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Did you like the off-season moves?

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Are you happy with the off-season moves (players/coaches)?

  • Full Kudelski.. Go Kings go!

    Votes: 36 78.3%

  • Wait and see

    Votes: 11 23.9%

  • Wish I was a Ducks fan

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    46
  • Poll closed .
Herby said:
They didn’t tear it down but they did finish bad enough where they were able to draft what is looking like a generational type talent on the blue line and a 90 point winger after drafting Mac.

And that is why they won, because over a 4 year period they drafted a superstar center, a superstar defenseman and a 1st line star winger all with top 10 picks.

That is their
Kane/Toews/Keith ,
Malkin/Crosby/Letang, Stamkos/Hedman/Kucherov, Kopitar/Doughty/Quick
Click to expand...

And you think they intentionally finished that bad? Because that is what bland is saying should be done.....
 
GoldenBearHockey said:
And you think they intentionally finished that bad? Because that is what bland is saying should be done.....
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All I am saying is Colorado drafted a generational superstar d-man and a 90 point winger with top 10 picks 4 and 2 years after they drafted Mac, was that on purpose or was it luck? We can debate that until the cows come home but it’s just another example that hammers home the fact that the best teams of this era draft superstars with high 1st round picks and build around them and the Kings are going against the norms (much like with the development decisions on young players)

I personally would have just played the youth last season and this coming season, it gives you a chance to see what you really have in some of these guys and more importantly the chance to draft a couple of potentially truly difference making players (especially in this coming draft), which I am not sure the Kings currently have in the system. Could it result in being Arizona or Buffalo? Yea it certainly could, but it gives you a championship upside if you hit on the picks. I really struggle to see a championship upside with the current strategy being used by Blake.

I understand the competing now concept, both with fan morale and bottom line but it’s just hard to imagine the Kings competing for a championship with this strategy of trading for and signing good but not great players and putting them with players in the twilights of their careers and young players who don’t look to have the type of ceilings that will result in those types of players that Chicago, LA, Pittsburgh and Colorado had.

Colorado and LA ended up with similar picks in the draft over a 4 year period

Colorado ended up with

MacKinnon - 1 OA
Bleackley - 23 OA
Rantanen - 10 OA
Jost- 10 OA
Makar - 4 OA

LA ended up with

Vilardi - 11 OA
Kupari - 18 OA
Turcotte - 5 OA
Byfield - 2 OA
Clarke - 7 OA

Colorado ended up with 3 players that they would individually not trade to LA for all 5 of LA’s picks if it was offered today.

I think Blake realizes his picks, especially Gabe and Turcotte were just misses based on where they were taken, and even QB living up to a 2 is going to be a challenge going forward and this he transitioned to a more veteran approach with signings and trades, and that has gotten the team to the playoffs, so he gets credit for that. But a case can certainly be made that going through opposite way and trying to acquire more high picks was a more optimal approach. But the elephant in the room is 11 and 8, and I think that is what angers people like Bland and Kings17, that a decision like that was probably made to appease players on the back-9 of their careers.

I think the Kings have a better chance of winning a SC in the next 3 years with this strategy (probably a 5% chance Vs 0% chance) but the other strategy would have produced a better chance at a SC in the next 5-8 years (maybe an 8-10% chance)
 
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Ziggy Stardust said:
You must really miss the likes of Joakim Ryan, Matt Luff, Austin Wagner, Kale Clague and Michael Amadio, or is it Mark Alt, Christian Wolanin, and Drake Rymsha that you are pining for?

I guess having a young team make the playoffs this past year is the worst thing to happen to the organization.
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A young team didn't make the playoffs last year. An old team that mismanaged young players made the playoffs last year. Its not the same thing. The kids sitting and watching the tired old vets struggle dropped the average age down.

No organization that has two teams simultaneously in the playoffs that sits their key kids from the money games in BOTH leagues while losing TWO winnable series deserves the pass some of you guys are oh so glad to give them.

Plateauing at mediocrity isn't real progress, why some of you celebrate it is a real mystery.
 
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Axl Rhoadz said:
We aren't talking about making picks or signing free agents. Fiala was acquired via trade for key assets that Blake had abundance of. Yes, it takes skill to pick and develop the right players...there is also a skill to being to able to make a good hockey trade. Not every team/GM can do that at any given time.

LOL, not even close. Nothing personal, but I'd have to think there is something else going on in your life if you find the current state of the franchise 'depressing'.
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He’s a pretend Kings fan that thinks he knows anything about running a franchise while wiping down the restrooms at Staples.
 
Herby said:
All I am saying is Colorado drafted a generational superstar d-man and a 90 point winger with top 10 picks 4 and 2 years after they drafted Mac, was that on purpose or was it luck? We can debate that until the cows come home but it’s just another example that hammers home the fact that the best teams of this era draft superstars with high 1st round picks and build around them and the Kings are going against the norms (much like with the development decisions on young players)

I personally would have just played the youth last season and this coming season, it gives you a chance to see what you really have in some of these guys and more importantly the chance to draft a couple of potentially truly difference making players (especially in this coming draft), which I am not sure the Kings currently have in the system. Could it result in being Arizona or Buffalo? Yea it certainly could, but it gives you a championship upside if you hit on the picks. I really struggle to see a championship upside with the current strategy being used by Blake.

I understand the competing now concept, both with fan morale and bottom line but it’s just hard to imagine the Kings competing for a championship with this strategy of trading for and signing good but not great players and putting them with players in the twilights of their careers and young players who don’t look to have the type of ceilings that will result in those types of players that Chicago, LA, Pittsburgh and Colorado had.

Colorado and LA ended up with similar picks in the draft over a 4 year period

Colorado ended up with

MacKinnon - 1 OA
Bleackley - 23 OA
Rantanen - 10 OA
Jost- 10 OA
Makar - 4 OA

LA ended up with

Vilardi - 11 OA
Kupari - 18 OA
Turcotte - 5 OA
Byfield - 2 OA
Clarke - 7 OA

Colorado ended up with 3 players that they would individually not trade to LA for all 5 of LA’s picks if it was offered today.

I think Blake realizes his picks, especially Gabe and Turcotte were just misses based on where they were taken, and even QB living up to a 2 is going to be a challenge going forward and this he transitioned to a more veteran approach with signings and trades, and that has gotten the team to the playoffs, so he gets credit for that. But a case can certainly be made that going through opposite way and trying to acquire more high picks was a more optimal approach. But the elephant in the room is 11 and 8, and I think that is what angers people like Bland and Kings17, that a decision like that was probably made to appease players on the back-9 of their careers.

I think the Kings have a better chance of winning a SC in the next 3 years with this strategy (probably a 5% chance Vs 0% chance) but the other strategy would have produced a better chance at a SC in the next 5-8 years (maybe an 8-10% chance)
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it was luck......they didn't draft MacKinnon and then go...ok let's tear it down because we are now drafting 10 OA or 4OA......they kept adding, Kadri, Manson, Nickhuskin......etc...

No one is arguing that drafting quality talent is a bad thing......I'm just saying, sans that, there are OTHER ways to get talent....and compete....
 
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bland said:
A young team didn't make the playoffs last year. An old team that mismanaged young players made the playoffs last year. Its not the same thing. The kids sitting and watching the tired old vets struggle dropped the average age down.

No organization that has two teams simultaneously in the playoffs that sits their key kids from the money games in BOTH leagues while losing TWO winnable series deserves the pass some of you guys are oh so glad to give them.

Plateauing at mediocrity isn't real progress, why some of you celebrate it is a real mystery.
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I get that some may think the Kings are overprotective of their youth when it comes to ice time, but they have younger players in the lineup now as regulars as opposed to two-three years ago.

I prefer the young guys earn the ice time than just be given something on a silver platter based on their draft positions.
 
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Most of the moves are in the "wait and see" state for me, including the Fiala trade and extension. It's very much contingent on what the team does with the depth, much like last season. If it's the exact same, then it's more on the negative side of the spectrum.

The ones I can think of immediately where I see no legit downside are the hiring of Hiller and the AAVs of the re-signed RFAs.
 
There shouldn’t be a rule on player development concerning ice time. Case by case basis based on what they are doing with the icetime. All information is relative down to underperforming linemates to how the guys they are lined up against played.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
I prefer the young guys earn the ice time than just be given something on a silver platter based on their draft positions.
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And I prefer veterans also earn their ice time than just be given something on a silver platter based on their time in the NHL.

The most reliable way a prospect "earns" ice time is if enough vets get injured. Then they'll get an opportunity. Of course, this is after they have spent all season learning to grind. I think that's a terrible setup/arrangement/mentality for most teams.

Jarrett Stoll confirmed this in his interview this offseason, and it's something he went through. You have to wait, and you have to be ready to play.

By itself, it makes sense at the surface level. But how many prospects aren't getting ice time or quality experience because several seasons are spent "waiting until enough people get hurt"?
 
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alt-alt.png


Please put some respect on this guy's name, thanks
 
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I think on paper all of the external additions have been good. If I was to have an issue with any signing this year it’d be extending Edler because I don’t see anything in his game worth keeping. Even if he has a tiny bit of edge now in the twilight of his career, he’s taking up a spot and on ice he’s very slow. I didn’t want him back. I think Maatta did really well in the oilers series.

So im on wait and see what happens. I will truly be happy with the direction of this team if byfield takes on a bigger role and big step forward. Byfield becoming a top line center will absolutely take care of all the issues we have. The Kopitar replacement, having a top center through the organization.

All of this falls onto Byfield.
 
King'sPawn said:
And I prefer veterans also earn their ice time than just be given something on a silver platter based on their time in the NHL.

The most reliable way a prospect "earns" ice time is if enough vets get injured. Then they'll get an opportunity. Of course, this is after they have spent all season learning to grind. I think that's a terrible setup/arrangement/mentality for most teams.

Jarrett Stoll confirmed this in his interview this offseason, and it's something he went through. You have to wait, and you have to be ready to play.

By itself, it makes sense at the surface level. But how many prospects aren't getting ice time or quality experience because several seasons are spent "waiting until enough people get hurt"?
Click to expand...

The young players who benefitted most from injuries were defensemen in Sean Durzi and Jordan Spence. Most of the young forwards, Kaliyev, Byfield, Kupari, stuck around for a majority of the season (when they were healthy).

Kaliyev got in 80 games this season because he did what was asked of him and became a better all-around player. Byfield probably would have seen a lot more games had he not gotten hurt. Kupari played in 72 games between the AHL and NHL, which is the most hockey he's ever played in a single season.

As far as the veterans go, Brown's ice time was significantly reduced, and Kopitar's average ice-time actually dropped to its lowest number in five seasons. The only vet I see who you could argue got preferential treatment was Alex Iafallo. Are there others who deserved less ice time?

I wish the Kings had a Zegras or Stutzle who didn't look out of place playing critical minutes, but none of the young players displayed any skill that matches those players, and that's why they're prospects and considered works in progress.

Vilardi played his way out of the lineup, he was given a great opportunity in 2020-21 and played in 54 out of 56 games, but he pissed it all away when he got outplayed by so many others when the next season started. Credit to him, he played his way back to the NHL, but he needs to be a better pro. He was called out because of his negative body language, and he was rightfully sent down as a result. Kaliyev and Kupari did the opposite and did what was asked of them.

If Byfield played anything like a young Kopitar from his rookie season, I think it's safe to say that he'd be seeing more ice-time, but he's far from reaching that level. And this is coming from someone who has a lot of hope in him.
 
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bland said:
The only thing "wrong" with the players selected here is the ham-fisted, ultra-meta based developmental programs instilled by executives with absolutely no successes to their names.
Click to expand...
I think this is a bit of a reach. I have been very critical of the bizarre and unorthodox development decisions but even had they not put Byfield, Turcotte and Kupari in the AHL as teenagers and tried to force Vilardi into a C role do you really think that these guys + Clarke would have turned into the difference making type of players that you need to develop to win championships like some of the names mentioned from other teams?

Just seems like they were going to have bring in higher end players one way or the other, and they went the veteran route rather than the add more high picks route. Time will tell whether that works out.

Sol said:
I think on paper all of the external additions have been good. If I was to have an issue with any signing this year it’d be extending Edler because I don’t see anything in his game worth keeping. Even if he has a tiny bit of edge now in the twilight of his career, he’s taking up a spot and on ice he’s very slow. I didn’t want him back. I think Maatta did really well in the oilers series.

So im on wait and see what happens. I will truly be happy with the direction of this team if byfield takes on a bigger role and big step forward. Byfield becoming a top line center will absolutely take care of all the issues we have. The Kopitar replacement, having a top center through the organization.

All of this falls onto Byfield.
Click to expand...

Yup. Byfield is the last hope for a 1C, which is obviously very disappointing when you went C with so many high picks and you are basically down to 1 maybe to even be a scoring line C.

If QB ends up a PLD caliber player, which I think is a possibility, you are ok if one of the other two had developed into a similar player to that. But neither did, and now QB is going to have to really exceed a PLD caliber player to make up for the areas they missed.
 
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I liked the Kempe and Anderson contracts. I also liked the Fiala trade. Everything else is as best uninspired and in truth par for the course when it comes to slack jawed Rob.

I wish Edler wasn’t coming back. I’d rather a kid get his reps over the safety blanket that Edler provides. No one can legitimately argue that Edler guarantees a playoff spot, much less second round appearance.

I don’t like that the D will only get offensive production from just Doughty if Durzi doesn’t play. Counting on Walker to come back and produce right away feels like a convenient excuse in the making. Mixing it up with Spence, Clarke, Bjornfot feels like a fake competition. One that only exists in fan discussions and team paid media.

I don’t like top of the bubble forward prospects all fighting for the last 3 roster spots going into camp. Vilardi, Lias, Kupari and JAD were all drafted to be everyday players. Instead, 3 are fighting to not be tweeners subject to waivers claim, and Rasmus is 1 year out unless he turns into Grundstrom this season.

If the point is to improve on last year, why make a bunch of decisions which result in half measures.
 
DoktorJeep said:
I liked the Kempe and Anderson contracts. I also liked the Fiala trade. Everything else is as best uninspired and in truth par for the course when it comes to slack jawed Rob.

I wish Edler wasn’t coming back. I’d rather a kid get his reps over the safety blanket that Edler provides. No one can legitimately argue that Edler guarantees a playoff spot, much less second round appearance.

I don’t like that the D will only get offensive production from just Doughty if Durzi doesn’t play. Counting on Walker to come back and produce right away feels like a convenient excuse in the making. Mixing it up with Spence, Clarke, Bjornfot feels like a fake competition. One that only exists in fan discussions and team paid media.

I don’t like top of the bubble forward prospects all fighting for the last 3 roster spots going into camp. Vilardi, Lias, Kupari and JAD were all drafted to be everyday players. Instead, 3 are fighting to not be tweeners subject to waivers claim, and Rasmus is 1 year out unless he turns into Grundstrom this season.

If the point is to improve on last year, why make a bunch of decisions which result in half measures.
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Well.....no, Lias wasn't drafted to be every day player....Spence will start in the AHL and iron out the warts he has, no issues there, Clarke remains to be seen, but OHL or NHL are the only two options, Bjornfoot is more than likely starting on the 5th-6th Dman.....what exactly is wrong with that?
 
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GoldenBearHockey said:
Well.....no, Lias wasn't drafted to be every day player....Spence will start in the AHL and iron out the warts he has, no issues there, Clarke remains to be seen, but OHL or NHL are the only two options, Bjornfoot is more than likely starting on the 5th-6th Dman.....what exactly is wrong with that?
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Lias wasn’t drafted or traded for to be a tweener.

Spence is better than Edler and cheaper.

Clarke would be in the NHL if the Kings were rebuilding.

Bjornfot finished last season the 7th defenseman not 5/6.
 
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DoktorJeep said:
Lias wasn’t drafted or traded for to be a tweener.

Spence is better than Edler and cheaper.

Clarke would be in the NHL if the Kings were rebuilding.

Bjornfot finished last season the 7th defenseman not 5/6.
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Lias was ABSOLUTELY traded to be a tweener........he was a DEPTH add who had good upside...but wasn't going to be a team killer.....if the upside panned out...he would have played more.

Spence has holes he needs to iron out, he does that in the AHL....pretty simple...

You have no idea if Clarke would be in the NHL if anything, and if you are 100% positive, quick what are the powerball numbers?

Bjornfoot started 5/6 and finished 7th.....ok great, who is above him, let's go through it, Doughty, Roy, Andersson.....Durzi? Needs work, Edler? Not for a full year, Walker? No idea how he comes back from injury.....did I miss anyone?
 
Yeah, no way did the Kings trade a 2nd for someone they expected to be an AHL/NHL tweener. They took a calculated risk on a former high pick who’s original team had seen enough and moved on from him and it has just simply not worked out.

Btw, the Kings could have done something similar and gotten out in front of their depth issues and made a similar deal that the Rangers did and gotten a 2nd for either Vilardi or JAD last summer. That was not good asset management.

As far as Toby, I think he is a floor guy but nothing the last two years shows he will be anything more than a 4-6 defenseman, which isn’t terrible but maybe not what you hoped from a guy who made your team out of camp at 18 and was a regular at 19. I think Toby was one of those guys who may have peaked earlier than most players. But a 3rd pairing defender from a later 1st is not disastrous but a bit disappointing based on early results.
 
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