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

[Axl Rhoadz]

Oh Axl, you mean when he had a hidden medical condition that was kept hidden since he kept missing time? I’ve been wrong a few times but boy oh boy I don’t have years to type out all the times you’ve been wrong. OOF.

A ‘hidden medical condition’? lol.

Ok, Vilardi is everything I thought he’d be as a player. It was an awful trade and was high questionable, ant best, even if we got the best version of PLD.

I agree. Blake’s worst move by far.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Ok, Vilardi is everything I thought he’d be as a player. It was an awful trade and was high questionable, ant best, even if we got the best version of PLD.

IF we got the best version of PLD....then a few things, A. PLD wouldn't have been for trade, and B. he would blow the socks off of Vilardi....he just would.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

thats all his fault now too, is it?

Definitely not.

 

[Schrute farms]

Sorry bud, my bad….i tend to over exaggerate stats. I’ll work on that.

Well you know what they say -- "You were right there".

 

[Johnny Utah]

I would rather have Jeannot, Edmundson and Foegle over PLD - which is basically what all three of their salaries add up to and two of them were free.

 

[bland]

thats all his fault now too, is it?

Well, yeah - indirectly.

Kopitar should have been traded almost a decade ago. The last ten years have seen guaranteed, locked on mediocrity due to over commitments to players whose style of play is built for playoff success on stacked teams and not for leading from the front. Dominant defensive awareness and transitional play is a terrific quality for a winner - but it just isn't enough on a roster that doesn't have top notch offense or dripping with depth. That was readily apparent in 2015 and has proven to be accurate over time.

Its only a knock on Kopitar if you choose to read it that way - he is not the kind of player that puts a team on his back and carries them further than they would have gone without him. He is a specialist that offers virtually everything you would want from a supporting player - plus a very good but not great offensive game. You just can't rightfully expect him to be a dominant #1 center, he is a boat on a tide that rises with a deep roster, not the ocean itself. Unfortunately the organization paid him a massive longterm deal (that his play deserved) that meant that the team wouldn't bottom out far enough to recoup top prospects. Couple that with strip mining of the asset list to get the Cups and chase later unwinnable ones, and you have a recipe for a self-imposed glass ceiling.

If they had dealt Kopitar back then, Anze would be a good bet to have his name engraved on that Cup a few more times. Instead, we have a feel good story and a stat watch that emphasizes remarkable longevity over any period of peak excellence.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Well, yeah - indirectly.

Kopitar should have been traded almost a decade ago. The last ten years have seen guaranteed, locked on mediocrity due to over commitments to players whose style of play is built for playoff success on stacked teams and not for leading from the front. Dominant defensive awareness and transitional play is a terrific quality for a winner - but it just isn't enough on a roster that doesn't have top notch offense or dripping with depth. That was readily apparent in 2015 and has proven to be accurate over time.

Its only a knock on Kopitar if you choose to read it that way - he is not the kind of player that puts a team on his back and carries them further than they would have gone without him. He is a specialist that offers virtually everything you would want from a supporting player - plus a very good but not great offensive game. You just can't rightfully expect him to be a dominant #1 center, he is a boat on a tide that rises with a deep roster, not the ocean itself. Unfortunately the organization paid him a massive longterm deal (that his play deserved) that meant that the team wouldn't bottom out far enough to recoup top prospects. Couple that with strip mining of the asset list to get the Cups and chase later unwinnable ones, and you have a recipe for a self-imposed glass ceiling.

If they had dealt Kopitar back then, Anze would be a good bet to have his name engraved on that Cup a few more times. Instead, we have a feel good story and a stat watch that emphasizes remarkable longevity over any period of peak excellence.

'almost a decade ago' Kopitar was in his prime and had just won a 2nd Stanley Cup with the team that had drafted him - not to mention, probably the most popular player among fans (still is, btw). No franchise, NONE, would be trading a player like that and to imply differently is just outrageously ignorant.

 

[Statto]

IF we got the best version of PLD....then a few things, A. PLD wouldn't have been for trade, and B. he would blow the socks off of Vilardi....he just would.

I said trade. I’m including the pick… the other two I’m not worried about.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I said trade. I’m including the pick… the other two I’m not worried about.

Still doesn't hold water, if we got the BEST version of PLD....then Kupari and Iafallo don't matter at all, and PLD outplays Vilardi every day of the week.....

But we didn't. so it's that.

 

[Sol]

A ‘hidden medical condition’? lol.


I agree. Blake’s worst move by far.

I think you were too busy fantasizing about Todd Mclellan that you forgot about the roster lmaoooo

 

[BigKing]

Man Vilardi is such a dream. And his top line is killing it. Schiefele, Connor, and Vilardi are solid.

Vilardi has 22 points in 30 games. Legit traded the best player from the entire rebuild for Kuemper essentially. What a disappointment.

Some may call it semantics, but Vilardi is not a player from the rebuild. The first prospects of the rebuild were Durzi and Grundstrom. The first draft pick of the rebuild was Turcotte.

If Vilardi wasn't injured, he would have been on the NHL roster with Kovalchuk in October of 2018. He just seems like a player from the rebuild since he didn't do anything for LA until the 2023 season.

Of course, the whole idea of "rebuilding" can be argued as well since the plug was pulled after only two seasons of tanking: the Turcotte pick was earned on accident.

 

[Sol]

Some may call it semantics, but Vilardi is not a player from the rebuild. The first prospects of the rebuild were Durzi and Grundstrom. The first draft pick of the rebuild was Turcotte.

If Vilardi wasn't injured, he would have been on the NHL roster with Kovalchuk in October of 2018. He just seems like a player from the rebuild since he didn't do anything for LA until the 2023 season.

Of course, the whole idea of "rebuilding" can be argued as well since the plug was pulled after only two seasons of tanking: the Turcotte pick was earned on accident.

I would say semantics since the Kings pretty much started rebuilding in 2018 when he was drafted. 11th isn’t a low pick by any stretch. And the Kings continued to tank thereafter so yeah I’d qualify him personally. I don’t think rebuilding has to be exclusively bottom of the barrel. There’s a point at where it starts and gets worse. That’s how it works.

 

[Statto]

Still doesn't hold water, if we got the BEST version of PLD....then Kupari and Iafallo don't matter at all, and PLD outplays Vilardi every day of the week.....

But we didn't. so it's that

If we are talking about what PLD has the potential to be then I agree, but the guy has never consistently put it together in any meaningful way. So when I say best version, I mean the best version of him the NHL has seen. Vilardi, if he stays fit (which granted he has yet to do), will be more productive than PLD ever has been.

 

[crassbonanza]

I would say semantics since the Kings pretty much started rebuilding in 2018 when he was drafted. 11th isn’t a low pick by any stretch. And the Kings continued to tank thereafter so yeah I’d qualify him personally. I don’t think rebuilding has to be exclusively bottom of the barrel. There’s a point at where it starts and gets worse. That’s how it works.

The rebuild didn't start until 2019 though. Vilardi was drafted in 2017, 2017-2018 was the season when Kopitar should have won the Hart and Bluc took over from Dean. The next offseason the Kings signed Kovalchuk to a 3 year deal, after the season started poorly there was some rearranging of the deck chairs until it fully went off the rails with Desjardins. The towel was finally thrown in January 2019 with the Muzzin trade.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

If we are talking about what PLD has the potential to be then I agree, but the guy has never consistently put it together in any meaningful way. So when I say best version, I mean the best version of him the NHL has seen. Vilardi, if he stays fit (which granted he has yet to do), will be more productive than PLD ever has been.

Fair enough I took it as best version of the potential etc.

 

[BigKing]

I would say semantics since the Kings pretty much started rebuilding in 2018 when he was drafted. 11th isn’t a low pick by any stretch. And the Kings continued to tank thereafter so yeah I’d qualify him personally. I don’t think rebuilding has to be exclusively bottom of the barrel. There’s a point at where it starts and gets worse. That’s how it works.

What @crassbonanza said above.

I am a dog with a bone when it comes to crucifying Bluc for the rebuild timeline bullshit they tried to put on us fans. He inherited DL's roster, did practically nothing to it and then added Kovalchuk. Whenever I get a chance to bring up the actual start of the rebuild(?), I take it. I'm petty that way.

The Kings drafted in the early 20s the year after they drafted Vilardi. What he is notable for was being their first round one pick in three years.

Looking now at the Kings draft history, it is wild that Blake's 1C is a Dave Taylor draft pick, the presumptive 1D is a DL pick, as is arguably the best player on the team in Kempe. Dave Taylor!!

 

[Statto]

Fair enough I took it as best version of the potential etc.

Yeah. I eventually realised that was probably the case.

 

[johnjm22]

Unless Doughty is going to stay on LTIR until the playoffs, the Kings don't have much flexibility to improve the roster.

You'd have to move a current contract that carries a significant cap hit, but I don't see who that would be.

 

[Sol]

The rebuild didn't start until 2019 though. Vilardi was drafted in 2017, 2017-2018 was the season when Kopitar should have won the Hart and Bluc took over from Dean. The next offseason the Kings signed Kovalchuk to a 3 year deal, after the season started poorly there was some rearranging of the deck chairs until it fully went off the rails with Desjardins. The towel was finally thrown in January 2019 with the Muzzin trade.

What @crassbonanza said above.

I am a dog with a bone when it comes to crucifying Bluc for the rebuild timeline bullshit they tried to put on us fans. He inherited DL's roster, did practically nothing to it and then added Kovalchuk. Whenever I get a chance to bring up the actual start of the rebuild(?), I take it. I'm petty that way.

The Kings drafted in the early 20s the year after they drafted Vilardi. What he is notable for was being their first round one pick in three years.

Looking now at the Kings draft history, it is wild that Blake's 1C is a Dave Taylor draft pick, the presumptive 1D is a DL pick, as is arguably the best player on the team in Kempe. Dave Taylor!!

Okay I will backtrack since I think being ultra reductive on meaningless semantics is obfuscating my general point. Fact of the matter is that Vilardi was drafted 11th overall the same position Kopitar was drafted. He was a high pick whichever way you want to twist it. And on that note hes only 2 years older than Byfield who was drafted 2nd overall. The Kings were already a dying star when they drafted Vilardi and 11th overall supports that.


I consider Vilardi part of the rebuild. He made his NHL debut a year before Byfield. You can be ultra reductive but Vilardi was still a high pick one way or another.

With the talent that was around him at the time he was a rookie. He might not be semantically drafted during the rebuild but he was pretty much the first domino of it.

With that being said, to my original point, the best player from the rebuild era if that makes you guys happier was traded for Kuemper.

No one has come close to his skill level.

 

[Herby]

If you told all 32 NHL GM's that they could take one Kings draft pick from 2017 to 2024 to add to their team, the results would be unanimous, and no it wouldn't be Gabe Vilardi.

 

[BigKing]

Okay I will backtrack since I think being ultra reductive on meaningless semantics is obfuscating my general point. Fact of the matter is that Vilardi was drafted 11th overall the same position Kopitar was drafted. He was a high pick whichever way you want to twist it. And on that note hes only 2 years older than Byfield who was drafted 2nd overall. The Kings were already a dying star when they drafted Vilardi and 11th overall supports that.


I consider Vilardi part of the rebuild. He made his NHL debut a year before Byfield. You can be ultra reductive but Vilardi was still a high pick one way or another.

With the talent that was around him at the time he was a rookie. He might not be semantically drafted during the rebuild but he was pretty much the first domino of it.

With that being said, to my original point, the best player from the rebuild era if that makes you guys happier was traded for Kuemper.

No one has come close to his skill level.

I still believe that the issue wasn't trading Vilardi but rather the return. I loathe Blake but I can't fault the guy for trying to sell high on an asset that finally put together a good year in his D+6 season, a season that still saw him miss 19 regular season and one playoff game due to injury.

My history of touting Vilardi's skill and all of that goes back to the draft. I am not down on the guy at all and love his skillset. It is understandable to want to get out of the Vilardi business though if you are Blake. The problem is that he traded him for the #1 worst player in the NHL to hand $64MM to and stick in a city where he can suck and never hear about it as he walks down the street. Blake, once again, completely misread the roster and culture but I understand why since the entire organization seems to be living in an alternate reality where 2014 just happened a season ago or something.

Regarding Vilardi, his PPG pace is nearly identical this season as last, just slightly lower this season and paces for 60 points. Byfield put up 55 points while playing on the top line last year with less minutes than Vilardi is getting. If they stuck Byfield at wing with 11/9, I'm sure he'd have more points than he currently has and would be much closer to Vilardi's pace.

So my questions are - Why is Vilardi the best player that Blake has drafted? Why would Vilardi be doing the same thing if he stayed here that he is doing in Winnipeg if Faber would not be doing the same thing here that he is doing in Minnesota? Why is Vilardi better than a half point a game RHS defenseman that is three years younger and eating 25 minutes a game?

I understand if it is just a preference thing, but I feel the "Vilardi being the best player Blake drafted" instead of Faber is because the return for Vilardi v. the return for Faber. I don't think there is a GM in the league--except for maybe Blake--that would trade Faber for Vilardi straight up.

As an aside, it is quite likely that Brandt Clarke becomes a more valuable player than Vilardi. I personally would not do that trade straight up either. I hope that they stick Doughty back with Anderson and put Gavrikov with Clarke so we can see him play with a guy that might be able to do something out there with him. Edmundson is like the guy on the basketball team that they leave alone at the three point line and hope he gets the ball.

 

[Herby]

I still believe that the issue wasn't trading Vilardi but rather the return. I loathe Blake but I can't fault the guy for trying to sell high on an asset that finally put together a good year in his D+6 season, a season that still saw him miss 19 regular season and one playoff game due to injury.

My history of touting Vilardi's skill and all of that goes back to the draft. I am not down on the guy at all and love his skillset. It is understandable to want to get out of the Vilardi business though if you are Blake. The problem is that he traded him for the #1 worst player in the NHL to hand $64MM to and stick in a city where he can suck and never hear about it as he walks down the street. Blake, once again, completely misread the roster and culture but I understand why since the entire organization seems to be living in an alternate reality where 2014 just happened a season ago or something.

Regarding Vilardi, his PPG pace is nearly identical this season as last, just slightly lower this season and paces for 60 points. Byfield put up 55 points while playing on the top line last year with less minutes than Vilardi is getting. If they stuck Byfield at wing with 11/9, I'm sure he'd have more points than he currently has and would be much closer to Vilardi's pace.

So my questions are - Why is Vilardi the best player that Blake has drafted? Why would Vilardi be doing the same thing if he stayed here that he is doing in Winnipeg if Faber would not be doing the same thing here that he is doing in Minnesota? Why is Vilardi better than a half point a game RHS defenseman that is three years younger and eating 25 minutes a game?

I understand if it is just a preference thing, but I feel the "Vilardi being the best player Blake drafted" instead of Faber is because the return for Vilardi v. the return for Faber. I don't think there is a GM in the league--except for maybe Blake--that would trade Faber for Vilardi straight up.

As an aside, it is quite likely that Brandt Clarke becomes a more valuable player than Vilardi. I personally would not do that trade straight up either. I hope that they stick Doughty back with Anderson and put Gavrikov with Clarke so we can see him play with a guy that might be able to do something out there with him. Edmundson is like the guy on the basketball team that they leave alone at the three point line and hope he gets the ball.

I'd also have Clarke at #2 as far as Kings picks under Blake. He is three years younger than Vilardi and has some room for growth, where as Vilardi is a finished product. Vilardi will probably consistently score 25-35 goals and 55-70 points a season as a winger, that is certainly nothing to scoff at, but it's just simply not as valuable as what Faber is doing from the blueline (super elite defense with 45 pt offense) or what many of us think Clarke will be capable of (perennial 60+ point defenseman)

Vilardi at #3 after those two is fair, at this point I think most would have him above Byfield as far as value. And the Kings could certainly use a 30+ goal right-shot guy right about now.

 

[Choralone]

Am I the only one that is a bit afraid the defense will get disrupted when Doughty comes back and is happy with the status quo?

 

[Lt Dan]

Am I the only one that is a bit afraid the defense will get disrupted when Doughty comes back and is happy with the status quo?

I am positive Bluc will make the wrong decision about who the odd man out is