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

[kingsfan28]

This might be a downer for some, but Im stoked if this is true . Keep the cuffs on Bluc and clean it all out in the offseason.

I was there was a BS icon inside the like button. TFP is throwing so much shit , something is bound to stick in that article.

 

[AbsentMojo]

I was there was a BS icon inside the like button. TFP is throwing so much shit , something is bound to stick in that article.

Its the usual rumor mill which is 90% BS. I just wanted to make a point about that being the biggest rumor out there is a good thing. Just dont want Blake to touch any more high picks in some act of desperation.

 

[King'sPawn]

Sure, but let's not pretend Clarke is in Doughty's level.....

I am not sure how anyone can compare young players to 1st ballot HOF'ers, it's like taking Bedard out of Chicago and comparing him to Bobby Hull....or MacAvoy in Boston and comparing him to Bourque or Orr.....it's such an insanely high bar to compare.....

Definitely not. But the point is the Kings, when rebuilding, actually put young players in big roles even before they the veterans we know them to be today. And yes, both were special at even a young age.

I think you can find a happy medium of admitting Clarke isn't at Doughty's level, while also admitting that if the Kings really wanted to rebuild/retool, they would have distributed ice time more equitably.

 

[BaileyFan]

Its the usual rumor mill which is 90% BS. I just wanted to make a point about that being the biggest rumor out there is a good thing. Just dont want Blake to touch any more high picks in some act of desperation.

Who says he’s not touching any more high picks? Let’s not pretend Spence and a 1st for Palmieri 50% retained isn't a very believable Blake move.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Who says he’s not touching any more high picks? Let’s not pretend Spence and a 1st for Palmieri 50% retained isn't a very believable Blake move.

Its is totally believable - to send a 1st to eat salary is my biggest concern.. only to miss and the pick being really good.

 

[kingsfanman]

One of the biggest mistakes was letting Quick go. Sometimes, it’s about more than just cap space & dollars.

 

[kingsfan28]

Its the usual rumor mill which is 90% BS. I just wanted to make a point about that being the biggest rumor out there is a good thing. Just dont want Blake to touch any more high picks in some act of desperation.

Yeah for sure, but if they do go after a good consistent scorer, it's gonna cost more than a 2026 first rounder.

 

[FSL KINGS]

Option 1: Best player for 3rd + Fagemo

Option 2: 1st + for a long term add.

Edit:
Moore + Spence for an upgrade on D.

 

[unicornpig]

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One of the biggest mistakes was letting Quick go. Sometimes, it’s about more than just cap space & dollars.

Wrong, he was dreadful his last few years in LA, happy he found his form in ny. But it was time to move on

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Not a fan of trading Spence, especially with how Doughty has looked since returning. Granted, he's still getting back to speed - but trading Spence would be a mistake IMO unless it's part of a larger package to return a true difference maker (Ex: a player like Barzal, Tuch, etc).

It'll never happen but honestly, the smart thing to do is probably give Doughty the rest of this season to see if he returns to form. If he doesn't, it may be time to sit him down in the off-season and discuss options for the future. If the Kings were to trade Doughty at 25% retained this offseason they would likely be able to do so - and could potentially get a half decent return given his cap hit would only be $8.25m with the retention.

That would give them the flexibility to re-shape this blue line and build for the future centered around Spence, Clarke, and Anderson. At that point, they wouldn't have any big contracts on the blue line locked up long term. They could re-sign Gavrikov pretty easily if they chose to go that route - or they could try to sign/acquire a different big-ish name defenseman to fill out the top 4.

Hell, maybe a team like Toronto is looking to make some big changes in the offseason assuming they come up short in the postseason again? What if we saw a Morgan Reilly / Drew Doughty swap? At 25% retained Doughty's cap hit is hardly much larger than Reilly's and that would give the Leafs that minute eating right shot D man they've been looking for for years now. Plus they wouldn't be tied to Reilly long term. I've heard Leafs fans may be souring on Reilly but he's still a good player - maybe just needs a change of scenery to get going again. Obviously super unlikely but just an interesting idea.

 

[Herby]

I think it's long past time to mix up the top line, specifically to get Kempe some help up there, because it has been hideous for a while now. Kopitar and Turcotte are completely destroying the offensive upside of the Kings' best player, and the results are tough to ignore, as we’ve seen with the lack of goals from that line. The depth guys certainly aren't going to be mistaken for the Triple Crown Line, but the problem starts at the top. This needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Since December 1st, Kopitar and Turcotte have played a combined 50 games and have failed to score a goal in 44 of them. Kopitar has four goals, all in two games against the Flyers, but he hasn’t scored against anyone else since November. And again, it’s not like these guys are playing with Trevor Lewis, this is all with Adrian Kempe as the third member of the line. I fear that Kempe and Kopitar are going to become the new Carter/Richards, where the insistence that they must play together ends up dragging Kempe down with a declining player.

The concern with moving Byfield up is that the line might become weaker defensively when facing top scorers, but the bigger issue is how Byfield will perform against top checkers. Teams will be matching against whatever line Kempe is on, not necessarily Kopitar’s. Byfield isn’t exactly lighting it up against lesser matchups, but he also doesn’t have a game-breaking offensive player to help him, aside from the rare occasions when Fiala plays above his potential. At this point, there’s really nothing to lose, other than in the PR department, where they might have to explain moving an iconic player down the lineup. But this has happened plenty of times around the league. Kopitar shouldn't automatically be handed the 1C role until retirement. Ideally, one of the top C picks would have forced him out of that spot by clearly outperforming him, but we aren’t there yet. Unfortunately, we might already be at the point where his offensive decline is undeniable and you have nothing to lose seeing if QB can take off.

I think we all agree that Byfield is the logical choice to replace Kopitar at center. He has improved defensively to the point where he’s probably above average, and Kempe is one of the best defensive wingers in the league. The question is who plays left wing. Is that enough to compensate for having the worst defensive player on the team as the other winger? Would Foegele make sense to add some grit, or is he not really an upgrade over Turcotte in that regard? Moore is another option, but he has been an offensive black hole. Kempe plays better on his off-wing, and Laferriere plays better on his strong side, so Laf probably isn’t an option for LW.

Would a lineup like this make the team more well-rounded?

Fiala - Byfield - Kempe
Turcotte - Kopitar - Laferriere
Foegele - Danault - Moore

At home, the Kings can line-match more easily to limit Byfield’s exposure to players like McDavid and MacKinnon, using Kopitar and Danault against them. On the road, it’s tougher. But for once, defensive concerns need to take a backseat, because the lack of offense has already likely crushed their chances of finishing as the second seed in the Pacific, and now it’s threatening their playoff hopes entirely. What happens if Kuemper gets hurt, wears down or if the same regression to the mean that hit Kopitar and Laferriere affects him too?

Not a fan of trading Spence, especially with how Doughty has looked since returning. Granted, he's still getting back to speed - but trading Spence would be a mistake IMO unless it's part of a larger package to return a true difference maker (Ex: a player like Barzal, Tuch, etc).

It'll never happen but honestly, the smart thing to do is probably give Doughty the rest of this season to see if he returns to form. If he doesn't, it may be time to sit him down in the off-season and discuss options for the future. If the Kings were to trade Doughty at 25% retained this offseason they would likely be able to do so - and could potentially get a half decent return given his cap hit would only be $8.25m with the retention.

That would give them the flexibility to re-shape this blue line and build for the future centered around Spence, Clarke, and Anderson. At that point, they wouldn't have any big contracts on the blue line locked up long term. They could re-sign Gavrikov pretty easily if they chose to go that route - or they could try to sign/acquire a different big-ish name defenseman to fill out the top 4.

Hell, maybe a team like Toronto is looking to make some big changes in the offseason assuming they come up short in the postseason again? What if we saw a Morgan Reilly / Drew Doughty swap? At 25% retained Doughty's cap hit is hardly much larger than Reilly's and that would give the Leafs that minute eating right shot D man they've been looking for for years now. Plus they wouldn't be tied to Reilly long term. I've heard Leafs fans may be souring on Reilly but he's still a good player - maybe just needs a change of scenery to get going again. Obviously super unlikely but just an interesting idea.

Reilly would be a great fit for the Kings right now, and Toronto might be looking to make a drastic move, as you said, if they collapse in the playoffs. The problem is that if the Kings also struggle in the playoffs, it likely signals the end of this team viewing itself as a contender. With Blake's contract expiring, it’s very unlikely he would be brought back after a first-round exit. If the new GM gets approval from Drew to trade him, he would likely focus on recouping draft capital and rebuilding the prospect pool that Blake has mostly depleted over the last few years, rather than bringing in a 31-year-old defenseman making $7.5 million per year until 2030.

If Doughty is traded, it would likely mean a Danault trade follows soon after, Gavrikov walks for a big-money deal from a contender, and Kopitar either retires or approves a trade to a contender for one last shot at a third Cup. A Doughty trade would mark the beginning of a full-scale rebuild, not an attempt to patch holes and contend with a group that isn't capable of winning as currently constructed.

The frustrating part is that it has been obvious for years that this team desperately needed a puck-moving, left-shot defenseman (like Reilly) along with a right-shot goal-scoring forward. You can see this just by looking at discussions on this forum going back five years. Blake never addressed it when given the opportunity. Instead, he traded young players, used significant draft capital, and signed players to big contracts who were left-shot forwards, right-shot defensemen, or stay-at-home defensemen. He even traded a right-shot forward for a left-shot center. While I still believe they needed a center to push Kopitar for any chance at a Hail Mary Cup run, they traded for the wrong one.

The sad reality is that there is solution to fixing the mess Blake created in enough time to contend again with Kopitar and Doughty. The original plan to add a few top picks and plug-and-play stars to the tail-end of Kopitar and Doughty’s careers wasn’t a terrible idea, but it was high-risk if the plan to move forward in the summer of 2021, was set in stone, regardless of how the picks turned out. The problem is they didn’t land franchise players with either pick in 2019 and 2020, and Blake’s inability to accept that and adjust his course led to all the poor decisions since then, as he tried to turn this group into a contender by trading youth and picks to fill the holes he couldn’t at the draft with guys like PLD and Fiala. Accepting this fact, and waiting another 2-3 years to add veterans would have allowed them to see they had a couple of gems in Faber and Vilardi. It also would have given them the opportunity to address the franchise center issue to eventually replace Kopitar with high picks in 2022-2024. It’s truly a tragic what-if for this franchise because, in an ideal scenario, they could have been positioned to come out of this rebuild right now in excellent shape, especially with the cap increasing. Because outside of the inability to draft franchise guys in top-5 they otherwise drafted pretty well. Faber is a 1D, Vilardi is a 1RW, Laf is a 2/3RW Anderson is a 3D, Spence is a 4/5D and all 25 or under.

 

[Schmooley]

Fiala - Byfield - Kempe
Turcotte - Kopitar - Laferriere
Foegele - Danault - Moore

I have been thinking these lines also. Waiting for Hiller to make the move.
Kopitar doesnt pk as much this year but if they do get a guy like Evans they could maybe keep Kopitar off the pk entirely. Hed have a little more gas left for the playoffs and would do well matched up with other teams middle six lines.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I like the thoughts but at this stage in their careers Kopitar is not the matchup center. He has the brains but not the physical tools to limit McDavid especially. MAYBE Draisaitl. But Byfield did a better job on McDavid than Kopi and certianly than Danault.

It's D I'm more worried about. NO ONE with good feet back there at this stage aside from Spence.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Fiala - Byfield - Kempe
Turcotte - Kopitar - Laferriere
Foegele - Danault - Moore

I’d move down Kopitar’s wingers and move up Danault’s. Maybe QB hasn’t clearly taken the reigns from Anze, but he’s not playing much worse recently and the team is finding ways to get points.

 

[Herby]

I’d move down Kopitar’s wingers and move up Danault’s. Maybe QB hasn’t clearly taken the reigns from Anze, but he’s not playing much worse recently and the team is finding ways to get points.

Whatever they do with lines 2/3 is ok, both will be asked to focus mostly on defense. The biggest thing is getting guys who won’t drag Kempe down offensively. Making these moves lets Kempe focus a bit more on playing an offensive role while keeping the teams defensive identity with Kopitar and Danault centering the defensive lines.

 

[Telos]

I don't think it matters as long as we don't give up key youngsters or significant futures and Blake is fired in the offseason. Any middling picks and players they deal, in the meantime, is an end to justify means at this point. I hope to all the hockey gods that Blake & Co. actually believe we are a middle 6 forward aware from postseason contention. Keep the cost down.

 

[bland]

During Murray's tenure, the least amount of time Kopitar played in a full game was 16:32. The only time he had less was the last game of the season when he got injured (and he still played over 12 minutes before he was injured). He averaged over 21 minutes up until the 2011-12 season.

For Doughty, the least amount of time was 13:03 (unless he was injured that game, else it was 15ish minutes). He averaged 24:55 ice time from the time he was drafted until the 2011-12 season.

For comparison, Clarke's least amount of ice time since being drafted is 7:06. He has averaged 15:49 since being drafted.

Make out of that what you wish. FWIW I do see value in reducing ice time, but Clarke's definitely getting different role and experience compared to Kopitar and Doughty.

Doughty and Kopitar both hit the ground running and the team couldn't afford to take them off the ice.

Clarke is not the same caliber player. He has some outstanding strengths, not quite rivaling those of the HOFers he is compared to here, but his weaknesses are much more prominent than either of those two. He is not a quality NHL defender yet, and that is perfectly fine, he has plenty of time to learn.

Its a poor comparison on every level.

 

[bland]

I like the thoughts but at this stage in their careers Kopitar is not the matchup center. He has the brains but not the physical tools to limit McDavid especially. MAYBE Draisaitl. But Byfield did a better job on McDavid than Kopi and certianly than Danault.

It's D I'm more worried about. NO ONE with good feet back there at this stage aside from Spence.

Draisaitl has destroyed Kopitar's line over the last two years. Best case scenario sees Anze freed from both matchups and used as an offensive threat that would, gasp, actually force Edmonton to worry about a matchup for a change.

 

[Herby]

Draisaitl has destroyed Kopitar's line over the last two years. Best case scenario sees Anze freed from both matchups and used as an offensive threat that would, gasp, actually force Edmonton to worry about a matchup for a change.

We have probably past that point now with his offensive game. I know some people call it a slump, but to me this seems more like what Ryan Smyth did his two seasons in LA, where he got off to a fast starts in the fall, but then looked like a guy in his mid 30's by the end of the season.

I like Kopi in a 2C role where he's not asked to shutdown or score at an elite level, I just wish he had been able to naturally drop into that role by having someone else really emerge by now, and not have been expected to be the 1C in his age 37 season.

Kopitar playing 20+ minutes a lot of nights is doing him a total disservice, and is really going to hurt the Kings the rest of the way and into the playoffs, even with the Four Nations break.