYKO. (or get Binnington? So EDM cant and I'd prefer him over Kuemper) Parayko blew me away in 4nations....6'6"235 beast that dominates. I'd call him top 5 in the NHL. D. I think his 5on5 numbers are crazy.
Yeah, he's 31 and Kyrou 28, I think.
 
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Raccoon Jesus said:
No, running the stats since Jan 1 finds Clarke with the highest high danger shots/opportunities generated on the roster; amongst the best shot differentials and expected goal stats; Oh, and what you keep harping on, his raw individual production, is best amongst all Kings dmen on the roster when you go by rate--which you have to in order to account for his bullshit reduced minutes and no powerplay time. So if anything, shortening the window is cherry picking; it shows that his partner has been demonstrably worse in that time period, a fact corroborated by what a drag he is on other players on the roster and the elevation effect Clarke has on other players. So if 'trends' are what matters--even more reason for Clarke to be in the lineup because the trends for MANY other dmen is a steeply downward trajectory, particularly the ones he would replace. The only leg you have to stand on is his raw production is down, and that's pretty clearly because of his reduced minutes.

I don't know how anyone, especially someone who watches as much hockey as you, can look at Clarke and go 'yeah but he's bad defensively' while giving the other players a free pass. Clarke is a weapon and this team clearly needs someone who can actually move the puck out of the defensive end and do literally anything but throw it away in the offensive zone rather than icing 6-7 guys a night who get caved in but i guess look like they're doing something.

I know you hate stats. But there are several things here--trends, results, and processes. Clarke's trend has been ok. His results haven't been as good, but the predictive stats show he deserves a better fate. But the process is there. And all three of those are sitting superior to MOST other roster dmen, not just the ones that are struggling. No, sitting a few games won't hurt him, but playing him random 5 minutes a game andt hen sitting him to play other corpses is bad for EVERYONE, not just Clarke. Your whole thing is 'he's not ready to contribute to a playoff team' but buddy we're watching Burroughs get literally no shots for and a goal against nearly every game, edmundson getting caved in, moverare fading in bigger minutes, and you're telling me that Clarke is a worse option?

Looking at your discussion of practicalities--Doughty isn't going to sit, even if he deserves to, fine. Spence is debatable, but I won't fight you there and I agree he's worked at it. Gavrikov and Anderson are REALLY struggling lately, absolutely not analytical darlings--but SOMEONE has to soak the hardest minutes since no one else can right now. They're in, no qualms with it, they have to elevate their games. Edmundson has been CRAP and he's been even worse crap with Doughty. BUt he PKs and looks like he's doing something, so I notice you NEVER comment when I'm callng him out on bad positioning, leaving the zone, and being the one leading the rush somehow stranding Clarke--I COMPLETELY disagree with his assessment. Joel has been trending down HARD and in a world where Gavy, Anderson, Doughty aren't getting benched, they need to look at mixing up JE, Moverare, Spence, Clarke, and sending Burroughs to the moon.

I guess just in summary--the vet brought in to insulate Clarke has been the one causing most of his problems and now it's spreading to the rest of the roster but I guess we aren't ready for that discussion. Clarke's gotta do himself more favors, sure...can't do that from the bench though, and can't bury our heads in the sand over the rest of the struggling dmen who could LITERALLY use some rest (minutes off), not just benching a kid to 'watch and learn' or whatever bullshit euphemism we're using now.
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Sounds like an easy fux

Doughty - Anderson
Clarke - Gavrikov
Spence - Moverare
 
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JKG33 said:
This year I haven't watched quite as much hockey as I normally do, but he's not entirely wrong. This is a good but not great team. Are they a cup contender? No. Have Blake & co. done a good job? Also no. But I think we'd be feeling a lot differently if a matchup vs the Oilers for the 4th time in a row wasn't basically locked in. Mix in a couple 1st rd matchups with teams like the Jets/Wild/Canucks and they might've actually won a rd or two instead of this same shit every year.
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He is, though.

"yeah well how do you feel about the home record, disgruntled fan?" Is some bullshit becasue it ignores the trouble the team has the OTHER half of the season, literally historically bad PP on the road and a lottery team. And because there are some obvious differences between the 2010s Kings who would turn into a buzzsaw in the playoffs (and even then people complained about regular seasons) and the 2020s Kings who turn into jello molds of their mentor choke artist Todd McLellan at the sight of ANY adversity despite having a decade at the wheel to make the team better or worse and just being in a worse place than when he started.

Funny enough almost the moment that 2010s team wasn't a buzzsaw in the playoffs, guess what? Housecleaning. Polar opposite of now. We are supposed to celebrate mediocrity and gosh darnit we should like it and be good fans.
 
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Raccoon Jesus said:
We are supposed to celebrate mediocrity and gosh darnit we should like it and be good fans.
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I have a better solution.
frb9851717-funny-raccoon-become-ungovernable--white-post-swatch.jpg
 
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At the end of the day, there isn't enough interest in hockey in the LA market for an outlet with a wide reach to invest in it because there is no money to be had, hence where we are at for "news".

Perfect scenario for a bumbling management team to keep cashing checks. It's a dream job that they probably realized quickly during their playing days here since they could be complete trash on the ice and not hear a word about it when walking the streets.

Nothing will change unless they miss the playoffs and miss them without an injury excuse.
 
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FSL KINGS said:
They tried to turn Björnfot into an offensive D. They're trying to turn Clarke into Björnfot. If Clarke stays he isn't hitting his potential.
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Very true, as I have said before, this is were prospects with legit skill that play with creativity come die. Why, Why do the Kings still keep taking this type of players, they dont know how to develop or change this system to utilize their skill set. Its 2025 not 1995.
 
BigKing said:
At the end of the day, there isn't enough interest in hockey in the LA market for an outlet with a wide reach to invest in it because there is no money to be had, hence where we are at for "news".

Perfect scenario for a bumbling management team to keep cashing checks. It's a dream job that they probably realized quickly during their playing days here since they could be complete trash on the ice and not hear a word about it when walking the streets.

Nothing will change unless they miss the playoffs and miss them without an injury excuse.
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They're good enough to get into the playoffs, and that's it. That is the team Blake has built since he took over. The most shocking thing would be to see this team advance past the first round. Seems like their only goal is to just get in, and that's it.

Then Luc can tell everyone, "we were right there!"
 
Edmonton seems more vulnerable this year than previous seasons. They're old. They went on a long tiring playoff run last year. Shorter offseason. McD isn't himself. Goaltending and D are worse than usual.

Watch the Kings get lucky and beat them. Make the second round and get obliterated. BLuc lives!
 
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Bjorkstrand is a solid right shot scoring winger. Will be interested to see what Tampa paid. Both he and Gourde have M-NTC's.
 
Rakell is a better player and on a better contract compared to Byorkstrand. 60-70 point wingers don’t grow on trees, let alone for a 5 mil cap hit. I’m doing everything I can to get him, and that includes Clarke.
 
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