Speculation: Another year of this Bluc **** (The 2024-25 season thread)

[Fat Elvis]

Please sit Lewis.

Only 19 more games before Lewis plays his 1,000 game. BLuc taking care of their guy is the most important thing on their mind. Luc has got to go. The luck has run out years ago.

 

[Lt Dan]

Luc has got to go. The luck has run out years ago.

Any positive feelings that I once had for Luc the player have been erased by Luc the "executive"


I used to have this poster in my room in my teens

Now, I want him to fall for a Nigerian e-mail scam

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Any positive feelings that I once had for Luc the player have been erased by Luc the "executive"


I used to have this poster in my room in my teens
View attachment 920509


Now, I want him to fall for a Nigerian e-mail scam

He already did

the PLD trade

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

After the first road trip, more or less exactly where we expected them to be

3-2-2, last wild card in the west
23rd ranked PP, 26th ranked PK
5th overall in shot attempt percentages, 3rd overall in xGF%, 8th in scoring chances for %
27th in all situations goaltending
20th in all situations shooting %
And aside from Anaheim, lose to all teams above 16th, beat all teams below 16th--continuation of last years

Observations:
-Generally solid at 5v5--but stats don't capture catastrophic breakdowns. This team is the Muzzin-Martinez pairing of teams--98% of the time they're solid systematically but the breakdowns are huge and don't get sorted out. They're also not getting bailed out by goalies.
-TERRIBLE special teams;
-Goaltending is awful--but like above, getting no help. The volume of chances trends the Kings' way, but the support for chances against is nonexistent;
-shooting skill is awful. Big guns need to get going. Kempe, Fiala in particular have been trash; Byfield hasn't been right since the injury (getting kind of sick of saying that though); Kopitar is old.
-Some players haven't even started the season yet. If anyone sees Trevor Moore doing anything but getting blown up and Phil Danault doing anything but tie his skates let me know.
-Bless the d-men, they're all slotted wrong by at least one position. But will ANYONE step up? Not one above-the-head performance from the bunch.
-The 'tough to play against' 'uncomfortable' stuff was bullshit. It's like Jeannot neutered himself after the Zub hit; the tough guys are trying to play hockey and sucking at everything instead of just hockey.
-Play Akil. There's no shortage of guys who could use a night off to watch, especially with all the travel and strange start times.
-Glad to see Turcotte-Laf-Foegele having some success. Not just for Turcotte's sake, but those guys are all basically prototypical 3rd liners and watching them cruise night after night through hard has been an early pleasure and should be a good example for others (ie they aren't just FIala having some success dangling two guys).

in summary--I don't hate Hiller. he's trying to make chicken soup out of chicken shit. The play vs. results is just a team that's not good enough to break thru on either end--they're not going to win with a "B" game with the lack of scoring talent and lack of net talent on the D side. They can generate and suppress chances at a top tier rate, but they can't pop one in or keep one out. That's a talent/construction issue, not a coaching issue.

edit: lol goalies pls

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849122359883555061

 

[chris kontos]

im glad i have nhl center ice tv so i have a choice whether or not to watch the boys. in watching and comparing other teams play against what the kings are doing the difference is striking. even at this early point in the season.
just cant wait for the la bergevins to be unveiled.
oh yeah, im told we move ahead through tradition. that is the dumbest f***ing marketing slogan or really one of the dumbest f***ing english language statements ever. what does "we move ahead through tradition" even mean?
i dont think the adults in the room at aeg are paying attention to this idiocy that passes as mgmt of a modern nhl franchise.

 

[tigermask48]

Turcotte reminds me of Mike Richards.

Me to... but also, so did Mike Amadio when he was in juniors...

 

[bland]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849122359883555061

The Danault line called in with a severe case of apathy last night.

Byfield looks like he thought he was ready to come in and explode but forgot just how hard it is.

Kopitar has made some terrific individual plays, but his shift by shift influence on a game has faded badly over the past two years.

Clarke has to get the growing pains out of the way. Shame they couldn't have done this last year.

 

[Lt Dan]

The Danault line called in with a severe case of apathy last night.

Byfield looks like he thought he was ready to come in and explode but forgot just how hard it is.

So, he had blue balls?

 

[killermiller]

After the first road trip, more or less exactly where we expected them to be

3-2-2, last wild card in the west
23rd ranked PP, 26th ranked PK
5th overall in shot attempt percentages, 3rd overall in xGF%, 8th in scoring chances for %
27th in all situations goaltending
20th in all situations shooting %
And aside from Anaheim, lose to all teams above 16th, beat all teams below 16th--continuation of last years

Observations:
-Generally solid at 5v5--but stats don't capture catastrophic breakdowns. This team is the Muzzin-Martinez pairing of teams--98% of the time they're solid systematically but the breakdowns are huge and don't get sorted out. They're also not getting bailed out by goalies.
-TERRIBLE special teams;
-Goaltending is awful--but like above, getting no help. The volume of chances trends the Kings' way, but the support for chances against is nonexistent;
-shooting skill is awful. Big guns need to get going. Kempe, Fiala in particular have been trash; Byfield hasn't been right since the injury (getting kind of sick of saying that though); Kopitar is old.
-Some players haven't even started the season yet. If anyone sees Trevor Moore doing anything but getting blown up and Phil Danault doing anything but tie his skates let me know.
-Bless the d-men, they're all slotted wrong by at least one position. But will ANYONE step up? Not one above-the-head performance from the bunch.
-The 'tough to play against' 'uncomfortable' stuff was bullshit. It's like Jeannot neutered himself after the Zub hit; the tough guys are trying to play hockey and sucking at everything instead of just hockey.
-Play Akil. There's no shortage of guys who could use a night off to watch, especially with all the travel and strange start times.
-Glad to see Turcotte-Laf-Foegele having some success. Not just for Turcotte's sake, but those guys are all basically prototypical 3rd liners and watching them cruise night after night through hard has been an early pleasure and should be a good example for others (ie they aren't just FIala having some success dangling two guys).

in summary--I don't hate Hiller. he's trying to make chicken soup out of chicken shit. The play vs. results is just a team that's not good enough to break thru on either end--they're not going to win with a "B" game with the lack of scoring talent and lack of net talent on the D side. They can generate and suppress chances at a top tier rate, but they can't pop one in or keep one out. That's a talent/construction issue, not a coaching issue.

edit: lol goalies pls

View attachment 920518

Agreed with most of the points, one thing I will put out there is that Kuemper looked good in his first two games and then the Ottawa game was a blowout that he should have been pulled after the 4th or 5th goal. I'm thinking it's not a coincidence that he went on IR right after that one, was probably playing a good chunk of that game through an injury, cause he didn't look anywhere near as sharp or fast as the first two games.

Rittich has looked okay to shaky, but I have no faith in Copley to be any better.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

From top to bottom, this Kings team looks like they have zero direction. No identity, no structure, just a mishmash of a team put together to get by one single season. At best, they sneak into the playoffs. They are completely rudderless.

 

[tbrown33]

im glad i have nhl center ice tv so i have a choice whether or not to watch the boys. in watching and comparing other teams play against what the kings are doing the difference is striking. even at this early point in the season.
just cant wait for the la bergevins to be unveiled.
oh yeah, im told we move ahead through tradition. that is the dumbest f***ing marketing slogan or really one of the dumbest f***ing english language statements ever. what does "we move ahead through tradition" even mean?
i dont think the adults in the room at aeg are paying attention to this idiocy that passes as mgmt of a modern nhl franchise.

The Kings have a lonnnnnnnng history of godawful marketing slogans. It's kind of their thing. In fact we should arrange some sort of power ranking of all the shitty slogans through the years.

 

[johnjm22]

During the summer I asked AEG what the direction of the team is. This was Dan's response.

We're now a day away from the home opener. I don't recall any specific plan being "communicated to the fans and media".

Maybe I missed it? Can someone tell me?

 

[Sol]

As easy as it is to shit on Byfield, I think anyone genuinely pissed off at him needs to re-evaluate his situation. He finally played center with good line mates only to be stripped of that responsibility in less than a handful of games. Confidence for a young player is fickle and when his entire career so far is to be Kopitars puck retriever then I don’t know how anyone can expect this kid to be confident.

You start the entire offseason hearing “it’s your time to shine, and you’re gonna be a center. This is where you have to really show us what you got” then 4 games in “alright you’re back on your tricycle with Kopitar”


If I’m Byfield I’d be pissed too because that old gas bag is gone in a year or two while my entire career trajectory hangs in the balance. Let’s be real here, does anyone think that Kopitar is playing for success or for money? He got paid for another 2 years to make fat stacks of cash on a shit team while Byfield is trying to make a name for himself. I’m sure he appreciates Kopitars temporary handholding but it should have only been temporary.

 

[Sol]

After the first road trip, more or less exactly where we expected them to be

3-2-2, last wild card in the west
23rd ranked PP, 26th ranked PK
5th overall in shot attempt percentages, 3rd overall in xGF%, 8th in scoring chances for %
27th in all situations goaltending
20th in all situations shooting %
And aside from Anaheim, lose to all teams above 16th, beat all teams below 16th--continuation of last years

Observations:
-Generally solid at 5v5--but stats don't capture catastrophic breakdowns. This team is the Muzzin-Martinez pairing of teams--98% of the time they're solid systematically but the breakdowns are huge and don't get sorted out. They're also not getting bailed out by goalies.
-TERRIBLE special teams;
-Goaltending is awful--but like above, getting no help. The volume of chances trends the Kings' way, but the support for chances against is nonexistent;
-shooting skill is awful. Big guns need to get going. Kempe, Fiala in particular have been trash; Byfield hasn't been right since the injury (getting kind of sick of saying that though); Kopitar is old.
-Some players haven't even started the season yet. If anyone sees Trevor Moore doing anything but getting blown up and Phil Danault doing anything but tie his skates let me know.
-Bless the d-men, they're all slotted wrong by at least one position. But will ANYONE step up? Not one above-the-head performance from the bunch.
-The 'tough to play against' 'uncomfortable' stuff was bullshit. It's like Jeannot neutered himself after the Zub hit; the tough guys are trying to play hockey and sucking at everything instead of just hockey.
-Play Akil. There's no shortage of guys who could use a night off to watch, especially with all the travel and strange start times.
-Glad to see Turcotte-Laf-Foegele having some success. Not just for Turcotte's sake, but those guys are all basically prototypical 3rd liners and watching them cruise night after night through hard has been an early pleasure and should be a good example for others (ie they aren't just FIala having some success dangling two guys).

in summary--I don't hate Hiller. he's trying to make chicken soup out of chicken shit. The play vs. results is just a team that's not good enough to break thru on either end--they're not going to win with a "B" game with the lack of scoring talent and lack of net talent on the D side. They can generate and suppress chances at a top tier rate, but they can't pop one in or keep one out. That's a talent/construction issue, not a coaching issue.

edit: lol goalies pls

View attachment 920518

Respectfully RJ you tend to be softer on coaches in the beginning.

While the team isn’t that good, the Kings are failing in every department which is a clear sign of failure in coaching. There are historically teams that have poor talent but good coaching helps them be competitive. Kings suck and so does Hiller. He’s not helping at all.

 

[BaileyFan]

I mean this is par for the course for this team, picked up right where we left off last year. So far they’ve beaten the teams they’re supposed to beat and lost to the teams they’re supposed to lose to with the exception of the Ottawa game which was a shitshow from both sides and they still ended up with a point. Doughty being out hasn’t made a huge difference in the standings but will likely be the excuse Luc uses to get him and Blakey fat extensions next year. As terrible as they look against real contenders, this is really just your run of the mill black hole team. Always has been.

 

[tbrown33]

During the summer I asked AEG what the direction of the team is. This was Dan's response.

We're now a day away from the home opener. I don't recall any specific plan being "communicated to the fans and media".

Maybe I missed it? Can someone tell me?

They are still communicating internally about how to communicate externally. Much like their prospect development philosophy, it's an unnecessarily long process that will likely never come to fruition.

 

[King'sPawn]

During the summer I asked AEG what the direction of the team is. This was Dan's response.

We're now a day away from the home opener. I don't recall any specific plan being "communicated to the fans and media".

Maybe I missed it? Can someone tell me?

They apparently can't communicate well enough with their media team about streaming preseason games.

 

[kingsholygrail]

As easy as it is to shit on Byfield, I think anyone genuinely pissed off at him needs to re-evaluate his situation. He finally played center with good line mates only to be stripped of that responsibility in less than a handful of games. Confidence for a young player is fickle and when his entire career so far is to be Kopitars puck retriever then I don’t know how anyone can expect this kid to be confident.

You start the entire offseason hearing “it’s your time to shine, and you’re gonna be a center. This is where you have to really show us what you got” then 4 games in “alright you’re back on your tricycle with Kopitar”


If I’m Byfield I’d be pissed too because that old gas bag is gone in a year or two while my entire career trajectory hangs in the balance. Let’s be real here, does anyone think that Kopitar is playing for success or for money? He got paid for another 2 years to make fat stacks of cash on a shit team while Byfield is trying to make a name for himself. I’m sure he appreciates Kopitars temporary handholding but it should have only been temporary.

If this is enough to completely derail him, I think he should be moved for assets before other GMs realize he's a headcase.

 

[Steve Zissou]

He already did

the PLD trade

 

[Sol]

If this is enough to completely derail him, I think he should be moved for assets before other GMs realize he's a headcase.

Lets be reality,

how many times has he played a prominent center role on this team? If this had more than twice then yeah i'd agree he's a head case.

 

[fivehole32]

im glad i have nhl center ice tv so i have a choice whether or not to watch the boys. in watching and comparing other teams play against what the kings are doing the difference is striking. even at this early point in the season.
just cant wait for the la bergevins to be unveiled.
oh yeah, im told we move ahead through tradition. that is the dumbest f***ing marketing slogan or really one of the dumbest f***ing english language statements ever. what does "we move ahead through tradition" even mean?
i dont think the adults in the room at aeg are paying attention to this idiocy that passes as mgmt of a modern nhl franchise.

This team has been hard to watch for the few games I have been able to watch start to finish. Last night I actually started doing things around the house and just listen to the broadcast it was so brutal. Guys are coasting, roster has holes and no one is stepping up. Its extremely frustrating.


I think the NHL lays out some marketing templates for the teams departments to experiment with or use entirely because I remember about 15 years ago. The "We are the Kings" slogan was also used by the Canucks and the Stars if I remember correctly.

 

[johnjm22]

Lets be reality,

Sol coming through with the old school reference.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Lets be reality,

how many times has he played a prominent center role on this team? If this had more than twice then yeah i'd agree he's a head case.

I don't think he's a center anymore, honestly. He's shown success as a winger. Should keep him there and find a Kopitar replacement elsewhere.

 

[chris kontos]

This team has been hard to watch for the few games I have been able to watch start to finish. Last night I actually started doing things around the house and just listen to the broadcast it was so brutal. Guys are coasting, roster has holes and no one is stepping up. Its extremely frustrating.


I think the NHL lays out some marketing templates for the teams departments to experiment with or use entirely because I remember about 15 years ago. The "We are the Kings" slogan was also used by the Canucks and the Stars if I remember correctly.

while i admire your productivity during the game, if its the leauge coming up with these slogans they are alot worse than i think they are

I don't think he's a center anymore, honestly. He's shown success as a winger. Should keep him there and find a Kopitar replacement elsewhere.

Play the GD kids and send kopitar and dooty packing. Until that happens were screwed