Analyzing Management and Development
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Yeah, i absolutely agree with you.
A NHL team should be build around players strength, not turning weaknesses into a mediocre skill
Beside that, the "earning the spot" is nonsense. Either a player is qualified or not.
The real approach would be "here is the roster spot we drafted your for, it's up to you to keep it"
Just making a player earn a roster spot and grind through 4th and 3rd line is a waste of time, just to figure out
the player in question can't handle the job, he was drafted for
Kupari and Vilardi are the best example, both kinda showed that they are not ready for an offensive center position
and they got moved back to the farm team, Kupari a little bit too late.
Vilardi is already showing great progress and will come back stronger than ever and so will Kupari.
Developing youngsters is not a race
Sorry, that's just f***ing stupid......
Alex Lafrienniere, we drafted you to be our #1 C,
Zibanjad, we know you are a top scorer in the league, but f*** off and die....here's 2nd line duties, minutes, etc...
Kaako, we drafted you to be our #1 W,
Panarin, f*** off die, you are a great scrorer...but sorry, you know...draft....
Obviously that's a bit of hyperbole, but boiled down to it, that's what your position is, players should be played in the positions for what they were drafted for.....
Herby
How could Blake have known?
I think development continues to be very large problem for the Kings, especially development of scoring forwards.
Everyone wants to say "be patient" and "they're still kids" but it's alarming that the four first round forwards taken between 17-20 are not contributing at all to the NHL club right now. Three are in the minors and one is struggling in the NHL and clearly is lacking in confidence. They have fallen behind many of their peers who were evaluated similarly at the draft age, 17. Is it fair to ask why that might be? Is it all on the players? Is it all on management?
Vilardi, should he have been in the NHL all of last season? He really struggled for stretches of the season last year and then continued it this season before being sent down. Was there a different path the Kings could have taken? It just seems so strange to have someone up an entire year at 21 and then have them down basically an entire season at 22. I'm a bit torn on Vilardi, they could use his offense on that 3rd line but it seems more and more apparent that the organization just doesn't really believe in his all-around game.
Kupari, was riding busses in the AHL as a teenager the correct path for his development? Should the Kings have let him play and likely dominate one more season in Finland before bringing him over? I don't know enough about the history of similarly evaluated players and whether its been the norm to keep them in Europe or bring them over as teenagers. Maybe someone with more knowledge on the subject can chime in.
Turcotte, I do know the history of NCAA players who are signed after freshman year and end up riding busses in the AHL, and it's not even comparable to the alternative. This is where I wish we had a more active media that could ask Blake their line of thinking with this one. 10 NCAA players taken in the 1st round of that years draft. Two signed after freshman season, six signed after sophomore season and two still playing in the NCAA. Zegras played the majority of his games in the NHL last year and is now a 1st line player, my thinking is always if you are going to be an NHL'er you should leave, if you aren't, you should stay. The six players who played as sophomores, 5 are in the NHL and 1 is in the AHL. What exactly did he gain from playing in the AHL last year? He played all last year there at 19 and isn't ready for the NHL at 20. Is it a reasonable comment to say that had Turcotte returned to school, gained weight and grew his offensive game that he might be a solid contributor on the Kings 3rd line right now?
Byfield, same thing, they went against historical norms by not having a #2 overall pick in the NHL. Was it the right move? I think I will side with the vast majority of other NHL front offices and not think Blake is just smarter than everyone else. What did QB gain from riding busses in the AHL last year? He played 43 career AHL games (12-14-26) and now as an NHL'er his coach doesn't even really trust him enough to play any kind of meaningful minutes in a playoff race (even in a low pressure deployment). Has QB been dealt a tough hand with linemates? Yes he has. Has QB looked as good in the NHL as past players taken this high at the same age? No he hasn't. It's not tough to wonder that had he just been given last season in a throw-away year to learn in a low pressure situation where he might be right now. Every other team has done it with similar players, can someone ask Blake why the Kings didn't?
I think the Kings have to take a long look in the mirror at how they develop their high end forwards. It is not looking very good at all right now outside of Kaliyev (who it could be argued is also being poorly developed right now with his lack of NHL usage)
Everyone wants to say "be patient" and "they're still kids" but it's alarming that the four first round forwards taken between 17-20 are not contributing at all to the NHL club right now. Three are in the minors and one is struggling in the NHL and clearly is lacking in confidence. They have fallen behind many of their peers who were evaluated similarly at the draft age, 17. Is it fair to ask why that might be? Is it all on the players? Is it all on management?
Vilardi, should he have been in the NHL all of last season? He really struggled for stretches of the season last year and then continued it this season before being sent down. Was there a different path the Kings could have taken? It just seems so strange to have someone up an entire year at 21 and then have them down basically an entire season at 22. I'm a bit torn on Vilardi, they could use his offense on that 3rd line but it seems more and more apparent that the organization just doesn't really believe in his all-around game.
Kupari, was riding busses in the AHL as a teenager the correct path for his development? Should the Kings have let him play and likely dominate one more season in Finland before bringing him over? I don't know enough about the history of similarly evaluated players and whether its been the norm to keep them in Europe or bring them over as teenagers. Maybe someone with more knowledge on the subject can chime in.
Turcotte, I do know the history of NCAA players who are signed after freshman year and end up riding busses in the AHL, and it's not even comparable to the alternative. This is where I wish we had a more active media that could ask Blake their line of thinking with this one. 10 NCAA players taken in the 1st round of that years draft. Two signed after freshman season, six signed after sophomore season and two still playing in the NCAA. Zegras played the majority of his games in the NHL last year and is now a 1st line player, my thinking is always if you are going to be an NHL'er you should leave, if you aren't, you should stay. The six players who played as sophomores, 5 are in the NHL and 1 is in the AHL. What exactly did he gain from playing in the AHL last year? He played all last year there at 19 and isn't ready for the NHL at 20. Is it a reasonable comment to say that had Turcotte returned to school, gained weight and grew his offensive game that he might be a solid contributor on the Kings 3rd line right now?
Byfield, same thing, they went against historical norms by not having a #2 overall pick in the NHL. Was it the right move? I think I will side with the vast majority of other NHL front offices and not think Blake is just smarter than everyone else. What did QB gain from riding busses in the AHL last year? He played 43 career AHL games (12-14-26) and now as an NHL'er his coach doesn't even really trust him enough to play any kind of meaningful minutes in a playoff race (even in a low pressure deployment). Has QB been dealt a tough hand with linemates? Yes he has. Has QB looked as good in the NHL as past players taken this high at the same age? No he hasn't. It's not tough to wonder that had he just been given last season in a throw-away year to learn in a low pressure situation where he might be right now. Every other team has done it with similar players, can someone ask Blake why the Kings didn't?
I think the Kings have to take a long look in the mirror at how they develop their high end forwards. It is not looking very good at all right now outside of Kaliyev (who it could be argued is also being poorly developed right now with his lack of NHL usage)
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Well if you say it like that it sounds stupid.
Spot actually means role for me.
If a player is drafted to be a scorer, i don't care if they put him on 1st or 2nd line as long as he can show off as a scorer.
If not, back to the farm team it is.
That is my whole point
Beside that we talk Iafallo, Arvidson and Brown like players here, not Zib or Panarin
No idea what triggered you that much
Oh don’t mind GoldenBearHyperbole. Overreaction and exaggeration is his only mode of discussion. Call everyone stupid, say “everyone is losing their shit” so you can seem like a voice of reason and condescendingly straw man every argument. Like he’s some wise elder shaking his head at the group of idiots he has to teach. It’s a dishonest, chicken shit way to debate.
BigKing
Blake Out of Hell III: Back in to Hell
I'm very concerned about the 1st round picks as well. Looking very Lombardi-ish except his #2OA is a no-brainer HHOF'er who instantly stepped into the NHL with zero issues.
Hickey was going to be great: just wait. Bernier will be a force: just wait. Trevor Lewis over a PPG in Owen Sound and then a great cup of coffee in Manchester: let's go. Teubert: physical defenseman take longer. Forbort: big defenseman just take longer.
I keep harping on the fact that DL had a Top 5 prospect pool for several seasons as well and a lot of the big drivers of that didn't really pan out as expected. My affection for Kaliyev should be widely known at this point but I'm honestly more excited about the non-first round guys than I am the first round guys, save for Clarke who hasn't had the chance to disappoint yet and Byfield.
But I am extremely worried about Byfield because he's the whole crux of this thing. You can mostly miss on Vilardi, Kupari and even Turcotte and still be fine if Byfield and Clarke are elite and you get something decent for your blue chippers that wind up not being blue chippers. I said before the season that I wanted a good forward with him to help ease his transition but, instead, I'm seeing him saddled with the worst two wingers I could imagine putting him with. I'm not part of the "take a shit on Brown every other post" crew but he was the last guy I wanted with Byfield and I didn't even want AA to be re-signed.
I've read "what else are you going to do" since it would apparently be sacrilege to take Iafallo or Kempe off of Kopitar's line but...why is that? Danault and Lizotte's line look like the ones you don't want to touch. This "third line" looks like the worst line the Kings have iced all season so I can't buy in to "they are trying to win and Byfield's development isn't as important" because that line runs counter to trying to win right now while also being bad for his development.
I understand the argument of "he should elevate his wingers" so yeah: he should be better. That said, it is Blake and Co's job to develop these guys properly and the early returns on the first round picks is pretty worrisome outside of Bjornfot and, to be fair, he was a safe pick who was already pretty polished.
Well as long as we glue our player to the board in the o-zone, it doesn't matter at all if we develop players or not.
Enter the zone already at the boards and dump the puck into the corner, is not hockey and i haven't seen many people scoring goals while pinned to the board.
All the heavy weight teams in the league have a speedy entry at the middle to open up several ways to go, when entering at the boards there is only one direction to go and the defender knows that.
This is where the blindly throwing the puck in front of the net comes into play because there are no options anymore.
But who am i
Enter the zone already at the boards and dump the puck into the corner, is not hockey and i haven't seen many people scoring goals while pinned to the board.
All the heavy weight teams in the league have a speedy entry at the middle to open up several ways to go, when entering at the boards there is only one direction to go and the defender knows that.
This is where the blindly throwing the puck in front of the net comes into play because there are no options anymore.
But who am i
bland
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tny760
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The whole discussion up to the draft on Byfield vs Stutzle was that Stutzle was more NHL ready, and QB needed more seasoning, first year after being drafted, hes playing in the AHL, with 6 games in the NHL, 2nd year....he had a shit start, broken ankle, then covid, played 11 games, and is now playing in the NHL....
Tell me, if the argument before he was drafted was, he wasn't NHL ready......what were the options?
Peter James Bond II
"Man, we were right there" - De-Luc-sional
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This should not be what Todd was saying about Byfield...but Brown.
“I think there’s ups and downs with him, it’s not easy, it hasn’t been smooth,” “I think he’s at the point now where he needs to be poked a little bit and he’s getting that. He’s been a pro now for 18 years and how he started in the American League is how he’s started here, he’s learned a lot of lessons. I talk a lot about permission, it’s time for him to start giving himself permission to make and receive passes at the NHL level”
Nothing alarming there really, but a head coach who understands a player losing 92% of the game he once had, that Brown has the Kings by the balls, deceiving them that he can still play. Looking at Brown on a 1-5 scale, with one being as raw as possible and five being a finished product, he estimated his current positioning as a “1 or a 2”. That says less about where he is right now and more about where the organization hopes he will be at, by game 60...when it gets down to the nitty gritty and the best teams will rise to the top.
He’s currently a bottom-six line right wing at the NHL level, although most can see he's no longer capable of a semblance of NHL level of play . While his role has fluctuated a bit, and his minutes haven’t been consistent, that same thing could be said for most ancient players, still getting some NHL icetime. As he gets more and more comfortable, and more and more confident, he will make a few plays that help the Kings, rather than ones that are currently benefiting the opponent.
“We’re asking him to do a lot right now, but he’s capable of it,” “I think that he’s going to learn what his strengths and weaknesses are here, he’s going to learn to how to be not noticed, that he's out there, coughing up the puck or missing plays. It's an artform...but we see it and just delete what we just saw. There’s the special teams stuff that will come eventually, the power play is struggling and though Dustin hasn't scored a power play point since January 13, but he's due and it's bound to start happening for him, so we keep putting him out there...as Rob said, "we don't know why some pucks go in and some don't" So, we're all learning.
“I think there’s ups and downs with him, it’s not easy, it hasn’t been smooth,” “I think he’s at the point now where he needs to be poked a little bit and he’s getting that. He’s been a pro now for 18 years and how he started in the American League is how he’s started here, he’s learned a lot of lessons. I talk a lot about permission, it’s time for him to start giving himself permission to make and receive passes at the NHL level”
Nothing alarming there really, but a head coach who understands a player losing 92% of the game he once had, that Brown has the Kings by the balls, deceiving them that he can still play. Looking at Brown on a 1-5 scale, with one being as raw as possible and five being a finished product, he estimated his current positioning as a “1 or a 2”. That says less about where he is right now and more about where the organization hopes he will be at, by game 60...when it gets down to the nitty gritty and the best teams will rise to the top.
He’s currently a bottom-six line right wing at the NHL level, although most can see he's no longer capable of a semblance of NHL level of play . While his role has fluctuated a bit, and his minutes haven’t been consistent, that same thing could be said for most ancient players, still getting some NHL icetime. As he gets more and more comfortable, and more and more confident, he will make a few plays that help the Kings, rather than ones that are currently benefiting the opponent.
“We’re asking him to do a lot right now, but he’s capable of it,” “I think that he’s going to learn what his strengths and weaknesses are here, he’s going to learn to how to be not noticed, that he's out there, coughing up the puck or missing plays. It's an artform...but we see it and just delete what we just saw. There’s the special teams stuff that will come eventually, the power play is struggling and though Dustin hasn't scored a power play point since January 13, but he's due and it's bound to start happening for him, so we keep putting him out there...as Rob said, "we don't know why some pucks go in and some don't" So, we're all learning.
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There is a pattern of going after traits that they see will build community and playoff hockey. Not bad players but I’m questioning weather they are picking the best players now. Time will tell.
Hard to weed out if it’s players mostly not getting quality opportunity or not seizing opportunity. At this point, it’s still an integration stage so I’m not judging players too hard.
Not how it's done around here bud, if a player isn't playing 20 minutes a nice 2 seasons after being drafted, something is dreadfully wrong.....
When in reality, there are FEW that play top six directly after being drafted....
Herby
How could Blake have known?
I would have done what 18 of the previous 20 #1 picks had done the decade before. Had him in the NHL, not riding busses and playing in practice facilities in a watered down AHL.
Not all those guys were ready to be impact players in the NHL, that isn't what it's about, it's about adapting to the game and the NHL life at 18 so it makes it easier to contribute at 19. Tyler Seguin was not a star as an 18 year old in Boston, they certainly could have sent him back to junior, especially as they were contenders, but he got a seasons worth of games in the NHL and learned stuff he wasn't going to at lower levels. The next year he was a difference maker at 19. Barkov could easily have been in the AHL at 18, but Florida had him up in the NHL.
What did QB gain from a year in the AHL that he wouldn't have gained last year in the NHL?
Do you think he looks better this year at 19 if he had spent last year in the NHL instead of the AHL?
I don't mean to rag on the AHL, I know many here follow the league closely, but it's not really a league for teenagers and it's not really a league for super-elite (Top 1-3 picks) type prospects. A handful of games, sure, an entire season for an 18 year-old #2 pick? No.
Define few?
I know you said directly, but since the discussion is on a player in his D+2 I assume you are saying expecting production now is some kind of ridiculous suggestion. I don't think anyone was suggesting QB would have been a Top 6 forward last year, just that it would have better prepared him to maybe be one this season.
Without any context, here is the NHL offensive production for every top 1-3 pick forward in their D+2 seasons since the lockout
[TABLE="class: brtb_item_table"][TBODY][TR][TD]Player[/TD][TD]GP[/TD][TD]G[/TD][TD]A[/TD][TD]Pts[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]S. Crosby[/TD][TD]79[/TD][TD]36[/TD][TD]84[/TD][TD]120[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]B. Ryan[/TD][TD]0[/TD][TD]0[/TD][TD]0[/TD][TD]0[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]J. Staal[/TD][TD]82[/TD][TD]12[/TD][TD]16[/TD][TD]28[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]J. Toews[/TD][TD]64[/TD][TD]24[/TD][TD]30[/TD][TD]54[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]P. Kane[/TD][TD]80[/TD][TD]25[/TD][TD]45[/TD][TD]70[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]J. Van Riemsdyk[/TD][TD]0[/TD][TD]0[/TD][TD]0[/TD][TD]0[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]K. Turris[/TD][TD]63[/TD][TD]8[/TD][TD]12[/TD][TD]20[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]S. Stamkos[/TD][TD]82[/TD][TD]51[/TD][TD]44[/TD][TD]95[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]J. Tavares[/TD][TD]79[/TD][TD]29[/TD][TD]38[/TD][TD]67[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]M. Duchene[/TD][TD]80[/TD][TD]27[/TD][TD]40[/TD][TD]67[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]T. Hall[/TD][TD]61[/TD][TD]27[/TD][TD]26[/TD][TD]53[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]T. Seguin[/TD][TD]81[/TD][TD]29[/TD][TD]38[/TD][TD]67[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]R. Nugent-Hopkins[/TD][TD]40[/TD][TD]4[/TD][TD]20[/TD][TD]24[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]G. Landeskog[/TD][TD]36[/TD][TD]9[/TD][TD]8[/TD][TD]17[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]J. Huberdeau[/TD][TD]48[/TD][TD]14[/TD][TD]17[/TD][TD]31[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]N. Yakupov[/TD][TD]63[/TD][TD]11[/TD][TD]13[/TD][TD]24[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]A. Galchenyuk[/TD][TD]65[/TD][TD]13[/TD][TD]18[/TD][TD]31[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]N. MacKinnon[/TD][TD]64[/TD][TD]14[/TD][TD]24[/TD][TD]38[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]A. Barkov[/TD][TD]71[/TD][TD]16[/TD][TD]20[/TD][TD]36[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]J. Drouin[/TD][TD]70[/TD][TD]4[/TD][TD]28[/TD][TD]32[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]S. Reinhart[/TD][TD]79[/TD][TD]23[/TD][TD]19[/TD][TD]42[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]L. Draisaitl[/TD][TD]72[/TD][TD]19[/TD][TD]32[/TD][TD]51[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]C. McDavid [/TD][TD]80[/TD][TD]30[/TD][TD]70[/TD][TD]100[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]J. Eichel[/TD][TD]61[/TD][TD]24[/TD][TD]33[/TD][TD]57[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]D. Strome[/TD][TD]7[/TD][TD]0[/TD][TD]1[/TD][TD]1[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]A. Matthews[/TD][TD]62[/TD][TD]34[/TD][TD]29[/TD][TD]63[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]P. Laine[/TD][TD]82[/TD][TD]44[/TD][TD]26[/TD][TD]70[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]P.L. Dubois[/TD][TD]82[/TD][TD]20[/TD][TD]28[/TD][TD]48[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]N. Hischier[/TD][TD]69[/TD][TD]17[/TD][TD]30[/TD][TD]47[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]N. Patrick[/TD][TD]72[/TD][TD]13[/TD][TD]18[/TD][TD]31[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]A. Svechnikov[/TD][TD]68[/TD][TD]24[/TD][TD]37[/TD][TD]61[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]J. Kotkaniemi[/TD][TD]79[/TD][TD]11[/TD][TD]23[/TD][TD]34[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]J. Hughes[/TD][TD]56[/TD][TD]11[/TD][TD]20[/TD][TD]31[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]K. Kaako[/TD][TD]48[/TD][TD]9[/TD][TD]8[/TD][TD]17[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]K. Dach[/TD][TD]18[/TD][TD]2[/TD][TD]8[/TD][TD]10[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]A. Lafreniere[/TD][TD]46[/TD][TD]10[/TD][TD]3[/TD][TD]13[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]Q. Byfield [/TD][TD]8[/TD][TD]1[/TD][TD]0[/TD][TD]1[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]T. Stutzle[/TD][TD]45[/TD][TD]9[/TD][TD]15[/TD][TD]24[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]
Sure seems like more than "a few" players have been able to step in and be Top 6 forwards as teenagers. Also, of the success stories from these Top 3 picks very few of them spent any significant amount of time in the AHL. It is not a league for elite high end prospects and he never should have been down there last year. And most of the success stories from this list were in the NHL at age 18. Now in fairness so were a few of the flops, but just like the 2 years in the NCAA path (which the Kings also ignored last year), the high picks in the NHL right away model has proven to be more successful than not. But again, the Kings knew better than everyone else.
And I am not writing off QB, he is a very talented player with a lot of God given skill and physical attributes but his development both last year and this year has been complete garbage by the Kings. They have not put this kid in a position to succeed and we are getting to the point where it is going to start to hurt his long-term development.
The solution is simple, it's not to bring up un-proven and poorly developed players who haven't scored in the NHL and form a "kid line" that many seem to want. The solution is to trade for a proven goal-scorer to play with AK and then move one of Iafallo or Kempe down to play with QB and make Brown the 13th forward. That starts to give you the basic framework of having 4 productive lines that the Kings will need to make a run at a playoff spot.
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BigKing
Blake Out of Hell III: Back in to Hell
@Herby
But they are not going to healthy scratch Brown: it's just not going to happen. So then what?
If Brown is going to play, I'd rather Kopitar carry him around like usual than keep this horrific AA/Byfield/Brown line together.
Actually just thought about it: they can make a trade and still play Brown. It would just be AA as the 13th forward.
But they are not going to healthy scratch Brown: it's just not going to happen. So then what?
If Brown is going to play, I'd rather Kopitar carry him around like usual than keep this horrific AA/Byfield/Brown line together.
Actually just thought about it: they can make a trade and still play Brown. It would just be AA as the 13th forward.
Yea Iafallo-Kopitar-Brown is the best bet. Then Kempe-Byfield-AA/Grundstrom/TurcotteVilardi/Kupari/Andersson until someone sticks.
If they do trade Brown at the deadline Konecny would slot nicely into the lineup next to Kopitar or Byfield.
BigKing
Blake Out of Hell III: Back in to Hell
They aren't trading Brown.
Blake is all about doing right by his players and is trying to build a rep as being super player-friendly. Pretty much everyone he traded was sent to a good situation and this isn't even just the Cup guys: he moved Keumper to a team that was likely to want to re-sign him.
If Dustin Brown ever wears a different sweater, it will be because Dustin decided to sign a contract elsewhere. I imagine it will be the same for 11 and 8: trade demand or UFA elsewhere.
Forget trading him: I don't even think they will embarrass him by making him a healthy scratch.
Herby
How could Blake have known?
I'm not so sure that Brown isn't eventually sat. The comparison again is Richards, everyone said he would never be out of the lineup, intangibles! blah blah blah but eventually when the ability for the team to compete was being damaged by one guy they made the move. I don't know if we are at that point with Brown, he isn't Richards bad but we are starting to get into that territory. Last game was the most lost Brown has looked since maybe he was playing as a teenager.
We don't know what the dynamic of the whole situation is though, for all we know TM wants him out and Blake and Luc are saying no, or it could be the other way around. I just have a hard time believing they are going to keep trotting him out there if there are more games like that one.
BigKing
Blake Out of Hell III: Back in to Hell
I think the difference with Richards was the following:
- Kings were defending champs when he was sent down. Lombardi and company were dealing with what they thought was a legit contender v. what this Kings team is.
- Richards let Lombardi down: big time. Brown hasn't done anything wrong: he's just playing out his contract and is a Kings since 2003 and the captain of the two Cup winning teams.
- Lombardi didn't really care too much about perception around the league as evidenced by the butt tattoo comment and then subsequent deportation of Lubo the day before his no-trade clause kicked in. Blake is trying to build a player-friendly "we're all former players and will treat you right" deal out here.
Now, if Brown completely falls off a cliff then they might do it but if he plays like he has most of the year, I don't see him being scratched.
What’s interesting about QB is that without the Covid rule, he would have likely been in the OHL last year.
DoktorJeep
Luc and Rob are a waste of time and money.
Todd isn’t getting paid $25M to spend five years collecting moral victories and developing outstanding young men. He’s getting paid to win more than he loses over the course of the deal. So you need to make hay starting year three or everyone’s position is tenuous.
I don’t blame nhl coaches for favoring vets. They all do unless explicitly told not to. Blake tells Todd you need to win more games and develop some kids because that is politically correct. But Todd knows that the only part that really matters is the games won component. And he’s going to flog the shit out of all the guys that make the most money.
Because if they win more games, everyone looks like a genius. And if they don’t, well no one can point to the coach not using what the GM paid the most for this season. It’s hack 101 and like I said, I get why nhl coaches work this way and don’t fault them for it.
What I don’t get is how any fan shares this attitude. You get the most fans by being entertaining. Promoting kids over vets makes the game more exciting. The people who are fans but pretend to be in the business of hockey are a small fraction of the overall audience. No one should listen to any fan who says they know how hockey decisions are really made.
I don’t blame nhl coaches for favoring vets. They all do unless explicitly told not to. Blake tells Todd you need to win more games and develop some kids because that is politically correct. But Todd knows that the only part that really matters is the games won component. And he’s going to flog the shit out of all the guys that make the most money.
Because if they win more games, everyone looks like a genius. And if they don’t, well no one can point to the coach not using what the GM paid the most for this season. It’s hack 101 and like I said, I get why nhl coaches work this way and don’t fault them for it.
What I don’t get is how any fan shares this attitude. You get the most fans by being entertaining. Promoting kids over vets makes the game more exciting. The people who are fans but pretend to be in the business of hockey are a small fraction of the overall audience. No one should listen to any fan who says they know how hockey decisions are really made.
Axl Rhoadz
Binky distributor
- Apr 5, 2011
- 5,343
- 3,959
Gotta disagree, I think you get more fans by winning games. We’ve seen ‘exciting’ hockey all year (from a Kings perspective), but one single regulation loss in last 7 games and the board goes into meltdown mode.
Winning sells tickets, period.
DoktorJeep
Luc and Rob are a waste of time and money.
How many hockey fans outside of SoCal know about Zegras versus any Kings prospect?
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