Confirmed with Link: Changes Incoming

[BigKing]

To me, Futa is a Lombardi guy so why would Luc want to keep him?

Also, Futa is responsible just like DL for the drafts they have had which, sorry, have not been very good lately. Sure, they have "hit" on later picks but they have missed on basically every high (as far as their first pick in the draft) pick since Pearson.

Nothing against Futa; however, his rep has been bolstered by how this team drafted while building up to the titles. He's in the boat with Lombardi at this point if we are talking accountability.

Regardless...I don't think Luc is going to want to keep Lombardi loyalists around for long. Futa will be able to get a job elsewhere if he wants, more than likely.

 

[kingskring]

Lets do a little roll play.....

You have been a loyal employee at Microsoft for 15 years.... Out of the blue, Apple wants to hire you, and they are willing to double your salary to get you on board.....

What do you do?

And for reference, it would only add about 5 extra min to your commute

 

[raswilliam]

 

[lumbergh]

Someone tag this thread so we can come back to it in a year or five years. Seems like a decision that will define a generation of Kings hockey.

 

[deaderhead28]

Can we start a "Fire Rob Blake" thread? I don't want to hear that we need to give that clown a chance. We gave him two chances already and he lifted a leg and crapped on us both times.

Are you just going to whine about Blake in this whole thread?

 

[kingsholygrail]

Lets do a little roll play.....

You have been a loyal employee at Microsoft for 15 years.... Out of the blue, Apple wants to hire you, and they are willing to double your salary to get you on board.....

What do you do?

And for reference, it would only add about 5 extra min to your commute

Jump ship to Apple, but first I'll video tape myself setting a Microsoft logo on fire then pissing it out and post it on social media.

 

[Sacha Baron Corbin]

I'm willing to separate Blake the player from Blake the GM but still the optics don't look great for AEG, placing a guy in a spot where he has no experience and is still hated by half the fan base.

Part of me also thinks that Luc has a completely different vision for the team or he wouldn't of made such a big time push for power.

Don't really know what to think right now, only time will tell I guess.

 

[KingTrouty]

Over the entire tenure? Ofcourse.

But the last three years basically everything Lombardi has done has blown up in his face, can we think of one positive move?

Iginla. VL. There's two, bubba.

"Anyone can do better" gtho with that hyperbolic bs

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I'm all for the "wait and see" approach with Blake. I'm just really disappointed with this entire apparent Game of Thronesian power play on the behalf of Luc.

No one wants Cersei Lannister running their hockey club.

 

[KingClipper]

T

SO? that was when he was a player.... He is no longer a player...


And really, how many players are not in it for the money.... Be in the NHL/MLB/NFL every player is out for the big $$$$.. VERY FEW players put money second over loyalty..... even fewer sign hometown discounts when they can get a much bigger $$$ elsewhere


And don't give me that "well I wouldn't do that" ******** because none of us have been presented with a multi million dollar contract to do do our job

How many players quit on the same franchise twice and still get their number retired by them?

The Kings and many of the fans need to stop caping for Blake. He would be hated in any other town or any other sport for the crap he pulled, and rightfully so. Retiring his number was bad enough. Replacing the GM who ended our title drought with Blake is a slap to the face of all lifelong fans.

 

[deaderhead28]

Many were complaining about Dean handling contracts and Sutter for many things, now that the ownership has made some moves to replace them, we got people complaining about that.Lol Never can make everyone happy.

 

[BigKing]

People seem to put their emotions ahead of rationality. I'm just concerned with what decisions they make.

Dave Taylor didn't have much experience when he took over as GM but did a respectable enough job taking over a mess of a team and turning them into a more respectable organization.

I know you are a Blake fan but, as of this moment, all I have to judge Blake on is the decisions he has made and, as they relate to the Kings, I don't want the guy anywhere near the organization.

He could be great, although it seems like Luc is going to have a big say as well. Like I mentioned previously: I hope Blake becomes the best GM this team has ever had.

Until then, **** him. Dave Taylor was the King of Kings...Rob Blake is a weasel with the middle name "Bowlby". Our ****ing GM's middle name is Bowlby! He must have changed it to "Blowby" during his second stint here.

 

[KingTrouty]

What would you have done coming off these three seasons?

When do you hold the Coach and GM accountable?

It's one thing to fire the two, it's a whole other cup of tea promoting the two scrubs we did. You can separate the two notions, Herb. It's ok.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Let the dark years officially begin.

 

[Herby]

Iginla. VL. There's two, bubba.

"Anyone can do better" gtho with that hyperbolic bs

Weal had 8 goals in 23 games this year as a 24 year old.

Lecavalier had 10 in 42 games with the Kings last year at 36. I liked Vinny, but you may be a bit premature in calling that move a winner. And really what did Iginla deal really matter? A team that was dead got a player for free who played pretty well, but again the team was dead.

As a fellow Angel fan did you really want another manager hanging on for years to long based on past accomplishment?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Taylor lasted from 1997 to 2006.

Lombardi lasted from 2006 to 2017.

I'd say he had a very successful run, but the team has been trending downwards since 2014.

As thankful and grateful I am for what Lombardi and Sutter accomplished between 2012 through 2014, their time was due.

Bylsma and Shero took the Penguins to back to back runs at the Cup, with one of them proving to be a successful run. They were let go years later after failing to achieve any success in the post season. Rutherford made a bad coaching hire initially, but the midseason change to Mike Sullivan turned that team around last season, and he turned those Pens into a relentless forechecking machine.

Hopefully we see a turnaround like that with this group. Kopitar, Doughty, Carter, Quick, etc., are capable enough to lead a team into playoff contention. The results of the past three seasons were downright unacceptable.

 

[KingTrouty]

For my first post in eons, I am just going to say I don't like this. The move has all the hallmarks of a corporate power play. Luc strikes me as a man who has gotten by on looks and charisma rather than smarts. He probably has been plotting this move behind the scenes for quite some time, whispering in Beckerman's ear while desiring total control. Bringing Blake along means that there is no threat whatsoever to Luc's power. This is not how successful organizations are built- you want some tension, disagreements so that all opinions are heard. That seems to have ended.

At the same time, how can you treat Sutter and DL so badly? They won two Stanley Cups for this godforsaken organization for Pete's sake. Yes, Sutter needed to go, but he should have been given the opportunity to retire gracefully. He earned that right. At the same time, DL certainly made some significant errors, but HE WON TWO CUPS. How many GMs can say that? What has Blake ever done to take his job? This is a lack of class and really proves my point, Luc won a behind the scenes power struggle and stuck a shiv in his enemy's backs when they were most vulnerable. This stinks, and I've forever lost respect for Luc.

Great post, Piston. Great ****ing post.

 

[Herby]

It's one thing to fire the two, it's a whole other cup of tea promoting the two scrubs we did. You can separate the two notions, Herb. It's ok.

I am not a fan of bringing in Blake as GM. This organization has cancer thanks to the moves made the last 3 years, they should have gone in and taken everything out and gotten an outside voice.

I am not happy with Blake and Luc, but in any line of work if you have a three year run as bad as DL and DS have had it's game-set-match. Unless ofcourse it's our beloved baseball team.

 

[KingClipper]

Are you just going to whine about Blake in this whole thread?

I'm not whining, I'm stating facts. Luc is on a power trip right now and Blake is a known quitter. If that's who you want in charge of this franchise, so be it. But you can't honestly be surprised that most of us don't want this.

 

[kingsfan28]

Dean probably hitched his wagon to Sutter with that extension last year. Even if their relationship wasn't as strong as before at present, the two are tied together. If people in the organization didn't want Sutter back after last season, Dean probably signed his own death sentence by giving him he extension.

Reeks of palace intrigue here. I'd have to look up the initial Robitaille hiring, but it seems like an AEG move more than a Lombardi move, although Lombardi did want to build a culture and feels alumni are a big part of it. Then Luc gets his buddy Blake in there. Can totally see players unhappy with Sutter talking to Luc and Blake. Things are set in motion etc.

Robitaille had a lot of power this entire time and now he has what he has, in my opinion, ultimately wanted for awhile now. This guy now oversees the entire operation!

In the end, no surprise if Lombardi wouldn't fire Sutter. Lombardi knows he made a mess here the last few years as well so a good time to leave: especially if Luc were to become his boss. So, show that famous Lombardi loyalty and go down with your guy.
All speculation but, even with the past three seasons, dumping Lombardi for these two greenhorns doesn't seem like a smart decision.

Lombardi is on record saying he'd never fire Darryl out of respect, so he essentially went down with the ship. I could totally see AEG telling him to fire Sutter this morning and Dean refusing to do it.
The press release pretty much spells it out why both were canned. This team is too good to fail this bad after winning two cups in 3 years.

 

[BigKing]

Taylor lasted from 1997 to 2006.

Lombardi lasted from 2006 to 2017.

I'd say he had a very successful run, but the team has been trending downwards since 2014.

As thankful and grateful I am for what Lombardi and Sutter accomplished between 2012 through 2014, their time was due.

Bylsma and Shero took the Penguins to back to back runs at the Cup, with one of them proving to be a successful run. They were let go years later after failing to achieve any success in the post season. Rutherford made a bad coaching hire initially, but the midseason change to Mike Sullivan turned that team around last season, and he turned those Pens into a relentless forechecking machine.

Hopefully we see a turnaround like that with this group. Kopitar, Doughty, Carter, Quick, etc., are capable enough to lead a team into playoff contention. The results of the past three seasons were downright unacceptable.

Agree that changes needed to be made but it was behind the bench where it was most needed. Larry Robinson took the Devils to the Cup as a late season replacement. Sutter did it. Sullivan did it.

The coach was the big change that was needed. Should of happened for this season but DL brought him back. Accountability there for DL as he played a huge part in this **** season due to the contracts and then bringing back a coach that the players don't like, players he needed to perform at the highest level to keep his job.

I wanted Sutter gone, even though I respect him as a coach. Don't have a huge problem with DL being let go aside from I wish he was in the organization still as he turned this franchise into a "real" one, if that makes sense.

If they were to be let go today, I would of liked no replacements lined up and a search to begin outside the organization. To just roll in with Fake and hand over the reins to Luc gives me so much heartburn that it is hard for me to be optimistic.

 

[BigKing]

Lombardi is on record saying he'd never fire Darryl out of respect, so he essentially went down with the ship. I could totally see AEG telling him to fire Sutter this morning and Dean refusing to do it.
The press release pretty much spells it out why both were canned. This team is too good to fail this bad after winning two cups in 3 years.

And if that's the case, good for him. He doesn't have his job anymore but he'll always go down with his guy: good or bad. Respect that even though it helped out this team where it is now.

That is my one hope for Blake: no loyalty. If there is one thing he should be good at, it it not handing out retirement contracts.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

That rule about getting compensation if your fired head coach/GM get hired somewhere else is gone isn't it?

 

[kingsfan28]

I'm all for the "wait and see" approach with Blake. I'm just really disappointed with this entire apparent Game of Thronesian power play on the behalf of Luc.

No one wants Cersei Lannister running their hockey club.

Dude, if I could give you points for this I would!

 

[Telos]

Definitely surprised with how far they took it. I expected Sutter, but Lombardi too at the same time? Lombardi was obviously on the hot seat but terminated from the organization? Wow.

I have to say, I partly hope that there is an interim attached to Blake's position. I am definitely nervous about him taking the reins from Lombardi despite what you think of either. It's a new era for sure now... We are in for a big culture change.