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

[Surf Nutz]

Vilardi: he's close to PPG in a contract year. He's going to get paid. Given injury history, this could be a scary contract.

Kuemper is doing well this year. He'd lost the starting job in Washington @ 5.25 for a couple years. Should have been cheap to acquire.

Looking forward 1-2C, 1-2 puck moving D & goal are the hard ones to fill. Rest is easy to fill out or trade for. Byfield hopefully fills one of the centers. Clarke should be able to fill a D spot. Goalies, King's have plenty of prospects. Spence may fill 2nd pair D. Only big issue is the C position.

On a personal note, I'm good. Been real sick the last few days. Probably grouchier than usual. Have a ton of yardwork & storm damage to clean up. It's piling up while sick.

 

[Trash Panda]

Gentle reminder that while Fiala is a regular season 77 pt player over the last few years and that helps cover his deficiencies, and a +9 for his career and +15 since his emergence...

He's a 40 point player in the playoffs, and a -12.

I don't like relying on those basic stats to paint the picture a lot but those are pretty good descriptors for the type of player he is and issues he has. Production cut in half, deficiencies laid bare. The type of player that won't win you a series, but will lose you one. For all intents and purposes, he's Andreas Athanasiou when it matters. And this isn't one year, this is across a decade on various teams.

What a bargain for the low cost of Brock Faber, a 19th overall pick, and nearly 8 million f***ing dollars a year.

Since acquiring Fiala, the Kings are 2-1 without him in the playoff lineup, 1-7 with him.

The opposition is never out of the game when he plays, momentum can shift on a dime when one guy tries to beat three at the end of a shift at the blueline instead of dumping it in.

Fiala is like one of those 1980s designated hitters who hit 30 400ft homeruns but strikes out 200 times. What are you really getting there? The highlights are awesome.

Kev is the Yasiel Puig of this roster, without a doubt.

 

[KingsOfCali25]

I wonder if they knew what Fiala was and didn’t care, or was it more like “we’re defensive geniuses, we’ll fix him. Give him his 50 sheets + NMC.”

Although I suppose he was young enough at the time to hope for some improvement with game sense/systems etc. but it seems like he’s getting worse.

I think it was more "we have enough defensive strong players to play with him to cover up his mistakes." The problem is that his turnovers and stupid penalties are too much to cover up. Bad read by management and even worse what was given up to get him and what they paid him.

 

[FSL KINGS]

Don't worry about Fiala. We have Laferriere, the Fiala whisperer. It's going to work.

 

[Brownie to Pancakes]

What a bargain for the low cost of Brock Faber, a 19th overall pick, and nearly 8 million f***ing dollars a year.


Kev is the Yasiel Puig of this roster, without a doubt.

Do not f***ing besmirch Puig in my presence

 

[21Dog]

Do not f***ing besmirch Puig in my presence

The Wild Horse

 

[AbsentMojo]

Its the end of the 11/7 as we know it (sung to REM) Because no way they scratch either of the Trevors. .. Hmm now that I think about it, maybe Hellenius rides pine

 

[Trash Panda]

That forward group is looking awfully crowded, and the defense awfully thin.

A quantity for quality trade makes a lot of sense right now, especially for a serviceable defenseman that negates the need for a Burroughs in the lineup, and gives you some insulation from the inevitable Edmundson injury.

 

[johnjm22]

Its the end of the 11/7 as we know it (sung to REM) Because no way they scratch either of the Trevors. .. Hmm now that I think about it, maybe Hellenius rides pine

I wish it could be:

Turcotte - Kopitar - Kempe
Foegele - Byfield - Jeannot
Kaliyev - Danault - Laferriere
Moore - Helenius - Lee/Thomas
Fiala, Lewis

 

[FSL KINGS]

Its the end of the 11/7 as we know it (sung to REM) Because no way they scratch either of the Trevors. .. Hmm now that I think about it, maybe Hellenius rides pine

Was really looking forward to the next "Burroughs Breakdowns". Burroughs better not get benched.

That forward group is looking awfully crowded, and the defense awfully thin.

A quantity for quality trade makes a lot of sense right now, especially for a serviceable defenseman that negates the need for a Burroughs in the lineup, and gives you some insulation from the inevitable Edmundson injury.

Risto!!!!!!

I wish it could be:

Turcotte - Kopitar - Kempe
Foegele - Byfield - Jeannot
Kaliyev - Danault - Laferriere
Moore - Helenius - Lee/Thomas
Fiala, Lewis

Todd isn't going to bench the two best offensive forwards.


Edit: Feels like Blake is due for a win soon. Counts getting full with a couple swings & a few foul tips. Just need that high fastball to swing at.

 

[AbsentMojo]

A friend of mine (self proclaimed genius) proposed this.. in division probably rules it out.. but looks good to me

LAK get Petterson
For Fiala, Moore, 1st and Greentree

 

[johnjm22]

A friend of mine (self proclaimed genius) proposed this.. in division probably rules it out.. but looks good to me

LAK get Petterson
For Fiala, Moore, 1st and Greentree

Danault instead of Moore.

Turcotte-Kopitar-Kempe
Moore-Pettersson-Laferriere
Foegle-Byfield-Jeannot/Kaliyev
Lee-Helenius-Thomas/Lewis

 

[AbsentMojo]

Danault instead of Moore.

Turcotte-Kopitar-Kempe
Moore-Pettersson-Laferriere
Foegle-Byfield-Jeannot/Kaliyev
Lee-Helenius-Thomas/Lewis

Danault gives them cap troubles.. they have Hronek on LTIR but when he's back they'll have 1.4m cap space.. i think w Moore they can fit it all in and bring back Hronek.. didnt do a deep dive but thats my quick assessment. Edit: Danault does make more sense in terms of slots, so I guess Id be OK if they retained on him to make it work.

I wouldve proposed something for Miller, but he has an NMC where Peddo does not

 

[johnjm22]

Danault gives them cap troubles.. they have Hronek on LTIR but when he's back they'll have 1.4m cap space.. i think w Moore they can fit it all in and bring back Hronek.. didnt do a deep dive but thats my quick assessment. Edit: Danault does make more sense in terms of slots, so I guess Id be OK if they retained on him to make it work.

They'll figure it out

If they're dumb enough to trade Pettersson, I assume they'll be moving some other players as well.

I wouldve proposed something for Miller, but he has an NMC where Peddo does not

Not exactly a great nickname.

 

[AbsentMojo]

They'll figure it out

If they're dumb enough to trade Pettersson, I assume they'll be moving some other players as well.


Not exactly a great nickname.

Ive always caled him that : )

 

[Surf Nutz]

Who wants to move to rainy old Vancouver from LA?

slim to none.

Who has a NMC and wants to leave sunny LA for Vancouver?

Who wants to go from a 4th place team to a 9th?

None to None

 

[FSL KINGS]

Van is in an interesting situation. With Demko getting banged up, D looking bad & feud with their top 2 centers, maybe they go into a retool. Not looking that competitive this year. JT 32 & getting older.

EP's NMC kicks in this summer. CBJ & Buffalo would pay for a good center.

Outside chance they trade them both.

Could see Mika @50% for Moore. LA might work with his NMC. Just comes down to how bad NYR wants to dump him & how many teams he's ok being traded too.

NYR is 5 points out of the wild card. If they can land JT Miller, going for a top pair D LD should be next on their list. Guessing they'd make a push for Gavrikov after Doughty is back. If Gavrikov isn't re-signing, I'd say go for it.

 

[kingsfan28]

I wish it could be:

Turcotte - Kopitar - Kempe
Foegele - Byfield - Jeannot
Kaliyev - Danault - Laferriere
Moore - Helenius - Lee/Thomas
Fiala, Lewis

Dafuq?

I wish AK was a more complete player, and an average defender.He's not . AK doesn't put in half the effort that Moore brings...warts and all can't even carry Fiala's jock. There's really no place for him to play on this team.

 

[BigBrown]

So who goes down? Lee makes sense, he is waiver exempt. Helenius is as well, but I like his size down the middle.

 

[YP44]

I felt like I've said this each of the past 3 years and the answer was always the same

i thought we were going to be blown away last year. I was hopeful two years ago. Three years ago I was just surprised with our ramshackle d

Its the end of the 11/7 as we know it (sung to REM) Because no way they scratch either of the Trevors. .. Hmm now that I think about it, maybe Hellenius rides pine

who gets waived has to be two guys right? Feels like its always Moverare who gets waived and I am always surprised he clears.

 

[YP44]

Danault gives them cap troubles.. they have Hronek on LTIR but when he's back they'll have 1.4m cap space.. i think w Moore they can fit it all in and bring back Hronek.. didnt do a deep dive but thats my quick assessment. Edit: Danault does make more sense in terms of slots, so I guess Id be OK if they retained on him to make it work.

I wouldve proposed something for Miller, but he has an NMC where Peddo does not

Miller has been an issue everywhere he has gone.

I wish it could be:

Turcotte - Kopitar - Kempe
Foegele - Byfield - Jeannot
Kaliyev - Danault - Laferriere
Moore - Helenius - Lee/Thomas
Fiala, Lewis

Fiala is playing some of his best hockey as a King right now.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Fiala is playing some of his best hockey as a King right now.

What?

 

[johnjm22]

Fiala is playing some of his best hockey as a King right now.

Holy shit.

 

[Trash Panda]

Fiala is playing some of his best hockey as a King right now.

Weapons-grade bait.

 

[johnjm22]

NHL EDGE stats: Kuemper, stout defense give Kings futures appeal | NHL.com

Strong underlying metrics, depth helping Los Angeles overcome Doughty’s absence

www.nhl.com

Some interesting stats from that article:

-Kuemper ranks fourth in the League in high-danger save percentage (.839).

-Los Angeles has the best points percentage in the NHL since Nov. 27 (.800; 11-2-2 in past 15 games).

-As a team, the Kings are tied for third in long-range goals (12) behind the Winnipeg Jets (14) and Seattle Kraken (14). [Is this a good thing?]

-Jordan Spence ranks in the 92nd percentile of average shot speed (74.26 miles per hour)

-Mikey Anderson ranks in the 98th percentile in total skating distance on the penalty kill (14.15 miles)

-Kopitar ranks highly in total skating distance (121.81 miles; 94th percentile) and high-danger goals (nine; 92nd percentile) among forwards.

-Kempe is an EDGE standout among forwards in top skating speed (23.20 mph; 96th percentile), 20-plus mph speed bursts (126; 97th percentile), average shot speed (65.61 mph; 94th percentile)

-Byfield has flashed his speed in terms of 20-plus mph bursts (137; 97th percentile) and also his hard shot (93.00 mph; 92nd percentile)

-Foegele excels in top skating speed (23.19 mph; 95th percentile) and has 36 high-danger shots on goal (94th percentile)