Speculation: Do the Kings extend GM Blake?

[DryIslandBartender]

From the fourth period article, on a podcast. Blake seemed pretty confident he will be extended citing his close relationship with Luc.

Where’s the accountability in this org? No performance review? Just buddies looking out for each other?

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[RocketKing]

F Blake - hit the brick Rob.

 

[Bandit]

All for it:

 

[DoktorJeep]

Yea probably, the Kings could finish in the bottom of the standings and Blake would be given an extension. Dave Taylor was GM for 9 years.

 

[kilowatt]

Of course they do. Should they? Warrants discussion, but I'd bet a lot of money they extend him. The fruits of his labor are just now starting to grow.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Yea probably, the Kings could finish in the bottom of the standings and Blake would be given an extension. Dave Taylor was GM for 9 years.

Yeah but Taylor could survive a performance review by citing playoff appearances, drafting, winning executive of the year etc. What did Taylor in was that epic, maybe historic collapse from top of the Western Conference at midseason to the bottom.

Blake? Hardly a resume to be proud of, much less one that is a forgone conclusion for an extension after 5 years. Especially when you look at the introduction press conference for Luc and Blake, the results they were promising were never met.

 

[Mats26]

Old boys club. Too bad.
I would not extend and bring in a young but established GM with assistants to build up this team before we botch all the prospects. Mathieu Darche from Tampa if the Habs don't poach him like they did with my first choice Gorton.

 

[lumbergh]

The Kings appear to be hitting an upward trajectory at the right time for Rob Blake.

 

[Schmooley]

See how the year plays out. Its still early because they could end up putting it all together or do the opposite and crash and burn.
If they dont make the playoffs youd have to think about bringing someone in with no attachments to the team thats willing to make hard decisions.

 

[BringTheReign]

17-18 = Playoffs
18-19 = Bottom falls out + preamble to the tank
19-20 = Official start of the tank + Pandemic shenanigans
20-21 = Tank continued + Pandemic shenanigans
21-22 = In the playoff picture when most outside of LA thought we'd be bottom 5-10 + Pandemic shenanigans

During that time, Blake has assembled one of the more widely regarded prospect pools in the league. His FA signings have been fine to good, and his trades I'd give the same rating. I'd say he's been more conservative than most, but most GMs would be in a rebuild. As far as development goes, I think that's one of the main points people hold against him, and it's hard not to agree at this point given we haven't seen much bear fruit at the NHL level. That all being said, I don't think Blake gets let go unless the team absolutely craters to end the season. Being in the playoff picture in the 3rd or 4th year of a rebuild is basically as expected, and we haven't even seen the team's best prospects and what they'll do. I am encouraged by the development of Iafallo, Kempe, and Kaliyev for example, and I'm expecting we'll see some awesome progression from Byfield and co. by the end of this year. It sucks that we didn't land a Zegras or a Raymond/Seider, but hey, the guys that make an impact immediately are super rare, and they can regress as we've seen with Kirby Dach. Playing in the NHL as a kid is tough.

 

[Herby]

From the fourth period article, on a podcast. Blake seemed pretty confident he will be extended citing his close relationship with Luc.

Where’s the accountability in this org? No performance review? Just buddies looking out for each other?

He's right. Luc is never going to fire him.

The only way we are saved is if AEG higher-ups say enough is enough and fire them both.

 

[Lt Dan]

He's right. Luc is never going to fire him.

The only way we are saved is if AEG higher-ups say enough is enough and fire them both.

Which is what happened last time

 

[Master Yoda]

With the team pushing for a playoff spot this season, and if they are still there at the end of the season, it buys them at least one more year.
But if they don't make the playoffs next season, I think everybody is gone. From Luc/Blake to all the assistants, and development staff.
Well maybe not Luc, cause he's so charming.

 

[Schrute farms]

As much as i truly dislike Blake as a person, don't trust him as a GM and can't stand Luc involved with anything player-on-ice related -- i have to be honest and say that I think our GM deserves another year to see this through. Change for change sake is not always good. If this were Dean with his 2nd GM reign or someone else we respect, then we'd all be signing a different tune and giving a little more rope. I think our dislike (to put it mildly) of Blake (me included) greatly impacts our perception of him as the Kings GM.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Blake will get another 3 years. This will put the kids he drafted in spots to contend for a Cup (which means another extension) or they’ll suck (which will get him fired).

 

[beedee]

With the team pushing for a playoff spot this season, and if they are still there at the end of the season, it buys them at least one more year.
But if they don't make the playoffs next season, I think everybody is gone. From Luc/Blake to all the assistants, and development staff.
Well maybe not Luc, cause he's so charming.

And hopefully they take the boring black/silver uniforms with them!

 

[Telos]

They haven't extended him yet; however, it is a foregone conclusion that he will be. His "boss" is Luc... So, he is literally sitting down with his buddy to do his review and discuss a new contract... Obviously, AEG will play a part and if something extremely drastic happens they'll step in, but I doubt they will do anything to block this extension this go around. The next one though is up in the air.

 

[kingsholygrail]

No extension yet? Will he take off his tie and demand a trade to another team?

 

[FSL KINGS]

As long as Blake promises to not resign Maatta. I'm all for it!

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

If they look at the last 5 years objectively, no, AEG wouldn't. But it's been covered that this is a Luc operation.

If they do some projection, and are optimistic about it rather than pessimistic, I could see them giving him 2-3 years to see what the 'real' rebuild looks like, but if it's not continual improvement to a true contender, he's canned.

If they crash and burn from here to the end of the season he's out, but I think most likely outcome is a small extension.

 

[Choralone]

Covid and the chaos its wreaked for 2+ seasons alone buys him more time. Objective, positive rankings of our prospect pool and his trade results buy us more time.

The prospects he's drafted and imported - despite everyone's fervent wishes - haven't ripened yet and the chaos Covid has caused in the normal development process means that we won't really see the results of this interrupted developmental effort until the next two years. Have some teams got some of their draftees on their roster quicker? Whoop-de-do.

For me, the main strike against Blake and his staff are selecting Willie D as a coach, and that's about it. Everything else is debatable (like Petersen over Campbell, Todd as the HC, etc.) As far as I'm concerned, the cake is in the oven already - no use bringing someone else in to start changing the ingredients.

 

[kingsboy11]

Unless the team just completely has the wheels fall off between now and the end of the year and they end up lottery again, I don't see them not extending him. But I think given the strength of the prospect pool and Covid has bought him some time. His next contract shouldn't be more than 4 year, ideally 3 years. But at the end of the day, results have to matter. We were sort of lucky to still be in the playoff hunt last year because the teams ahead of us weren't winning and I think that 1 playoff appearance while getting swept and no serious improvement I think questions do need to be asked, of not just him but Luc as well.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Blake is a 1st time GM and has played it safe which is good and bad. No big mistakes no big wins. Ill give him credit for getting a lot for Muzzin and taking some mild chances like Lemeiux (which has been gold) and Lias which has been not that great. The hockey gods gave us QB - ending season with 7 wins still ended up 2nd overall. I do not think he has the special sauce that DL had ie understanding what types of players you need beyond the stats. So I think his upside is limited. Removing my anti-Blake bias which there is a lot.. id give him a B, with the bias included a C because Im pretty sure he will do a weasel/sellout move at some point and confirm what we already know about him.

 

[crassbonanza]

I think Blake gets extended because of Luc, but it likely will be a 2-3 year situation and Luc's job will be tied to it. The biggest positive for Blake is having a top prospect pool, but that is starting to lose it's luster when you considering that we are not graduating any prospects. I would imagine if you looked at a best 23 and under ranking instead of prospect ranking the outlook would be somewhat different. Teams like the Avs, Canes, Ducks, Canucks, Stars, Devs and Rags should all see their ranking go up significantly with the graduated NHLers added back into the pool. I am sure AEG is cognizant of this fact and are willing to give him some time to see if the prospects do pan out, but I don't think they will be as enamored by the rankings as some others are. Another aspect to consider is that AEG has been losing a lot of of money over the past couple years and I'm sure the Kings have been no exception. There doesn't seem to be a lot of excitement around the team right now and that is reflected in the secondary market for ticket prices. You can get 12 buck tickets to Mondays game against the Rangers, I mean you can even drop into the premiers for 40 bucks. The team needs some sort of excitement and they need it soon, Blake and Luc have been in charge long enough to own all aspects from on ice to off ice and AEG is likely going to be watching the situation closer.

 

[Schmooley]

As far as I'm concerned, the cake is in the oven already - no use bringing someone else in to start changing the ingredients.

Hes still using the old cake that was in the pan already and trying to add icing and shit even though its just about stale. He may end up overcooking it and burning the whole thing anyway.
Only teasing though