Did Lombardi do enough for this team at the trade deadline?

[Axl Rhoadz]

Let me preface this by saying that I love DL....I mean, who wouldn't with the success we had last year?

But I think it's clear now that our D is much worse than it was last year, STL's D got better, and there's the difference. The holes that Mitchell and Greene have left are now glaringly noticeable and could be the biggest reason why this team doesn't make a significant run in this years postseason.

DL tried to replace Mitchell with Regehyr....we all know now that the two don't even compare, but where was the band aid for Greene...Ellerby? Did DL fail to realize there was a good chance that Greene wouldn't be ready for playoff action? Was he to quick to assume that Muzzin and Ellerby were ready for the big show?

It's been a long time since I've been concerned about the depth of this team, but suddenly our D looks a hell of a lot like an average team.

DL had the green light to improve this team, if needed, to make another run. Looking back, I'm very disappointed that he didn't do more.

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[TheSlovenian]

 

[Sydor25]

The Blues gave up a lot to get their shot at the cup for this season. Dean made his move last season to take a shot at the cup and the Kings won the cup.

We don't know if the moves the Blues made will result in a cup win, we do know that the moves that Dean made the last two deadlines (and summer) helped the Kings win the cup.

I'm okay with the moves Dean made this year. He didn't have a 1st round pick to use this season at the deadline because he traded it for Carter.

What could have Dean done to improve the defense more than he did without a first round pick?

How many teams can have half of their defense injured and still finish a point out of 4th place in the West? The Kings window isn't closing this season, they still have a young core. Muzzin and Ellerby are getting tons of experience without the benefit of a steady veteran to cover their mistakes. Voynov looked overmatched in the playoffs last year, but Mitchell was there to help him out on the ice. Muzzin and Ellerby don't have that protection in their first playoff experience.

 

[bmr]

I might have taken a run at Bouwmeester, but Dean added Ellerby and Regehr. Who would have guessed that Mitchell and Greene would have been out the entire year? These are the breaks. If it wasn't for Quick's gaffe in game 1 and a partially screened shot in game 2, who knows?

St. Louis seems to be getting a lot more of the quality chances, especially in that third period from last night. Holy cow, man...I mean there were a ton of missed opportunities. Really not surprised to see them down 0-2 at this point.

We will see how good of a resolve this team has for the remainder of the series.

I don't really care about the regular season any more. The players I want on the ice for the playoffs are the ones I know will make a big difference. Penner has been beasting, and our holes in defense are fairly obvious at this point.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

He did enough to give us the damn good chance we've had, but nobody can plan for lingrring or recurring injuries following the deadline. I don't think he erred at all in his moves.

 

[Telos]

Yes, a couple of weak plays aren't going to change things. We've got a good team. Just need to find a way to generate more offense and keep playing the way we are. People complaining about Ellerby/Muzzin and Quick are being nonsensical. This team is keeping the Blues to a low scoring game. What separates us from last season is our offense. The Blues would get one or two, but we'd get 3-4. It's time for Kopitar and the rest of the forwards to step up, not defense and goaltending. Keeping your opponent to one goal is about all you can ask for in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

The Blues gave up a lot to get their shot at the cup for this season. Dean made his move last season to take a shot at the cup and the Kings won the cup.

We don't know if the moves the Blues made will result in a cup win, we do know that the moves that Dean made the last two deadlines (and summer) helped the Kings win the cup.

I'm okay with the moves Dean made this year. He didn't have a 1st round pick to use this season at the deadline because he traded it for Carter.

What could have Dean done to improve the defense more than he did without a first round pick?

How many teams can have half of their defense injured and still finish a point out of 4th place in the West? The Kings window isn't closing this season, they still have a young core. Muzzin and Ellerby are getting tons of experience without the benefit of a steady veteran to cover their mistakes. Voynov looked overmatched in the playoffs last year, but Mitchell was there to help him out on the ice. Muzzin and Ellerby don't have that protection in their first playoff experience.

This. Not many teams could have weathered this the way we did, and two bounces and we're singing a different tune altogether anyway.

 

[TonySCV]

Dean can't replace Mithcell AND Greene in a salary cap era. He brought in Regehr but Mitchell > Regehr and it's not a close comparison. No Greene as well is gutting.

In fact, if Mitchell isn't healthy at the start of next season, it basically equates to a loss of a roster spot because of all the cap space tied up in Mitchell's contract.

Only so much Dean can do. He did what he could.

 

[tigermask48]

It comes down to this argument: Was there any better options at a better price available that DL should have obtained? Gotta say there really wasn't looking at the players that got dealt and what the costs were. Really the only option would have been what, Doug Murray instead of Regehr? I just don't see the players that got traded that are the replacements or fill-ins for Mitchell, and Greene that DL could have went after.

 

[MsMeow]

There wasn't much out there, especially on defence so, yeah, he did well by getting Regehr and also Ellerby, as much as I don't think he's that good. You lose Mitchell, Greene and A-Mart and have Scuderi regressing badly and this is the result.

 

[KINGS17]

Anyone think that with the depth of the defense that it's not a guarantee that Rob Scuderi will be back next season?

For me I would be leaning towards bringing him back, but the thought has had to of crossed Dean's mind.

I know some are blind to it, but I see Muzzin and Ellerby progressing a little almost every game. They were much better last night than in Game 1. If Martinez and Greene both return next season at full health, it's still a pretty good defense.

Dunno, maybe Regehr won't be offered a deal. I guess Dean has a lot of things to think about on the back end.

 

[NikF]

It's hard to say without knowing the market, but yeah I don't think anyone should have been under the illusion that Muzzin and Ellerby were going to cut it. Muzzin for all his offensive contributions is still derpy as hell in his decision making. And sadly Willie Mitchell is borderline unreplacable, probably among the most underrated players in the leauge.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Dean can't replace Mithcell AND Greene in a salary cap era. He brought in Regehr but Mitchell > Regehr and it's not a close comparison. No Greene as well is gutting.

In fact, if Mitchell isn't healthy at the start of next season, it basically equates to a loss of a roster spot because of all the cap space tied up in Mitchell's contract.

Only so much Dean can do. He did what he could.

Salary cap aside, not many guys like that in the league. Regehr was the best available physical/shutdown d-man. Teams are loathe to give these guys up. There's a reason every draft some team takes a first-round chance on a guy with size/shutdown ability even at a high bust rate.

 

[yankeeking]

really guys ? one game lost on a mistake and one lost on a partial screened knuckel ball or deflection off of DD8, these kids hsve made mistakes along with RR44 but only scoring 1 goal in each gamed is on the blues forecheck and hitting, we lost to a team that is considered one of the best in the west 2nd to chicago and equal to us by most analyst,eddie o was on the radio talking about how the other teams are pretty happy with the blues and kings knocking one of the contenders, out on their ice by a goal........we are coming home and just have to hold serve to get back into this, no one to blame, just good hard fought hockey that didn't go are way yet, if we lose at home either game then you can point fingers but this is a good test for the core and they have not let uss down too much when they needed to win........SO STOP THE *****ING AND GET READY TO BE LOUD AS HELL TOMORROW GO KINGS GO GO KINGS GO

 

[Live in the Now]

I thought DL should have brought in Bouwmeester before the deadline, but what's done is done and I didn't complain about it when he didn't.

With what he did, yeah, I think he failed to bring in a forward. Didn't have to be a guy like Pominville, but we lack options at forward. If you go in for Regehr as a UFA, you have to go all the way in with your chips. It's not the reason the Kings are losing though.

 

[takk]

Should've signed Doan But srsly.. We could've used his tenacity, guy had a 10 shot 10 hit game at the age of 36.

Jaybo would be tremendous, but that move would put us straight to cap hell unless Calgary had eaten some salary.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

You have three new additions on the blueline this season in Regehr, Muzzin and Ellerby, and you have a bunch of players from last season who have really cooled off of late. I somehow doubt there was much else Lombardi could have done to get this team going or performing any better. No addition at the deadline was going to turn Kopitar's slump around. Or miraculously cure Greene and Mitchell. You deal with the cards that are given to you.

Consider is a learning experience for management and let's see them regroup for next season. It'll be an interesting summer given that we already know the cap is going down and that there are moves to be made to retool the roster a bit, not to mention all of the players Lombardi has to re-sign.

 

[MSRinkRat]

I think it might have been a mistake on "standing pat" this off season, but we still have a good team. Minor tweaks, and adding a good stay at home guy and we should be ok next year. Still got a shot this year tho, if Green gets healthy. Deans doing great otherwise.

 

[Reclamation Project]

I'm glad he didn't overpay for anyone.

Reload in the offseason and take a couple more runs. We certainly have the players and coaches.

 

[deeshamrock]

But I think it's clear now that our D is much worse than it was last year, STL's D got better, and there's the difference.

actually the Kings D is not worse this year, and they finished top 10 in the league. Bluies overpaid to get more D which may or may not pan out, that's not what cost tjem last year, their D was good , it was lack of top 6 scoring. They still don/'t have that and against the Hawks, Pens or Caps it will be a difference.

The Kings gave up 2 goals in the first 2 games last year vs the Nucks, but they scored 4 each in the those 2 games.

That's all the difference, no offense, D is fine and has not cost them in this series.

ANd DL was smart not to overpay , not with the need to get players signed and potentially get a LW via trade.

This team has a good young D core , Doughty , Voynev and Muzzin are a terrific trio for years.

 

[santiclaws]

I know some are blind to it, but I see Muzzin and Ellerby progressing a little almost every game.

And Scuderi is regressing at nearly the same pace.

That's all the difference, no offense, D is fine and has not cost them in this series.

There is more to defense than just keeping the puck out of your own net. The D is nowhere near as good as clearing the puck, controlling the puck in their own zone or giving a good first pass. All of those things are integral to a good breakout, which is what the Kings' offense is built around - their offense starts in their own zone. So while the defense may look similar on the stat sheet as far as goals against are concerned, they don't look anything like last season's edition on the ice. The same forwards not scoring anything like they did last season while the defense has gone through a 50% turnover is not a coincidence.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

No, there were noticeable holes that he didn't fix. Kind of surprised when he said he didn't go after iggy. Disappointed a bit.

 

[Mats26]

I don't care what anyone says about my Kings. I am a proud Kings Fan and will support them forever. We have half our D missing from last year and the Blues added 10 milllion to their back end. That's the differance right there. We stuck with them for 2 games barring all our injuries. We play with pride and we will show it again on Saturday night. We are only one win away from turing this around. Blues know it, Kings know it. No reason to blame DL or line changes or injuries, let's just support these guys on the ice and take Game 3!

 

[bmr]

Scuderi did look quite gassed last night. It was evident when he shot that puck into the Blues bench. I am not sure he's going to be worth 3.x million over the next few seasons. However, looking at the UFA defenseman list this year...there's not much there. That would leave us making a trade for another guy.

We are definitely going to have to figure out how to get the next Mitchell. Doughty is clearly our best D in the playoffs.

 

[I Am Ziggy Palffy]

Or STL is just playing us very well by neutralizing our top 6. Bringing back the same roster as last season was seen as a blessing, but familiarity works both ways. Now, opponents had a whole season to adjust and it shows.

But what really disturbs me is still that 1st period of game 1. Seems like STL is still riding that momentum till now, and the Kings are still trying to shake off the shock. That was pure dominance