Speculation: All Purpose LA Kings 2013-14 Trade Speculation/Rumors Part IV

[HYORI 1963]

DD probably prefers to play with Muzzin because Muzzin is someone Doughty can talk down to. Everyone else on the team are older and well respected vets and thusly Doughty can't just say, do this or do that. With Muzz, Doughty gets to be in charge.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

MacDonald leads the league in blocked shots, something this defense is not good at whatsoever.

Regher was supposedly the worst defenseman in the league last season when LA traded for him. This system can hide a lot of flaws.

Agree that Voynov has been trash. Big contributor to the lack of scoring is his vanishing act on the power play.

I don't want to trade assets and pay big bucks in the offseason for a guy who needs us to try and hide a bunch of his flaws. As for Regehr, I still don't like him. He helps reinforce two of the major flaws with this team, speed and transiting/getting the puck quickly out of our zone for a counterattack. Yes, this team does need one or two "defensive" defenseman (which MacDOnald is not), but those players need to not be snail slow.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

I love Chicagos defense, all of them are PMD. It must make their forwards lives so much easier knowing their Defense can skate and pass. The kings defense is good primarily because our forwards act like defenseman too. It's stupid how many defenseman we have that can't either pass or skate. And hell, can't do either.

 

[YP44]

I love Chicagos defense, all of them are PMD. It must make their forwards lives so much easier knowing their Defense can skate and pass. The kings defense is good primarily because our forwards act like defenseman too. It's stupid how many defenseman we have that can't either pass or skate. And hell, can't do either.

Chicago's depth both at D and F are very enviable.

 

[damacles1156]

I think Doughty asked for Muzzin, cause Muzzin can actually skate with Doughty.

Muzzin can keep up, the minutes also don't seem to bother him physically.

Can't say the same for RR ,Mitchell, Greene.

 

[HYORI 1963]

Chicago's depth both at D and F are very enviable.

Isn't Handzus their 2C?

I'm not as impressed with the hawx as some of you guys are. They are a small team, with speed and good hockey IQ.

The blues seem to have their number.

 

[YP44]

Isn't Handzus their 2C?

I'm not as impressed with the hawx as some of you guys are. They are a small team, with speed and good hockey IQ.

The blues seem to have their number.

Only thing I am still not sold on when it comes to the hawks is Crawford. Not sure what else the guy has to do for me to like him. I just don't

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Isn't Handzus their 2C?

I'm not as impressed with the hawx as some of you guys are. They are a small team, with speed and good hockey IQ.

The blues seem to have their number.

Chicago has our number just as we have the Blues' number. Hence, many posters here are overly impressed with Chicago and underwhelmed with St. Louis when really it's a matchups game.

 

[HYORI 1963]

Chicago has our number just as we have the Blues' number. Hence, many posters here are overly impressed with Chicago and underwhelmed with St. Louis when really it's a matchups game.

Perfect!

 

[theMajor]

Only thing I am still not sold on when it comes to the hawks is Crawford. Not sure what else the guy has to do for me to like him. I just don't

i dont like him either. to me, he is an incredibly mediocre goalie on a very, very good team and nothing more

 

[Herby]

Chicago has two SC championships in the last four years, the Blues haven't won a single game outside of round 1.

Kings fans are not the only ones who rate Chicago as a much better team, until the Blues prove it when the games matter they are not an elite team.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Crawford plays to level that's needed. When a team is that stacked, they don't need Quick in net.

 

[HYORI 1963]

Chicago has two SC championships in the last four years, the Blues haven't won a single game outside of round 1.

Kings fans are not the only ones who rate Chicago as a much better team, until the Blues prove it when the games matter they are not an elite team.

What is your definition of an elite team and who are current elite teams in the league?

 

[theMajor]

Crawford plays to level that's needed. When a team is that stacked, they don't need Quick in net.

this is true although im surprised they've gotten as far as they have with him

 

[Reclamation Project]

I remember when many people said Ray Emery should have won the Vezina. Good times.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Chicago has two SC championships in the last four years, the Blues haven't won a single game outside of round 1.

Kings fans are not the only ones who rate Chicago as a much better team, until the Blues prove it when the games matter they are not an elite team.

That's all fine and dandy, but I was referring to matchups being more important than that. Everyone here is petrified of Chicago; speculative, but what if we played them in the first round every year? What about St. Louis? The relative strength overall of those two teams is just about even, imo, but one scares the pants off us and one doesn't.

I too put some stock in playoff performance, but I think things are more relative than absolute at the top of the NHL. I just think some posters here overrate Chicago and underrate/underestimate St. Lou.

 

[MynameisKing]

I think the Hawks are a very very good team! They are an elite team no doubt about it. But, like all sports, certain teams have the system, style, and matchup advantages over another team no matter how good they are. The Hawks are a skilled, fast skating, puck moving team. These are teams that the Kings have the most trouble with and the Hawks are numero uno in that department.

 

[Kurrilino]

I think the Hawks are a very very good team! They are an elite team no doubt about it. But, like all sports, certain teams have the system, style, and matchup advantages over another team no matter how good they are. The Hawks are a skilled, fast skating, puck moving team. These are teams that the Kings have the most trouble with and the Hawks are numero uno in that department.

And exactly that is my point why Sutter has to go.
When we won the SC we have been a fast skating, puck moving team.
I guess this has something to do with Sutter being new and his sytem wasn't punshed in.
After that the team slowly transformed into a board grinding snail.

I know many people disagree here because Sutter has a god status
when winning the cup with a team a monkey could coach to the cup.

I would give a lot if someone breaks into Sutters house. ties him
to his bed frame and forces him to listen that grinding board is not puck possession and will not lead to quality shots.
Heck even explain him ther eis a difference between shots and quality shots.

I am sick and tired to always listen to the same crap...
we had more puck possession.. we out shot the opponent.

Yeah well...... this might be true but every goalie who is half interested in keeping his job will shutout us easily with that crap we throw to the goal...
technically we don't even shot at the goal, we just throw the puck into rough direction of the goal and hope someone else will hack n' slay the puck into the goal...

This is no hockey.... this is Terry Murray 2.0 even brought to perfection.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

And exactly that is my point why Sutter has to go.
When we won the SC we have been a fast skating, puck moving team.
I guess this has something to do with Sutter being new and his sytem wasn't punshed in.
After that the team slowly transformed into a board grinding snail.

I know many people disagree here because Sutter has a god status
when winning the cup with a team a monkey could coach to the cup.

I would give a lot if someone breaks into Sutters house. ties him
to his bed frame and forces him to listen that grinding board is not puck possession and will not lead to quality shots.
Heck even explain him ther eis a difference between shots and quality shots.

I am sick and tired to always listen to the same crap...
we had more puck possession.. we out shot the opponent.

Yeah well...... this might be true but every goalie who is half interested in keeping his job will shutout us easily with that crap we throw to the goal...
technically we don't even shot at the goal, we just throw the puck into rough direction of the goal and hope someone else will hack n' slay the puck into the goal...

This is no hockey.... this is Terry Murray 2.0 even brought to perfection.

I would agree if for a stretch between late 2012 and beginning of 2014 none of the above was a problem.

Why do people sometimes seem to forget last year? Or this season up until what, late december? I get that *this* stretch looks like Terry Murray, but it has been the exception since the addition of Carter.

And as it relates to rumors and the such, I don't see a small personnel change really 'fixing' the issues we have (and don't get me wrong, I DO think we have them). We're not going to suddenly become the Blackhawks because that would require both a personnel AND a coaching/management overhaul. Get used to Kings/Blues/Bruins style hockey.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Crawford plays to level that's needed. When a team is that stacked, they don't need Quick in net.

See Fuhr, Grant.

 

[Trolfoli]

Get used to Kings/Blues/Bruins style hockey.

I would love Blues or Bruins style hockey. Blues have the 2nd ranked offense and Bruins the 5th. They also have the 2nd and 3rd ranked defense behind the Kings.

Kings style is slightly better defense then the Blues/Bruins and the 29th ranked offense. To be fair though Buffalo is the worst offense in the league, but they've fired their coach/gm, traded Vanek, and demoted about half their roster so the young players can develop.

The question I came into ask was with Fraser getting waived/demoted the Kings have 11 forwards. Toffoli will get a call up no doubt, that leaves 2 roster spots that need to be filled. Wonder if we are going to get a look at Pearson/Vey/Andy/Des... Could be a trade in the works, but unless it returns 2 for 1 it won't effect the numbers.

 

[King'sPawn]

You can break down a skaters game by his passing, shooting, skating, and reads. Those are the four critical areas you look at. What a player does without the puck can be taught.

With Muzzin, sometimes he can connect with long, stretch passes, and other times he passes to an already covered passing lane or gives the puck right up or ices it when there is no pressure on him. When there is pressure on him, he panics.

His shooting is unpredictable. Sometimes he can get it through, then he'll go through a long stretch where all he can hit is a blocker's shinpads and the puck rockets back out and he's caught chasing a player.

I wouldn't consider Muzzin a phenomenal skater but he's adequate when he's skating with the puck, so long as he's not being pressured like when the Wings chased him behind his own net and he flubbed the puck right to them which led to a goal.

The most questionable and inconsistent part of his game are his reads. Bad pinches in particular, but another thing he does that drives me crazy is how he will come down the left side boards and try to put the puck on net from a bad angle, and what tends to happen on those plays is a misfire where the puck wraps back along the boards and springs the opposing team on a counterattack.

There are so many holes in his game that I'm sure you and many others are well aware of. The positive things that he provides on the ice isn't enough to hide his flaws and I question if he even has the wherewithal to make the necessary improvements to be considered a legit top 3-4 defender on this team. I've seen him get knocked off the puck easily on numerous occasions. I've seen him leaving his zone when he should be the last man back. I see a player who leaves my head scratching much like others saw the same in Jack Johnson, a defender who has a better set of skills who also struggled with the mental part of the game.

Now I urge those who see the positives more than the negatives in Muzzin to please enlighten us as to what makes him so special that he should be handled with care. I view Muzzin as an asset that should be dealt before he regresses any further. To me, he's the second coming of Joe Corvo.

I finally had a chance to sit down and explain myself further.

Panicking under pressure happens to many players. You're criticizing a 24 year-old for not being Drew Doughty. He's learning to develop his game to buy more time.

His shots get blocked? Can you name one player on the Kings who hasn't frequently shot into the opponents shinpads? Doughty is the only defenseman who gets more shots on goal per game. Even Martinez manages just over a shot on goal per game. So... he may get a lot of shots blocked, but he's still getting more through than a good chunk of the team.

His reads are EXACTLY WHY he gets played over Martinez. Jim Fox has said multiple times that it is okay to make mistakes as long as they play aggressive. Muzzin is trying to learn the game, and while he makes mistakes, he is at least taking chances where he is willing to learn from those mistakes.

Muzzin has size, skill, grit, and a willingness to make the mistakes so he can develop his game and get better.

Muzzin gets a lot of flak for his mistakes, but he is certainly a lot better than people make him out to be. Granted, I don't exactly like him on the top pairing with Doughty, either, but some people have overly simplistic ways of analyzing players.

 

[Jason Lewis]

I finally had a chance to sit down and explain myself further.

Panicking under pressure happens to many players. You're criticizing a 24 year-old for not being Drew Doughty. He's learning to develop his game to buy more time.

His shots get blocked? Can you name one player on the Kings who hasn't frequently shot into the opponents shinpads? Doughty is the only defenseman who gets more shots on goal per game. Even Martinez manages just over a shot on goal per game. So... he may get a lot of shots blocked, but he's still getting more through than a good chunk of the team.

His reads are EXACTLY WHY he gets played over Martinez. Jim Fox has said multiple times that it is okay to make mistakes as long as they play aggressive. Muzzin is trying to learn the game, and while he makes mistakes, he is at least taking chances where he is willing to learn from those mistakes.

Muzzin has size, skill, grit, and a willingness to make the mistakes so he can develop his game and get better.

Muzzin gets a lot of flak for his mistakes, but he is certainly a lot better than people make him out to be. Granted, I don't exactly like him on the top pairing with Doughty, either, but some people have overly simplistic ways of analyzing players.

Well put.

He gets too much flak. End of story. He's a developing young defenseman with all the tools. People can't see past the rookie/sophomore mistakes despite him still being one. No defenseman came into the league playing the game perfectly. Muzzin is no exception. If he is still having these same problems in 2-3 years then yea there is a problem, but for now...learning curve.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I would love Blues or Bruins style hockey. Blues have the 2nd ranked offense and Bruins the 5th. They also have the 2nd and 3rd ranked defense behind the Kings.

Kings style is slightly better defense then the Blues/Bruins and the 29th ranked offense. To be fair though Buffalo is the worst offense in the league, but they've fired their coach/gm, traded Vanek, and demoted about half their roster so the young players can develop.

The question I came into ask was with Fraser getting waived/demoted the Kings have 11 forwards. Toffoli will get a call up no doubt, that leaves 2 roster spots that need to be filled. Wonder if we are going to get a look at Pearson/Vey/Andy/Des... Could be a trade in the works, but unless it returns 2 for 1 it won't effect the numbers.

Fair enough, but it's not like we were just hot for stretches of three seasons. The end of 2012, 10th in scoring last year, and the beginning of this year? Reality probably lies somewhere in the middle, but it's not like this is really a 29th ranked offense, there's just something off that is absolutely fixable.

But I agree, sure there's something in the works.

Well put.

He gets too much flak. End of story. He's a developing young defenseman with all the tools. People can't see past the rookie/sophomore mistakes despite him still being one. No defenseman came into the league playing the game perfectly. Muzzin is no exception. If he is still having these same problems in 2-3 years then yea there is a problem, but for now...learning curve.

I'll admit to maybe being too hard on him. He is playing tough minutes with Doughty. But it's tough to bear them because with no scoring our margin of error is low and it's not like we're a team with the luxury of being in a rebuild, we're in win now, so everything is amplified.

 

[MynameisKing]

Fair enough, but it's not like we were just hot for stretches of three seasons. The end of 2012, 10th in scoring last year, and the beginning of this year? Reality probably lies somewhere in the middle, but it's not like this is really a 29th ranked offense, there's just something off that is absolutely fixable.

Remember this is Sutter's first year of a full camp and practice to hammer into the King's skull of grind and more grind. They were yet to let it sink in in the beginning but now they are executing Sutter's philosophy to perfection. Not only that but Sutter's touch of roster decisions of favoring grinders over skill and size over substance.

All that said I like Sutter. I liked the Sutter that had that attack mentality. Wasn't he the one that said "Attack before being attacked!" What happened to that? Now it looks like bend don't break crap from TM. He should change back somehow.