Toggle sidebar

Adrian Kempe's ceiling

  • Work is still on-going to rebuild the site styling and features. Please report any issues you may experience so we can look into it. Click Here for Updates
DoktorJeep said:
Kempe is the Kings best player when he has the puck on his stick in the middle of the ice. The kid is the only consistent threat to back off defenseman and carry the puck into the attacking zone.

He’s also a good defender down low and in front of the net. What he doesn’t do well, other than FOs, is the traditional Kings breakout, where the C sticks close to the D and everyone moves up the ice together.

But I think that old system is one of the main reasons the team has fallen on hard times. I hope players like Kempe, Leipsec, Wagner, Walker and LaDue keep getting minutes because they hopefully can help shift the identity of this team into one that attacks the middle of the ice.
Click to expand...
Agreed 100%

Id rather have him be a low end 2C right now rather than Jeff Carter. Get rid of carter's age and contract then maybe you will see Kempe grow more consistent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ghetty Green
Ziggy Stardust said:
Here’s the catch, we always assume and hope for the best after young players perform phenomenally. Look at Toffoli after he scored 31 goals and 58 points. He’s regressed since then and hasn’t come close to reproducing those numbers.
Click to expand...

Not sure about that.

He had 47 points.......last season.
 
Frolov 6'3 said:
Not sure about that.

He had 47 points.......last season.
Click to expand...

True but he has 12 goals this season and he isn't going to double that by the end of the year. He only has 26 games left in the season. Even getting to 20 is going to take some work for him. Toffoli's problem isn't talent. He just doesn't work hard and is a lazy player. If Toffoli played as hard as a guy like Clifford who has 1/2 the talent, he would be a consistent 30-goal guy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ziggy Stardust
AzKing said:
True but he has 12 goals this season and he isn't going to double that by the end of the year. He only has 26 games left in the season. Even getting to 20 is going to take some work for him. Toffoli's problem isn't talent. He just doesn't work hard and is a lazy player. If Toffoli played as hard as a guy like Clifford who has 1/2 the talent, he would be a consistent 30-goal guy.
Click to expand...
Yes true but this is season everyone underperforms.
 
Frolov 6'3 said:
Not sure about that.

He had 47 points.......last season.
Click to expand...

And disappeared for long stretches, like scoring 1 goal in 15 games (including the playoffs).

He also had a stretch of 22 games where he had only scored 2 goals last season.

One would hope you get a little more consistency from a player who is earning close to $5M to put the puck in the net.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
And disappeared for long stretches, like scoring 1 goal in 15 games (including the playoffs).

He also had a stretch of 22 games where he had only scored 2 goals last season.

One would hope you get a little more consistency from a player who is earning close to $5M to put the puck in the net.
Click to expand...

Not defending him because down the stretch last year and the beginning of this year was an awful drought BUT that's sort of the difference between 20-30 goal scorers and 30-40 goal scorers and why you need more than a couple of them in your lineup. Almost by definition, they're going to dry up and NOT score for 3/4 of your games.

Obviously we expect more from Toffoli but I have a hard time laying the entire burden at his feet when we had other guys like Pearson, Carter, Kempe all fall off the boat at the same time.

Re: Toffoli he went ice cold and was still a 24 goal scorer, that's useful. He may even end up close to that this season when all is said and done. But my bigger problem was his play (just like everyone else's) in the first 1/4 of the season. The last little bit he was good, just not productive...but not stupid like he was at the start.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DoktorJeep and Frolov 6'3
Raccoon Jesus said:
Not defending him because down the stretch last year and the beginning of this year was an awful drought BUT that's sort of the difference between 20-30 goal scorers and 30-40 goal scorers and why you need more than a couple of them in your lineup. Almost by definition, they're going to dry up and NOT score for 3/4 of your games.

Obviously we expect more from Toffoli but I have a hard time laying the entire burden at his feet when we had other guys like Pearson, Carter, Kempe all fall off the boat at the same time.

Re: Toffoli he went ice cold and was still a 24 goal scorer, that's useful. He may even end up close to that this season when all is said and done. But my bigger problem was his play (just like everyone else's) in the first 1/4 of the season. The last little bit he was good, just not productive...but not stupid like he was at the start.
Click to expand...

That's a really good point to make.......because of how true it is...

Everyone gushes over a 40 goal scorer without even realizing that he failed to score in half the games that the team plays....
 
I don't like making excuses for a player who is relied upon to put the puck in the net. Toffoli's trademark move when he's playing like a coward is to lay a soft shot once he crosses the blueline from the top of the right circle. A low quality, low percentage shot that's easily gobbled up by goaltenders.

Now he's starting to find the middle of the ice and having success from that spot, which is where he should be shooting from. The inconsistency from Toffoli and his linemates is why the Kings were so easy to shutdown last season during the playoffs, and yet again this season. I kept reiterating last year that the Kings were a one line team, and that one line that carried the bulk of the offense has dried out this season, and thus you have second lowest scoring team in the NHL, right alongside the Ducks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Raccoon Jesus
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Top Bottom