Confirmed with Link: Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kuapri, Gabe Vilardi + 2024 2nd round pick to Winnipeg for Pierre-Luc Dubois

[The Butcher]

Kings really need to fix that PK if this guy continues to take as many needless penalties as Jets fans are claiming.

 

[Gurglesons]

I was a bit surprised to see the discussion on the Jets forum has him playing C.

He was just so much better on the wing.

I think Vilardi is a good player and has 30 goal potential, but realistically he reminds me of Nino Neiderreiter. Not an elite talent you build your team around.

PLD at least has that pedigree and I’m not really going to judge him based on his performance in two horrible franchises like WPG and CBUS.

 

[The Drew]

We were f***ed before this trade and we are still f***ed after it. That’s the point. We are not building towards cup contention we are building towards black hole for 5 years after this season or best case scenario first round exits.

Anaheim is gonna pound our shit in watch within 2 years when their rebuild done correct starts cresting.

Blake said he was gonna rebuild; he nutted his top picks than said f*** it and started trading prospect depth and 1st rounders without a good plan on how to build a team.

He is not the architect Lombardi was and honestly lacks a concise plan let alone the ability to stick to it. He’s a Dog chasing cars that drive by. Not to mention the numb nuts number 2 Luc Robitaille.

Blake is Robitalle’s #2 (#2). I’m happy the Kings throw some shit against the wall and see if it sticks. We haven’t fared too well the last 2 years so I’m down to see what’s up with a revamped roster. I’ll watch 82 games and see what comes of it. For what it’s worth I am a big fan of the Gabagoul.

 

[FSL KINGS]

I seriously can not believe how many Kings fans are freaking out about losing Gabe Vilardi.

And this idea that the Kings do not have cheap ELC talent for the next few years is just bizarre.

We like to freak out around here. A wide range of opinions means someone is almost always freaking out.

Mostly I freak out about Lizotte at 3C, or Todd putting Durzi on the ice with 30 seconds left in a tie game, or 131, or Blake making a bad trade or a loss, or had too much coffee that day.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Anybody else see Luc getting really nervous when that reporter was trying to get him to admit to tampering with Brisson.

We are gonna be wide open for an offer sheet if arty blows up this season.

Brisson was also Blake’s agent but yeah he was just being a joker and disarming the press.

I was more concerned with Luc being confused on what to call these past few seasons. “I don’t know what you’d call it, a rebuild?” Uh, you’re the President of Hockey Operations, you tell me.

 

[King'sPawn]

I'm not sure what's funnier - people calling Byfield done as a 20 year-old but thinking the 25 year-old will get substantially better...

Or the 8 x 8.5 extension for a dude whose career high is 63 points. He makes $1.5 million less than Kopitar, and he passed that mark 11 times...

So many mental gymnastics.

Of course, I'm rooting for PLD since he's now a Kings player, but there is very little that's actually GOOD about the deal.

 

[ru4reals]

Good news though.

PLD is only a year older. So he’s a young player too.

Oh wow didn't realize they are only a year apart, seems like dudes been in the league for ever.

 

[Little Psycho]

Kings really need to fix that PK if this guy continues to take as many needless penalties as Jets fans are claiming.

Between him, Fiala, and Kempe, I fear we’ll never play on even strength

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Anyone else see that the first road game next season is in Winnipeg?

 

[Rorschach]

One thing we really need to gauge this trade with is to see what Vilardi signs for.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Yes, there’s been movement on the Zack MacEwen front.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Kings really need to fix that PK if this guy continues to take as many needless penalties as Jets fans are claiming.

Fiala and PLD may be the leagues most dynamic duo for taking needless penalties.

 

[TS Quint]

Copley will start. They'll grab someone else out of the bin for backup.

Ok, but seriously.

 

[Seattle King]

Oh wow didn't realize they are only a year apart, seems like dudes been in the league for ever.

He's been on the ice not rehabbing his back

 

[Sol]

Seems like they just leave lines one and 2 together and now they have a good L3 that gives Kaliyev no excuse linemates.
Fiala - PLD - Kaliyev

Fiala and PLD might be a very good fit.
Fiala is the alpha play driver from the wing because PLD has been described as they player who does not do that.

Praising Blake any chance you get buddy? Lol back to the well we go.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

No he didn't. He still had one year left on his contract with the Jets.

No, he did not.

 

[Statto]

Let’s start by saying I hate the trade but a big part of that was emotional because I was a huge fan of Vilardi since day 1 and he was finally getting going. I’m also not convince PLD is the right guy, it will ultimately depend on his attitude and how dialled in he is. When he’s good he‘s a top end 2C with a little upside. If he can improve in the dot I’d be much happier.

I don’t care about AI as we needed to move salary. I liked Kupari but its not the end of the world… I am more irritated at the 2nd Rd pick.

This trade can go either way because it ultimately depends on who ends up the best player… time will tell.

——————

We can debate the strategy before this off season but I said a few weeks ago that given where we are Blake had to get aggressive. He’s doing that. I’d rather see bold moves than just tinkering at the edges. When you are buying you inevitably over pay a little, which we have (the 2nd).

Some salary still needs to be moved to get a goaltender and someone fitting the Kassian profile. I doubt any D comes in as I suspect 3LD is Björnfot‘s to lose.

If this doesn’t pay off it’ll be Blake’s job and it’ll all get quickly blown up. In some respects it becomes win/win as we either become a contender or we start again. I’m ok with either.

A couple of other thoughts… Laferriere is an interesting option at wing in camp, as is Pinelli. Thomas if fit is a real wild card as he as looking good when he got injured and was showing a willingness to get physical and fight (I know he’s a massive longshot… maybe a late season option). Then there is Turcotte got whom it’s all about health, so we certainly have options to fill holes at wing.

I‘m not ready to judge all this completely until he’s done making moves. There is more to come.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Vilardi was the best player

He's injury prone.

 

[nhlfan9191]

He's injury prone.

Leave the Kings fans alone. It’s not their fault PLD was using us as leverage. Lol

 

[Lt Dan]

Leave the Kings fans alone. It’s not their fault PLD was using us as leverage. Lol

You must live a very sad life to come to another teams board and try this badly to troll after a trade your team wasn't even involved in.

 

[nhlfan9191]

You must live a very sad life to come to another teams board and try this badly to troll after a trade your team wasn't even involved in.

I responded to another Montreal fan who was known on our board for being a mega PLD fan. Nothing of what I said was a “troll” towards LA fans.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Well amazingly the same people who were so worried about Eichel don’t seem to have the same concerns with Vilardi. Why is that?

Btw, even 20 months ago when Eichel was traded the same concerns about the Kings C issues were relevant and were discussed significantly on this forum. So please let’s not do the MMQB/Hindsight is 2020. Many people thought that if it wasn’t Eichel it was going to be somebody else, and now it’s somebody else and people are still pissed. The complete denial of many to see Kopitar is 36 and there is no one behind him is quite interesting.

What is the Kings C situation after this season if Kopitar retires and this trade wasn’t made.

Danault
Byfield
Kupari
Lizotte
Turcotte

Come on GBH, you know the importance of C’s. That is a laughably bad group.

You get me wrong, I am absolutely fine with this trade, It's not about next year, it's about 3 years from now....I am just saying, that in real time, trading for Eichel was a HUGE RISK.....I don't know if you can fault a team for not trading for him because of that unknown...

People are pissed because they let bias get in their way of rational thinking, I hate losing Kupari, that's the only one out of this deal, regardless of if he becomes an offensive guy or not, you lose his speed, his PKing, etc, he is a solid bottom 6 F, would have rather lost JAD than Kupari.

 

[Lt Dan]

Umm I responded to another Montreal fan who was known on our board for being a mega PLD fan. Nothing of what I said was a “troll” towards LA fans.

Sad. Sad life

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Leave the Kings fans alone. It’s not their fault PLD was using us as leverage. Lol

That phobia about using Habs team as a leverage to get big money, lol. Some teams watch the parade, some teams are in the parade. Some fans look forward and they enjoy the present moment, some fans have always a reason to be angry and to rant about anything. I hope Habs team will be back again competing, play vs the top teams, like Kings are doing. Kings fans don't waste time like Habs fans bashing players to a point they want to leave the team. In LA hockey players are anomymus, they can have a quiet life. They don't have that huge pressure that destroys many players. Kings are wise, they won 2 SC and not 3 decades ago, it's recent.

It's everyone's decision to be a basher or a nice fan of hockey. Bashers can go around and create a toxic environment. They are very good at doing this, it's like they do this as a full time job. Toxicity destroyed Habs Team and it will take a long time before they compete again. A never ending rebuilt.

Sad. Sad life

He bash and troll full time on Habs board. He called PLD a bum and a mediocre player. They are a few but they post everyday, night and day. Habs board is toxic.

 

[nhlfan9191]

That phobia about using Habs team as a leverage to get big money, lol. Some teams watch the parade, some teams are in the parade. Some fans look forward and they enjoy the present moment, some fans have always a reason to be angry and to rant about anything. I hope Habs team will be back again competing, play vs the top teams, like Kings are doing. Kings fans don't waste time like Habs fans bashing players to a point they want to leave the team. In LA hockey players are anomymus, they can have a quiet life. They don't have that huge pressure that destroys many players. Kings are wise, they won 2 SC and not 3 decades ago, it's recent.

It's everyone's decision to be a basher or a nice fan of hockey. Bashers can go around and create a toxic environment. They are very good at doing this, it's like they do this as a full time job. Toxicity destroyed Habs Team and it will take a long time before they compete again. A never ending rebuilt.


He bash and troll full time on Habs board. He called PLD a bum and a mediocre player. They are a few but they post everyday, night and day. Habs board is toxic.

We can do this in the Habs form, not the Kings. But I will say this, I’m no basher or troll. I pointed out why I think we shouldn’t acquire this player and apparently management agreed because they held their ground and never got into a bidding war. You seem to confuse bashing with educating a fanboy looking threw rose colored glasses. You fell in love with an idea that was never realistic. If the Habs boards are so toxic, you should avoid them. This is an English discussion board and most people aren’t interested in your pro French propaganda. Give it up already.