Carter Update

[cyclones22]

You know I tried to give that asshole a chance and took him off my ignore list. And quite frankly I was right the first time.

 

[kilowatt]

Your take on Vilardi is laughable...I was ecstatic when the Kings drafted him in 2017 but soon realized that with the injuries that he may not amount to much. Saw a few of his 10 games last year in a LA sweater. Even saw his first goal that he scored from inside the blueline that the goaltender obviously was asleep on...My initial thoughts were that Gabe is not a Centre but more suited for the RWing. As for his scoring exploits,c'mon man he played 10 games not 82...let him play 82 or 72 or 62 and see how may points he attains...30,40...The thing I worry about and that will haunt him his whole career is he sturdy enough,can he hold up the whole season...Hasn't played a whole season anywhere,ever,so that's the test!

Vilardi had a 53.3% faceoff win percentage. You’re out of your mind if you don’t think he can be a top six center. He already is.

 

[Bandit]

You know I tried to give that asshole a chance and took him off my ignore list. And quite frankly I was right the first time.

Be gentle, mental illness is a real problem in today’s society and should be taken seriously. That said...

Kubalik
Kubalik
Kubalik

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Be gentle, mental illness is a real problem in today’s society and should be taken seriously. That said...

Kubalik
Kubalik
Kubalik

If you say his name three times, will he come out of a mirror and fulfill andys fantasies?

 

[Fishhead]

Christ it's in every thread now. I tried replying in the other one but now I feel like a dirty enabler.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Predicting regression is stupid. But the concerns are that is he healthy or totally out from the roster for long periods? And his injury could kill some playoff run when everything looked perfect before that.

You could say that about any player. If you're just 'waiting' for him to get hurt, may as well trade him.

When he played, you could tell he needed conditioning, but he wasn't tentative or shy, and was boarded HARD a couple of times and bounced up.

Like it's fair to be concerned about his health, but after spending so long recovering and doing it right, and playing great hockey when coming back after a layoff with no issues, and now having MONTHS to do nothing but prepare and condition, we're supposed to worry some more? It's a little absurd.

 

[Basilisk]

You know I tried to give that asshole a chance and took him off my ignore list. And quite frankly I was right the first time.

Wait, you had Kubalik on your ignore list?!

 

[Sol]

Kubaliks mom really likes to post in hyperboles

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Vilardi had a 53.3% faceoff win percentage. You’re out of your mind if you don’t think he can be a top six center. He already is.

53.3% wow that's what really off the charts? Who cares and who did he take face-offs against Lizotte? A good face-off man was Stollie! That's what you want in a good Defensive guy,your PK guy!Is that what you're driving at?

 

[Bandit]

If you say his name three times, will he come out of a mirror and fulfill andys fantasies?

Was thinking more that he'd eat a cockroach by luring it with a Zagnut bar.

 

[Statto]

Vilardi the second best forward in the organization right now...pretty high praise based on what your bias? C'mon man! He's probably the 8th or 9th right now...Kopi,Carts when he's healthy,Kempe,Frk,Yafallo,Turcotte,JAD,Byfield at 18...talking about another teams prospects,ever wonder why...LA overlooked RC Necas and took the cripple instead. Now I hope Vilardi does turn out to be our 2nd line centre but like I said he doesn't have the wheels to play there and from my vantage point is better suited for the RWing where he doesn't have to do as much defensively(going back deep into the D-zone) or lead a quick counter-attack the other way...

You first post about the sample size for evaluating Vilardi was not too bad... but then you can’t help yourself... I wouldn’t make him number 2 either but you’ve just gone to the other end of the scale. He’s ahead of JAD and Frk for a start, looking like more of a player than both and drives play far more effectively than either of them . For the record I think all 3 make next years roster. Given Turcotte hasn’t played a pro game he’s ahead of him too. Depending on how things have gone physically over the lockdown (improving his core etc) you can easily start the conversation at around 5th in the depth chart.

Calling him a cripple is just unnecessarily disrespectful, but you seem to think it makes you clever or something... I just find it odd. The lad had a specific issue with his back that they now know how to manage. Depending on what the actual problem was it’s quite possible that he has no more major issues with it, but we will see. I agree time will tell, if he is going to be durable enough to play a major role. He may well end up on the wing, but they’ll give him every chance at C as with his IQ it’s where he can most effectively affect play.

 

[Statto]

53.3% wow that's what really off the charts? Who cares and who did he take face-offs against Lizotte? A good face-off man was Stollie! That's what you want in a good Defensive guy,your PK guy!Is that what you're driving at?

You know fine well that’s decent, especially for a rookie. Stoll was great and time with him will help Vilardi no end. Of course you want god F/O numbers in your defensive player but it’s kinda daft to imply it’s not important for an offensive player. It’s far easier to score when you start the play with the puck. You know that though, you’re just trolling and we are taking the bait.

 

[psych3man]

@andys
I am the last human being on earth to be called PC.
Your "cripple" comment on Vilardi is the most classless comment I have heard in a loooong time (and I sit and talk with people all day long). The incredible pain and hard work that young man has had to endure to reclaim what God made him to do is beyond unimaginable. To be that young, that talented and have it all snatched away in a moment is inconceivable to almost any of us. He has shown nothing but courage, determination and tenacity in getting back to where he is. (incidentally, the Kings regard Vilardi as their #1 overall prospect right NOW by far per Dillman.)

andys, I am asking you man-to-man to (1) retract your cruel and ignorant 'cripple' comment, and (2) apologize to this board for having to read and respond to such unnecessary nonsense about a man we all admire and have so much hope in.

 

[Fat Elvis]

Just when you think you've read the most idiotic comment in the history of HF, it posts again. Haven't put 1 person on ignore ever, and I've been here a Really long time. I enjoy reading different takes and opinions and welcome it. But this, this is not that. Can't reason with crazy.

 

[kilowatt]

53.3% wow that's what really off the charts? Who cares and who did he take face-offs against Lizotte? A good face-off man was Stollie! That's what you want in a good Defensive guy,your PK guy!Is that what you're driving at?

Stoll’s faceoff percentage in his rookie season was 54.07, so maybe let’s see what happens before we declare Vilardi a fourth-line forward.

Oh and Vilardi only scored 14 fewer points in 58 fewer games.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

@andys
I am the last human being on earth to be called PC.
Your "cripple" comment on Vilardi is the most classless comment I have heard in a loooong time (and I sit and talk with people all day long). The incredible pain and hard work that young man has had to endure to reclaim what God made him to do is beyond unimaginable. To be that young, that talented and have it all snatched away in a moment is inconceivable to almost any of us. He has shown nothing but courage, determination and tenacity in getting back to where he is. (incidentally, the Kings regard Vilardi as their #1 overall prospect right NOW by far per Dillman.)

andys, I am asking you man-to-man to (1) retract your cruel and ignorant 'cripple' comment, and (2) apologize to this board for having to read and respond to such unnecessary nonsense about a man we all admire and have so much hope in.

If you read the comment it said Vilardi was LA's 2nd best forward...I said he wasn't their best 8th best right now,lol. I'll give Vilardi respect for making it back and playing 42 games(Ontario-LA) last year,but the NHL is a what can you do for the team today,tomorrow. You guys think because someone says that he's good,its true and have no bias. Or he has no weaknesses. Vilardi has come a ways and needs to come a lot longer to replace Carts the 15 year pro! You know the 15 year pro with 1040 games played,382 goals,350 assists,732 points and 0,70 for his career not 10 NHL games!

You need to look for yourselves or maybe you're not quite trained enough so that must be the excuse...here's a bit of advice...look harder and not through rose-coloured glasses...

 

[Schrute farms]

Agreed that comment on Vilardi is unacceptable. You should be embarrassed for yourself dude. Even if it were a Shark/Duck, it still would be unacceptable (probably...lol, jk). But the fact that Vilardi is one of ours -- an LA King....smh. Imagine his family reading that. Not cool dude...not cool.

 

[kilowatt]

If you read the comment it said Vilardi was LA's 2nd best forward...I said he wasn't their best 8th best right now,lol. I'll give Vilardi respect for making it back and playing 42 games(Ontario-LA) last year,but the NHL is a what can you do for the team today,tomorrow. You guys think because someone says that he's good,its true and have no bias. Or he has no weaknesses. Vilardi has come a ways and needs to come a lot longer to replace Carts the 15 year pro! You know the 15 year pro with 1040 games played,382 goals,350 assists,732 points and 0,70 for his career not 10 NHL games!View attachment 352919 View attachment 352920 You need to look for yourselves or maybe you're not quite trained enough so that must be the excuse...here's a bit of advice...look harder and not through rose-coloured glasses...

I think Vilardi is good because I watched him play ten games and hold his own as our second-line center. Imagine how he would look with better linemates than Kempe and Frk? Carter isn’t a second-line center anymore. He wasn’t even a top six player in our lineup last year. I love Carter, he’s one of the best players we’ve had in our history, but he’s been a different player since his leg injury a couple years ago. Maybe he comes back after this long layoff and can be productive again, but even if so, I bet he gets moved to wing, not Vilardi.

Let’s see what a full offseason of training - not rehabilitation - does for Vilardi. He’s a special player and his return from injury only further cements that fact.

 

[Sol]

It's legit messed up to call a dude a cripple who most likely had a genetic issue hindering his progression. I was upset that there wasn't much information about his condition. I wanted him to be healthy which is why even I was annoyed about the lack of information.

However he didn't develop an issue to spite fans, so calling him a cripple because he had a genetic disorder likely, it's pretty classless.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Calling Vilardi a cripple shows just how much of a dickhead you are.

LMFAO

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

If you read the comment it said Vilardi was LA's 2nd best forward...

Well andys.... if you want to talk about reading the comment, maybe you should start by actually reading the comment?!? What I said.. was that he was "*ARGUABLY* the 2nd best forward in the Kings organization right now". Words are important... don't just leave one out to try to make a better argument.

I really don't think it's that crazy to make that argument given the context and what we saw from Vilardi this year. To me, it's way more crazy that you think a player like JAD (among others) is ABOVE Vilardi on the depth chart... I like JAD don't get me wrong... but he didn't do jack in his 4 NHL games and he basically has a full YEAR of development time/experience on Vilardi, who stepped in and immediately made an impact so much so that the Kings pretty much had to keep him up with the big club.

If I'm a GM building a team and I have to choose between a 20 year old Vilardi and a 35 year old Carter, I'm choosing Vilardi 10 times out of 10. And it's really not that close. That's coming from a guy who absolutely loves Carter, he's one of my favorite Kings players of all time. You realize Vilardi was a more productive player than Carter was this past season right?? Carter was on pace for a 37 point season in a full 82 games, while Vilardi was on pace for 42.

Players like Brown, Kempe, and Iafallo might have been more productive players for the Kings this year... but they also received significantly more ice time. Iafallo was getting around 19-20 minutes a night on average while Gabe was getting about 13 minutes a night. So you could legitimately make an argument for Vilardi over those players, especially assuming he gets a full summer of training (for the first time in like 2 years mind you) and is fully conditioned and ready for more ice time to start next season.

You can argue for other prospects like Turcotte and Kaliyev to be above Vilardi on a depth chart, but in doing so you're betting on potential, since neither one of those players has proved anything at an NHL level no matter how good they project to be. Vilardi has.

No one is saying Vilardi is "perfect"... no one is saying he doesn't have weaknesses/flaws and doesn't have things he can improve on. We don't just "think he's good because someone said he was" we think he's good because we literally saw him play... and his play in the NHL during those 10 games was very good at the very least. Obviously, his skating isn't great. Obviously he can improve defensively. Obviously, there's other areas where he can improve. But those weaknesses really didn't seem to be too much of an issue at the NHL level, and if anything that just makes the argument for Vilardi over most other Kings forwards even stronger. He has room to grow, he's going to get better.

Oh and here's another fun thing about Vilardi's 10 NHL games....... He basically DID replace Carter. And the team was significantly better. Now you can call that coincidence, and of course there's other factors, but that's basically what happened. Carter was out, Vilardi was in... and the team was on fire.

Also... Byfield isn't a part of the Kings organization right now so I'm not really sure why you included him in your list of players that are "better" than Vilardi.

 

[Basilisk]

LMFAO

Please stop being Autistically rude.


Thanks!!!!!

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Kubaliks mom really likes to post in hyperboles

Seriously... I've been avoiding saying it for the longest time because I don't want to bring up anything political but, this guy's posts constantly remind me of Trump tweets.

"Necas is a great, great player and will be a STAR. Vilardi, on the other hand.. very bad, very injured, not a center. No way! Necas though, great center. What a missed opportunity. So sad! Shame on Rob Blake, he is weak and can't be trusted. And don't even get me started on Kubalik!! The Kings will regret these decisions for YEARS to come!!!"....

Like dude chill we get it, you follow the president on twitter. Maybe don't mimic his rhetoric on a hockey forum?

PS please don't ban me for this lol, this isn't anti trump or pro trump it's just an observation

 

[lumbergh]

Finally used the ignore function for the first time.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Just a reminder that if you consistently don't like what fellow posters have to say, there's a simple ignore button.

In other words, the dumbest thing you can do if you really just cannot get along with someone is to amplify them, so either lay off and post productively or ignore and move on.