Speculation: Another year of this Bluc **** (The 2024 season thread)
- Thread starter Lt Dan
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Herby
Now I can die in peace
I think 5/6 year is not the case, I think Nelson Emerson is doing what everyone else in this organization does when they go on podcasts, he was lying through his teeth to cover up for things not working out as planned. Because they know they will receive zero pushback from the interviewer. I have a very difficult time believing that any NHL team, with the value that contributors on ELC's provide is taking a 5/6 year project #2 overall, and certainly not one trying to contend with guys Kopitar and Doughty's age.
I do think it was fair to say Byfield wasn't going to come in and be a point-per-game guy as a teenager like some other guys taken that high have done, but when he was even further away than anybody expected, the propaganda from the organization suddenly became 5/6 year project, and despite there being no logic behind it, people choose to believe it. The same thing was done with the "We projected Turcotte as a 3C" nonsense. No team is taking a guy they projected as a 3C with the #5 overall pick in the draft. The #3C BS only happened because he didn't score in college or the AHL.
And I was fine with the Byfield pick at the time, I thought it signaled that the team was going to enter into a significant rebuild where they'd be picking high in the first round for at least another three drafts, and we'd start to maybe see the light at the end of the tunnel around this time. I only started to be angry about the pick when they made all the stupid moves beginning in 2021. If the plan was to try and win playoff rounds so quickly, you should have drafted the plug and play guy. Considering Stutzle was a 60 point and then a 90 point center in years where Byfield was playing at a replacement level and the Kings lost grueling playoff series to the Oilers in 7 and 6 games, I think a case can certainly made that picking Stuetzle could have changed the outcomes of those series.
But it all gets back to this FO being the most reactive I've ever seen from a pro sports team. There is middle-term plan, and certainly no long-term plan, they just throw shit at the wall and hope it will stick. They do one thing and then months later do something that completely contradicts what they did earlier.
Ryan Smyth has already warned Marner about the horrors of living in the South Bay. He and his wife just had a baby, and he just can't risk having that kid go to those schools. We all saw Dangerous Minds bro.
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I really wonder how much respect Edmonton actually has for LA in the handshake line, to borrow a phrase from Keefe. Knoblauch and Draisaitl subtly trolling Hiller in the media. The B squad handing the Kings home ice at the end of the season then the same players easily punking them on home ice in the playoffs. I wouldn’t blame Oilers players at all if they didn’t even take the Kings seriously at this point or view them as a worthy challenge.
I wonder what Arvidsson is thinking. He spends 3 years as one of the top dogs here, including last year where he was hailed as some sort of “missing piece” at the deadline. Then he switches sides, finds out he’s a complete scrub on that team, and still wins easily. Must be jarring to go from the Kings, who view beating the Oilers as an insurmountable dragon, to the Oilers, who view beating the Kings as just another Tuesday.
SettlementRichie10
Registered User
- May 6, 2012
- 10,065
- 9,170
Until proven otherwise, Byfield is a career 50 point center/LW hybrid who can’t win a faceoff and disappears for long stretches.
Yeah, he has a ton of potential. But that has been the story of the Rob Blake Kings for 8 years now.
I have no attachment to Byfield or faith he can lead this team anywhere. He is who he is. Maybe he takes another step under better management. But until then, what the f*** are we talking about?
Yeah, he has a ton of potential. But that has been the story of the Rob Blake Kings for 8 years now.
I have no attachment to Byfield or faith he can lead this team anywhere. He is who he is. Maybe he takes another step under better management. But until then, what the f*** are we talking about?
Kuzmenko is also a Russian player in a contract year...
He said half-jokingly to the media that he doesn't watch hockey and just views playing hockey as work.
Love what he brought to LA but he definitely seems like the kind of guy/player who just plays for his next contract and that's basically it.
If it's a 1-2 year deal without a huge cap hit, I'm not really opposed to the Kings bringing him back but anything else would be a huge mistake IMO.
SaltyElkHunter
Grocery Shopping in the woods
No team that is gonna win a cup is afraid to play anyone. That’s the problem with this team they live in their own head. Need to start swinging their dicks more.
KingsFan7824
Registered User
37 and 36.
They clearly know they're better than the Kings. Whatever happens on the ice, risking a penalty call, giving up a couple goals, losing a game or two, they know they're better. Get your goalie pulled again, don't have one of your best defensemen, it doesn't matter. However you want to count it, they're a notch above the Kings, with clearly motivated players. Along with the best players in the matchup. If you want to say they're 50 notches above, that's fine, but either way, the Kings cannot truly compete with them in the playoffs.
Why do we want Marner? He can't score goals in the playoffs. Goes from a 30g guy in the regular season, to a 15g guy in the playoffs, and goes from a 90+ pts guy in the regular season, to a 75pt guy when it matters. It's adding Guentzel to TB. Good player, but TB isn't winning anything again with their bunch. They're the Kings in 2016 at this point. Aging, lots of big Cup contracts, depth is gone.
SaltyElkHunter
Grocery Shopping in the woods
Byfield is the dude that looks like a gym rat but can’t fight for shit! Not the type of dude you plan on having your back when things get sideways.
He creates and is a responsible. He is a +10 on a team that we all know for getting knocked out early
Imagine him with a shooter. He has 8 points in 6 games so far this year.
Absolutely terrified of losing money for 4 or 5 years to do a proper teardown and rebuild. It comes down to that.
Raccoon Jesus
Jim Hiller is point shaving games
I mean if you were ever going to, wouldn't now be the time, when we're stradding recession/nonrecession and people are watching their disposable income?
johnjm22
Pseudo Intellectual
- Aug 2, 2005
- 19,919
- 20,622
Kings fire Lombardi, Sutter; promote Robitaille
With the firing of GM Dean Lombardi and head coach Darryl Sutter, the Los Angeles Kings have parted with the duo that led the franchise to two Stanley Cups.
The last game of the 2016-17 season was April 9th.
Lombardi was fired April 10th.
Kings fire GM Dave Taylor
The Kings fired general manager Dave Taylor today in what is expected to be the first of several moves to overhaul the front office.The move was expected, even by Taylor himself, after the team fai…
www.ocregister.com
Last game of the 05-06 season was April 17th.
Dave Taylor was fired around April 18th.
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fivehole32
Kicking rebounds to the slot
- Jan 11, 2015
- 441
- 663
I look at Byfield as Zibanejad, definitely high end talent, but a passenger type. I was really hoping he would put his stamp on games, but he hasn't been doing it with any regularity. Kings need to find someone that will drag these guys with potential into the fight, but as its been said over and over that likely isn't happening with Rob Blake at the helm.
fivehole32
Kicking rebounds to the slot
- Jan 11, 2015
- 441
- 663
Gotta hand it to Bob Miller, he loved this team so much and was utterly frustrated that he called out Dave Taylor and ownership after that last game of the season before Taylor was fired.Kings fire Lombardi, Sutter; promote Robitaille
With the firing of GM Dean Lombardi and head coach Darryl Sutter, the Los Angeles Kings have parted with the duo that led the franchise to two Stanley Cups.www.espn.com
The last game of the 2016-17 season was April 9th.
Lombardi was fired April 10th.
Kings fire GM Dave Taylor
The Kings fired general manager Dave Taylor today in what is expected to be the first of several moves to overhaul the front office.The move was expected, even by Taylor himself, after the team fai…
Last game of the 06-07 season was April 7th.
Dave Taylor was fired around April 18th.
riznat
Registered User
Kings fire Lombardi, Sutter; promote Robitaille
With the firing of GM Dean Lombardi and head coach Darryl Sutter, the Los Angeles Kings have parted with the duo that led the franchise to two Stanley Cups.
The last game of the 2016-17 season was April 9th.
Lombardi was fired April 10th.
Kings fire GM Dave Taylor
The Kings fired general manager Dave Taylor today in what is expected to be the first of several moves to overhaul the front office.The move was expected, even by Taylor himself, after the team fai…
Last game of the 06-07 season was April 7th.
Dave Taylor was fired around April 18th.
Herby
Now I can die in peace
I feel like I was way higher on Clarke than most here, and way lower on Byfield.
It's so frustrating with Clarke because you can see the type of talent that very few blue-liners possess. I feel bad for the kid because not only did he get drafted by a team with an on-ice philosophy that clashes with how he plays, which has limited his ceiling, but that team also has a very bizarre development system that has been unable to get players to hit their ceiling. He was truly hit with the double-whammy by being drafted by the Kings
If you looked at where Clarke, L. Hughes and Faber were after their age 18 seasons (D+1), these guys while different style players, were all comparable and should have been well on their way to being top-pairing defenders sooner than later.
And that is where the development diverges. Faber and Hughes become even more dominant players in their age 19 seasons, while Clarke plays for 3 different teams, and is healthy scratched for many games before being sent to junior where he faces no resistance at all. Why? Because Rob Blake didn't want to burn a year off his ELC.
Hughes jumps straight to the NHL at the end of his D+2, never stepping foot in the AHL. Faber returns to school at Minnesota for his D+3 because Blake's an idiot, assumes a leadership role as team captain and is the best defenseman in the country before jumping straight into Minnesota's playoff roster following the season. Both are able to continue developing at the NHL level, and by 22 they are both first pairing defenders in the NHL on playoff teams.
Instead of developing at the NHL level like those guys did. Clarke gets the typical Kings treatment of learning the system, paying his dues in Ontario and working with Muzz (the prospects kiss of death). And falls significantly behind the development timelines that both those guys had, despite being equals at the end of their age 18 season.
An even better comparison for Clarke might be Zayne Parekh of Calgary, who I actually was able to see play in person this season. Top 10 pick from the OHL, elite A+ skills from the blueline, dominant D+1 season.
Just watch what Calgary does with Parekh during his age 19 season next year, and then compare it to what the Kings did with Clarke, and then see where Parekh is in a couple of years, when he's the same age Clarke is now. I promise you he won't be a third pairing defender.
And getting back to Faber/Hughes, you should feel bad for Clarke, because just due to garbage luck of being drafted by Rob Blake and developed by Glen Murray, he is going to be millions of dollars behind these guys in career earnings. Faber is already signed to an $8.5m contract for next year, and I'm guessing Hughes is signed to something close to that as well. Clarke will make $925k and it's very unlikely his second contract is anywhere close to those guys.
Development is important!
It's so frustrating with Clarke because you can see the type of talent that very few blue-liners possess. I feel bad for the kid because not only did he get drafted by a team with an on-ice philosophy that clashes with how he plays, which has limited his ceiling, but that team also has a very bizarre development system that has been unable to get players to hit their ceiling. He was truly hit with the double-whammy by being drafted by the Kings
If you looked at where Clarke, L. Hughes and Faber were after their age 18 seasons (D+1), these guys while different style players, were all comparable and should have been well on their way to being top-pairing defenders sooner than later.
And that is where the development diverges. Faber and Hughes become even more dominant players in their age 19 seasons, while Clarke plays for 3 different teams, and is healthy scratched for many games before being sent to junior where he faces no resistance at all. Why? Because Rob Blake didn't want to burn a year off his ELC.
Hughes jumps straight to the NHL at the end of his D+2, never stepping foot in the AHL. Faber returns to school at Minnesota for his D+3 because Blake's an idiot, assumes a leadership role as team captain and is the best defenseman in the country before jumping straight into Minnesota's playoff roster following the season. Both are able to continue developing at the NHL level, and by 22 they are both first pairing defenders in the NHL on playoff teams.
Instead of developing at the NHL level like those guys did. Clarke gets the typical Kings treatment of learning the system, paying his dues in Ontario and working with Muzz (the prospects kiss of death). And falls significantly behind the development timelines that both those guys had, despite being equals at the end of their age 18 season.
An even better comparison for Clarke might be Zayne Parekh of Calgary, who I actually was able to see play in person this season. Top 10 pick from the OHL, elite A+ skills from the blueline, dominant D+1 season.
Just watch what Calgary does with Parekh during his age 19 season next year, and then compare it to what the Kings did with Clarke, and then see where Parekh is in a couple of years, when he's the same age Clarke is now. I promise you he won't be a third pairing defender.
And getting back to Faber/Hughes, you should feel bad for Clarke, because just due to garbage luck of being drafted by Rob Blake and developed by Glen Murray, he is going to be millions of dollars behind these guys in career earnings. Faber is already signed to an $8.5m contract for next year, and I'm guessing Hughes is signed to something close to that as well. Clarke will make $925k and it's very unlikely his second contract is anywhere close to those guys.
Development is important!
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Like it's been pointed out over and over, these are 4D chess masters.
The time to do it was the year Blake signed Kovalchuk lol.
johnjm22
Pseudo Intellectual
- Aug 2, 2005
- 19,919
- 20,622
AEG took over the Kings in 1995. Under their tenure, 3 GM's have been fired.
Sam McMaster, 1997, after missing the playoffs.
Dave Taylor, 2006, after missing the playoffs.
Dean Lombardi, 2017, after missing the playoffs.
So they've never fired a GM after making the post season.
Sam McMaster, 1997, after missing the playoffs.
Dave Taylor, 2006, after missing the playoffs.
Dean Lombardi, 2017, after missing the playoffs.
So they've never fired a GM after making the post season.
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4D chess by Blake. Pound their confidence into submission, make them "pay their dues," suppress their stats, have them buy into the most boring playstyle possible, and get them for a MINT AAV on their second contract like Byfield and Turcotte. Sure they may not be elite yet (or ever?) but now we can use that savings to overpay Kopitar, Edmundson, Doughty, you name it!
Feeling pretty good about the summer of 2027
BigKing
Blake Out of Hell III: Back in to Hell
The thing with Byfield is that he doesn't appear to "have that dawg in him." If he only became a 50-60 point C/LW hybrid that wasn't great on faceoffs but was good defensively while actually using his size to punish the opposition, I'd be fine. But the complete lack of the latter makes it so he needs to be a PPG or better guy to make the pick what it was supposed to be, and I don't know if he can do that based on his inconsistent nature.
Again, it doesn't help any of these prospects being brought into the NHL under this culture of turning the other cheek and not sticking up for one another. The culture has been dead and this was evident when Tkachuk elbowed Doughty, so this is prior to Bluc. But what did Bluc do? They just rolled it back with all the same dudes, then brought in noted cuck T-Mac to lead the team. Bring in noted leader PLD.
They were better this year because Blake finally added some grit to the roster, but they still get bullied by Edmonton regardless. Jeannot was needed so much for the playoffs because he would have been out there picking up four hits a game, and not prissy ones either. But that is a condemnation of Blake's roster construction that losing Jeannot means that the opposing teams defense has a first round bye from a painful forecheck. He needed the grit a couple of years ago if he wanted to win a playoff round before 11/8 lost everything off their respective fastballs. Finally realizes it after the embarrassment of last year's playoffs, but the core of this team is the core of this team and they've had the same cuck-a-doodle-do behind the bench for the last two series, which also happen to be the two worst of the "saga".
Again, it doesn't help any of these prospects being brought into the NHL under this culture of turning the other cheek and not sticking up for one another. The culture has been dead and this was evident when Tkachuk elbowed Doughty, so this is prior to Bluc. But what did Bluc do? They just rolled it back with all the same dudes, then brought in noted cuck T-Mac to lead the team. Bring in noted leader PLD.
They were better this year because Blake finally added some grit to the roster, but they still get bullied by Edmonton regardless. Jeannot was needed so much for the playoffs because he would have been out there picking up four hits a game, and not prissy ones either. But that is a condemnation of Blake's roster construction that losing Jeannot means that the opposing teams defense has a first round bye from a painful forecheck. He needed the grit a couple of years ago if he wanted to win a playoff round before 11/8 lost everything off their respective fastballs. Finally realizes it after the embarrassment of last year's playoffs, but the core of this team is the core of this team and they've had the same cuck-a-doodle-do behind the bench for the last two series, which also happen to be the two worst of the "saga".
Herby
Now I can die in peace
Hey, our old buddy SN did say on this forum last year
"It won't be long before GM's around the league start copying Blake's management style"
So maybe we will see the Devils sign L Hughes to a contract that makes him an UFA at 26.
I think the only announcement coming this week is Carrolyn Bathe as our new play by play broadcaster.
FrozenKing18
Goongala! Goongala!
They’d be locker room signings which the Kings I think are in need of. Surround your youth with leaders, lead by example kind of players. Eventually, those leadership qualities bleeds into the youth. The team needs leaders, and it needs heart.
But then again, i’m just a fan. I have no business thinking I know what the team really needs. Maybe more dancing in the locker room.
BigKing
Blake Out of Hell III: Back in to Hell
For example, here is a guy that would go on to win the Conn Smythe not turning the other cheek when slashed in a game the Kings are winning 6-3 with barely any time left. Other than Kempe, every other Top 9 forward is taking that slash and either flopping, crying to the refs, or giving a slash back while skating backwards waiting for the refs to break it up.
I mean, we get excited when someone slashes a guy. I got excited when Clarke hugged Kane at the end of the 1st period last night because at least it was something dickish being done by a King to try and maybe make Kane do something stupid.
This team is so, so difficult to like.
I mean, we get excited when someone slashes a guy. I got excited when Clarke hugged Kane at the end of the 1st period last night because at least it was something dickish being done by a King to try and maybe make Kane do something stupid.
This team is so, so difficult to like.
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