Around the league part 2

[YP44]

I wouldn't say that trade worked out for Philadelphia. They got a decent return, yes, but they missed the playoffs in 7 of the 12 seasons since the trade and haven't made it past the 2nd round. They wasted the return by not addressing other areas. They probably would have been better off keeping Richards and Carter, who led them to the final two years earlier. That locker room crap sure worked out for us.

Personally, I don't see PLD fizzling out. He's too good. I like Vilardi a lot more than most, but the odds of him having a subpar season are much higher than PLD having one. Definitely a defining move, though. It has to work out for Blake to appear to have any semblance of success.

We all have our gripes with Blake, our coaches, and management in general. I think they get passes too often but I'm glad there is at least some accountability. I'd go nuts if it was like Wilson in SJ or Poile in Nashville, where it was just the same old stuff despite not getting a cup.

the fact Pronger got injured not long after cannot be ignored and I think has sent the Flyers spiraling since.

 

[Kudelski37]

Age still is a more important factor for player development than NHL games. A 21 year old entering his third season would still have more upside than a 23 year old with 65 games.

What if Vilardi returns to his previous level of play?

Do you really expect another 19% shooting percentage this season? If he shoots his previous career average (14.2%) he ends up with 17 goals last year, instead of 23.

Is it usual for a player to play at ES with the teams best offensive player and not draw the other teams best checkers? That was the case in LA last year, it's unlikely to be the case in Winnipeg. If he's playing with Connor, he will be facing top checkers.

As far as it being a horrible trade for the Kings. Are you a believer that the Kings could have won a SC with Phil Danault as the teams #2 center? It's the same situation as in 2012, you had a good #3 center masquerading as a #2 center and a hot shot prospect who wasn't ready to play that role. You can't win a SC with Kopitar and Danault as your 1-2 C duo.

I expect Vilardi to score more goals than PLD. The Vilardi-Byfield line was drawing the opponents top checkers right before Byfield got sick and Vilardi moved to Kopitar's line.

Is Danault masquerading as a 2C or is he better than the 2012 Kings version of Mike Richards in pretty much every way?

The Kings needed a version of Stoll this summer because they got killed on faceoffs against Edmonton. Centers like O'Reilly were available for zero assets this summer. Guys that can score decently, play defense, kill penalties, win faceoffs, and add some grit. Blake went another way. Let's see if losing faceoffs regularly will get the Kings passed the first round.

 

[Fishhead]

Vilardi could out-goal PLD next year, but I think he'll need at least 30 to do so. Will be tough as the Jets are a lot more of a defensive team than an offensive one. He'll have to score at last year's pace at a minimum and play all 82 games. Gabe will really need to bring it, as PLD was already pacing higher for goals last season and the Kings are much more offense-oriented.

PLD is already a PP whiz and putting him on one of the top units in the league will get him a few extra goals for sure.

 

[bland]

Carter was the 2C in 2014. At that point with Richards you just closed your eyes and hoped the puck wasn't going to end up in back of the Kings goal. People thought watching Durzi this past season was an adventure, not sure there was anything quite like 2014 Richards. Maybe Ran_y Jones.

Jesus Herby, give it a rest. The 2014 games are all on YouTube, your opinion of the decline of Richards' play in that run is so massively exaggerated its ridiculous.

No, he wasn't what he was in 12 and 13, but he made so many key plays in that run, especially in the Finals. Watch the games again, its not hard to appreciate.

 

[Herby]

Jesus Herby, give it a rest. The 2014 games are all on YouTube, your opinion of the decline of Richards' play in that run is so massively exaggerated its ridiculous.

No, he wasn't what he was in 12 and 13, but he made so many key plays in that run, especially in the Finals. Watch the games again, its not hard to appreciate.

I watched all the games. Went to 6 games in person including 4 in Chicago where Coach Q exploited Richards at every turn. Richards was completely done, just look at the metrics and how he dragged every person he played with down. Whether it was Carter or Pearson in the SJ series or Clifford and Lewis in the other ones.

Why did those 4 guys lines tank immediately when they were put with Richards?

Why was Richards who spent most of the run on the 4th line on the ice for such a high amount of GA compared to the rest of the team? Was he just unlucky or was he by far the worst player in the team?

The guy was in Manchester early into the next season and then out of the league after that. If he wasn’t a fringe player in the 2014 run, when exactly did it happen?

I don’t get the admiration for a replacement level player along with the minimization of what has been the teams best all-around forward for 18 seasons. Richards was important in 2012, no doubt about it, in 2014 he was the worst player on the ice most nights. What became of his career after it should not have been a surprise to anyone.

 

[jgs]

We now have 3 top Centermen, our defense should be good but it will all depend on the type of goaltending that the Kings get if they are to take the next step. If our goaltending is below standard, those 3 centermen ain't going do much.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Top 9 forwards are soft besides PLD and Kempe, who should not be fighting. Top 4 D is soft also. Not one career fighting major between Doughty, Anderson, Roy and Gavrikov.

Not saying fighting equals toughness, but Blake needs some grit in the top 9 and top 4 D.

 

[Sol]

Jesus Herby, give it a rest. The 2014 games are all on YouTube, your opinion of the decline of Richards' play in that run is so massively exaggerated its ridiculous.

No, he wasn't what he was in 12 and 13, but he made so many key plays in that run, especially in the Finals. Watch the games again, its not hard to appreciate.

What? I don’t remember Richards at all being a factor in 2014. It was Gaborik Kopitar and the 70s line.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Richards in 2014 was clearly a shell of his former self--see him getting beat to the net by friggin Handzus in OT game 5--but just like Brown he had his moments and we aren't winning without him. Gotta take the good with the bad, can't just pretend the clutch moments didn't happen because several GTG and GWG don't happen without him.

Kind of like some other guys--Greene, Regehr--he sure emptied the tank for us and vaporized before our eyes.

I expect Vilardi to score more goals than PLD. The Vilardi-Byfield line was drawing the opponents top checkers right before Byfield got sick and Vilardi moved to Kopitar's line.

Is Danault masquerading as a 2C or is he better than the 2012 Kings version of Mike Richards in pretty much every way?

The Kings needed a version of Stoll this summer because they got killed on faceoffs against Edmonton. Centers like O'Reilly were available for zero assets this summer. Guys that can score decently, play defense, kill penalties, win faceoffs, and add some grit. Blake went another way. Let's see if losing faceoffs regularly will get the Kings passed the first round.

Remember we're dealing with a coach that even with 100 Cs on the roster makes a CONSCIOUS choice to put out Arvidsson/Fiala/Durzi for a d-zone faceoff in 3v3 OT and then went surprised pikachu.png that they got scored on within seconds. I don't think this org cares about faceoffs.

 

[Statto]

I am genuinely surprised by the largely negative view on this player by a lot of our fans. I think he is going to be very impactful in LA. Not only is he a proven 60-70 point scorer with maybe some upside for more, he fills a huge hole at 2C and gives the Kings some sandpaper in the top 6. It seems the Kings lack guys with that attribute who can actually score. All the guys the Kings have drafted who are "tough to play against" can't shoot a puck into the ocean, and the ones with some skill are pretty timid.

I think this guy is going to win over people pretty quickly.

I like the trade increasing the more I learn and nobody can accuse me of being anything other than a Vilardi fan boy. It (the trade) made sense even though I hated it emotionally.

 

[johnjm22]

Richards did have some nice plays in the 2014 run. But he had been a defensive liability pretty much the whole season. He could only be used in a limited role.

 

[johnjm22]

 

[kingsholygrail]

Sounds oddly familiar in regards to City Council money pits.

 

[YP44]

amazing

 

[tny760]

so that's like, an independent news outlet separate from the team? how is the league letting them get away with that branding? even the hosting network is "BSN Live", like as close as humanly possible to bally sports branding

 

[All The Kings Men]

so that's like, an independent news outlet separate from the team? how is the league letting them get away with that branding? even the hosting network is "BSN Live", like as close as humanly possible to bally sports branding

It's part of the "Diehard" All City network.

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I think there are additional cities but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

edit: maybe not...

https://twitter.com/ALLCITY_Network

 

[tny760]

It's part of the "Diehard" All City network.

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PHNX (Phoenix)

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I think there are additional cities but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

edit: maybe not...

https://twitter.com/ALLCITY_Network

wild

if i accidentally clicked onto PHNX_Suns on twitter i'm not sure i'd think for a second it wasn't official given all these popular regional cutesie names pro teams have done lately

like your branding is obviously very similar but it's not just mimicking the brand with a slightly different name, there's enough "parody" element to it to slide in my opinion. "official"ness aside, of course

didn't think you could get away with selling "Mike" shoes with a "Bwoosh" logo

 

[All The Kings Men]

wild

if i accidentally clicked onto PHNX_Suns on twitter i'm not sure i'd think for a second it wasn't official given all these popular regional cutesie names pro teams have done lately

like your branding is obviously very similar but it's not just mimicking the brand with a slightly different name, there's enough "parody" element to it to slide in my opinion. "official"ness aside, of course

didn't think you could get away with selling "Mike" shoes with a "Bwoosh" logo

I fell for it earlier today.

It was only when I was halfway through the video and realized "this can't possibly be a Coyotes post" that I realized of... of course... it's PHNX

 

[johnjm22]

Wow.

 

[DAkings20]

That seems like a lot

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Will be cheap by the end, good deal even if it looks risky up front. Guy is an absolute rock already, it's all upside.

 

[johnjm22]

He had an awesome rookie year. If he continues on the same trajectory is will be a very good deal.

But it's still very risky. Only one season under his belt. Defensemen can be unpredictable. Remember when everyone thought Tyler Myers was the second coming?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

He had an awesome rookie year. If he continues on the same trajectory is will be a very good deal.

But it's still very risky. Only one season under his belt. Defensemen can be unpredictable. Remember when everyone thought Tyler Myers was the second coming?

Absolutely. I also remember Barrett Jackman, rookie of the year

Development is funny like that.

 

[Herby]

Yet another young player who is “barely old enough to buy a beer” signing a huge contract extension before his ELC is even up, after quickly establishing himself as a difference maker right out of the gate. People can debate whether he’s overpaid the first year or two, but long-term this will be a great deal as the cap rises. But what a great spot to be in when you are so happy with the development of a player that you are confident enough to commit 8x8 to him. Ottawa has now done that with both their top 5 picks from 2020, this is the type of results you should be expecting when you use that kind of draft capital on players.

And of course he played two years of college hockey and jumped right into the NHL, with no AHL time, must be yet another McDavid type, right Muzz? It’s just amazing how these proven development paths continue to work for other teams but the Kings choose to do it their way, with pathetic returns from their own high picks. But I’m sure we will have “Yack” or “Nelly” go on the Pravda podcast soon and say how these teams are doing it the wrong way, and the Kings way of evaluating and developing youth is the right way.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Just wait until Brandt Clarke starts the season in the AHL.