Around the League 2024-25 season

[AbsentMojo]

I mean Carolina is in a playoff spot currently and was sellers at this year's trade deadline... but sure, sound off.

I didnt see this before I posted basically the same thing

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Boston sold at the deadline - looking to at least do a partial if not a full rebuild after 109 pts last season.. im sure there are others. So I dont think you can lead with that premise.

They aren’t a 109 point team this season….in fact, they aren’t even a playoff team. You are just validating my point.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

I mean Carolina is in a playoff spot currently and was sellers at this year's trade deadline... but sure, sound off.

How so? If you are referring to Rantanen, that’s a silly example.

 

[Lt Dan]

I mean Carolina is in a playoff spot currently and was sellers at this year's trade deadline... but sure, sound off.

Hang on there Tiger.

Carolina managed assets. they bought Mikko and his amazing Polka goal song


and traded him when he refused to extend and it was pretty evident that he wasn't going to be a fit. I respect Carolina for doing that and I wish Blake would have done it with Matt Roy last offseason

They also added Jankowski and Taylor Hall.

Aggregate they added Jankowski, Hall, Stankoven and 2 draft picks.
Long term, I would much rather have Stank and a 2nd and 4th than a few months of a player that wasn't a fit and didn't want to be there

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Justin Williams Re: Vilardi is a good comparison because before coming to the Kings he had multiple knee injuries including TWO ACL/MCL surgeries and blew his achilles, in addition to various smaller injuries....he played more than 70 games only three times in 9 seasons...after coming to the Kings he missed less than 10 games for the rest of his career.

Some guys are worth the risks. Vilardi is certainly one.

 

[AbsentMojo]

They aren’t a 109 point team this season….in fact, they aren’t even a playoff team. You are just validating my point.

Are we just talking about this season? Im talking about the overall strategy of limping along making the playoffs and losing in the 1st round. I agree this season was not a clear sign to sell at the deadline.. Boston was 3 points out of WC 2 at the deadline so if the Kings wouldve been in the same spot, would you be on board with selling?

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Are we just talking about this season? Im talking about the overall strategy of limping along making the playoffs and losing in the 1st round. I agree this season was not a clear sign to sell at the deadline.. Boston was 3 points out of WC 2 at the deadline so if the Kings wouldve been in the same spot, would you be on board with selling?

3 points out of WC2 compared to sitting in top 3 of division all season could be a BIG difference. My point is, again, no playoff team is going to go from playoffs to 'FULL REBUILD'. It just doesn't happen...ever.

 

[AbsentMojo]

3 points out of WC2 compared to sitting in top 3 of division all season could be a BIG difference. My point is, again, no playoff team is going to go from playoffs to 'FULL REBUILD'. It just doesn't happen...ever.

When you said "playoff team" - you meant well positioned at the deadline.. so I agree not a likely time to sell this season. I took "playoff team" as any team that was in the playoff mix in its recent history. I was talking what overall strategy should be in place with the current state of roster and cap going fwd... do the Kings continue to make some moves to try to get over the hump (with little assets or cap), or do they start thinking about a retool/rebuild.

 

[Lt Dan]

When you said "playoff team" - you meant well positioned at the deadline.. so I agree not a likely time to sell this season. I took "playoff team" as any team that was in the playoff mix in its recent history. I was talking what overall strategy should be in place with the current state of roster and cap going fwd... do the Kings continue to make some moves to try to get over the hump (with little assets or cap), or do they start thinking about a retool/rebuild.

And that's the scary part.....

One has to imagine that Blake and Robitaille are towards the end of their leashes.
I know I sound like a broken record on this, but the Kings not winning a playoff round before winning the cup in 2012 gave some the complete wrong idea about how hard it is to win the cup.
My fear is if the Kings do win a round this year that Bluc gets another shot and that "wE wErE rIgHt ThErE! intensifies and they do more stupid shit.

Byfield's emergence has changed some things, but this team is NOT a player away from a cup

 

[kingsholygrail]

Justin Williams Re: Vilardi is a good comparison because before coming to the Kings he had multiple knee injuries including TWO ACL/MCL surgeries and blew his achilles, in addition to various smaller injuries....he played more than 70 games only three times in 9 seasons...after coming to the Kings he missed less than 10 games for the rest of his career.

Some guys are worth the risks. Vilardi is certainly one.

I argue the Kings had a really good medical/training staff during that time too.

 

[AbsentMojo]

And that's the scary part.....

One has to imagine that Blake and Robitaille are towards the end of their leashes.
I know I sound like a broken record on this, but the Kings not winning a playoff round before winning the cup in 2012 gave some the complete wrong idea about how hard it is to win the cup.

Thats a really good point... because DL was building a team for the post season and playing that style (the heavy) all season at the expense of getting points... Sutter didnt even try to win shootouts. You cannot say the same about this team. It plays a good system for reg season and gets crushed in the playoffs for begin soft and crappy PP. Maybe they are less soft now at least.

 

[Lt Dan]

Thats a really good point... because DL was building a team for the post season and playing that style (the heavy) all season at the expense of getting points... Sutter didnt even try to win shootouts. You cannot say the same about this team. It plays a good system for reg season and gets crushed in the playoffs for begin soft and crappy PP. Maybe they are less soft now at least.

Exactly. You get it.
This is why I would be inviting you to my birthday party if I was 11 years old

 

[tigermask48]

I argue the Kings had a really good medical/training staff during that time too.

It's really tough to properly evaluate players at times because these are usually incredibly competitive people in good physical condition.

Sure Williams was mostly healthy, and Mitchell never had issues after his concussion. But let's also not forget Gagne and his 11 games, Priessing and his vertigo/whiplash issues. Then there's JF Berube's deteriorating hips, or Scott Parse seemingly exploding 3 seasons in a row.

 

[kingsholygrail]

It's really tough to properly evaluate players at times because these are usually incredibly competitive people in good physical condition.

Sure Williams was mostly healthy, and Mitchell never had issues after his concussion. But let's also not forget Gagne and his 11 games, Priessing and his vertigo/whiplash issues. Then there's JF Berube's deteriorating hips, or Scott Parse seemingly exploding 3 seasons in a row.

Interesting enough, it was the Kings medical staff that figured out what was actually wrong with Gagne. I want to say Crosby used the same doctor to fix his neck issue too.

 

[bland]

I think it's too late to go into a full rebuild at this point. I think the Kings exited their rebuild too early, but you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.

They will need to make wholesale changes if they're a first-round exit again, in my opinion, but that's a conversation for later.

They don't need to do a full rebuild. They have grown their #1c, a likely #3c, a toolsy middle six winger, a couple of likely solid role players, a potential top pairing defender, a top 4 stay at home defenseman and a good bottom pairing puck mover.

What they need is to get younger, build up the asset list and gain cap space so they can weaponize both for the right missing pieces. The mistakes here have always been buying fancy carts that couldn't be pulled by their horses.

Cut out the Kovalchuk/Fiala/Dubois nonsense and they would really have had something here. Now they are limited in that ceiling, but its still a rosey outlook.

 

[Sol]

They don't need to do a full rebuild. They have grown their #1c, a likely #3c, a toolsy middle six winger, a couple of likely solid role players, a potential top pairing defender, a top 4 stay at home defenseman and a good bottom pairing puck mover.

What they need is to get younger, build up the asset list and gain cap space so they can weaponize both for the right missing pieces. The mistakes here have always been buying fancy carts that couldn't be pulled by their horses.

Cut out the Kovalchuk/Fiala/Dubois nonsense and they would really have had something here. Now they are limited in that ceiling, but it’s still a rosey outlook.

Let’s wait for Faber to look good for a full season before making crazy statements like that. And you’d be crazy to think the Kings would have ever given him the role he has in Minnesota

 

[tigermask48]

Let’s wait for Faber to look good for a full season before making crazy statements like that. And you’d be crazy to think the Kings would have ever given him the role he has in Minnesota

Lol. Can we stop this nonsense yet? Part of the reason Faber was available is because he wanted to return to college for one more year. The Kings wanted to sign him earlier than Minnesota ended up doing. He also was willing to sign with LA after that extra year in college. Full stop. The Kings to some extent knew what they had with Faber. Plus the Kings even under have shown they will throw a guy in the fire if they think he can handle it. They did it with Byfield, and Laf.

 

[ru4reals]

That does not look like a pleasant spill.

Wow total f**king bullsh*t slewfoot there. Hope Gabe will be okay. Damn.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Lol. Can we stop this nonsense yet? Part of the reason Faber was available is because he wanted to return to college for one more year. The Kings wanted to sign him earlier than Minnesota ended up doing. He also was willing to sign with LA after that extra year in college. Full stop. The Kings to some extent knew what they had with Faber. Plus the Kings even under have shown they will throw a guy in the fire if they think he can handle it. They did it with Byfield, and Laf.

Hahahahaha……….NO.

BTW, you should add Mikey A to that list. Was playing 50+ games at the age of 20 and full time at 22.

 

[Sol]

Lol. Can we stop this nonsense yet? Part of the reason Faber was available is because he wanted to return to college for one more year. The Kings wanted to sign him earlier than Minnesota ended up doing. He also was willing to sign with LA after that extra year in college. Full stop. The Kings to some extent knew what they had with Faber. Plus the Kings even under have shown they will throw a guy in the fire if they think he can handle it. They did it with Byfield, and Laf.

You’re dreaming if you think there was a decent RD spot available for Faber at the time of the trade.

 

[AbsentMojo]

That does not look like a pleasant spill.

Ugh.. Asshole move by the D there. Hard to tell what tweaked.. if he took it on his left shoulder hard, could be a collarbone.. but thats more month to month. If he took more on his other side - there are skates and stick which could create torque on the low back vs landing flat.

 

[King'sPawn]

You’re dreaming if you think there was a decent RD spot available for Faber at the time of the trade.

On the right side (if going strictly by handedness), Kings had these players play during the regular season before the trade:
Doughty
Roy
Durzi
Spence
Walker
Stecher
Strand

If they wanted to play someone on the left, this was their defensive depth:
Anderson
Edler
Maatta
Bjornfot
Clague
Wolanin
Moverare

He likely wasn't going to get more minutes than Doughty, and maybe Roy considering the Kings' over-reliance on vets. But you're kidding yourself if you think he wouldn't have been able to play himself up the roster pretty quickly.

 

[bland]

On the right side (if going strictly by handedness), Kings had these players play during the regular season before the trade:
Doughty
Roy
Durzi
Spence
Walker
Stecher
Strand

If they wanted to play someone on the left, this was their defensive depth:
Anderson
Edler
Maatta
Bjornfot
Clague
Wolanin
Moverare

He likely wasn't going to get more minutes than Doughty, and maybe Roy considering the Kings' over-reliance on vets. But you're kidding yourself if you think he wouldn't have been able to play himself up the roster pretty quickly.

Lets assume that they did send Faber down.

At the very least they would have been able to better assess their options even if they had to move a quality player a year later. They didn't need to jump at a scorer at that point, there is always talent available.

Fiala was a desperate act, simply not enough for Faber and a first. He fit the analytics, not the timing.