Dubois

[King'sPawn]

They 100% did.....all 3 chose to play somewhere else.

PLD was acquired on June 27, 4 days before free agency. They had no need for centers by the time they traded for him, and signed him as soon as they were legally allowed to.

Those 3 who they "100%" spoke to didn't have new locations before PLD was acquired.

 

[Johnny Utah]

PLD was acquired on June 27, 4 days before free agency. They had no need for centers by the time they traded for him, and signed him as soon as they were legally allowed to.

Those 3 who they "100%" spoke to didn't have new locations before PLD was acquired.

And all three have more points than PLD.

 

[tbrown33]

They 100% did.....all 3 chose to play somewhere else.

They 100% did not considering they acquired PLD before free agency opened up.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

---

Lol. You realize MacEwen on IR followiwasng jaw surgery to repair a broken jaw right up until he was traded to LA and then was wearing a jaw guard playing with the Kings right? Lmao even. Him not being 100% was common knowledge.

100%, what makes you think he was brought in to fight, knowing everything you just said? And not getting rid of Lemieux and they needed to take a contract back?

Which is more plausible, that he brought a guy in and told him to fight who....as you said "

Lol. You realize MacEwen on IR followiwasng jaw surgery to repair a broken jaw right up until he was traded to LA and then was wearing a jaw guard playing with the Kings right? Lmao even. Him not being 100% was common knowledge.

OR.....they wanted to rid of Lemieux, and had to take on an expiring contract because 50 contract limit?

PLD was acquired on June 27, 4 days before free agency. They had no need for centers by the time they traded for him, and signed him as soon as they were legally allowed to.

Those 3 who they "100%" spoke to didn't have new locations before PLD was acquired.

LOL I clearly wasn't being serious, I just figured I would talk out of my ass like the rest of you saying shit was 100%

They 100% did not considering they acquired PLD before free agency opened up.

See above

 

[FrozenKing18]

I love how slowly but surely more and more people are gravitating to the “he must be injured” cope. No, he just the same lazy heartless do nothing bitch he’s been his entire career.

I put more effort forth drunk as a skunk at a Vegas tournament at 10am with vodka in my water bottle than this f*** puts in for millions of dollars.

I don't think anyone is saying that for a fact. I think all of us here acknowledge his lack of effort and questioning it. We're all just figuring out the cause. It's definitely not beyond the realm of possibilities. A very low possibility but still a possibility. Either way, the guy needs to nut up and do something out there.

 

[BaileyFan]

The only possible silver lining is that a lot of Bergevin’s trades look bad at first but end up turning around eventually. Think of how bad Subban for Weber looked for MTL at first but it’s not unreasonable to suggest they won the trade in the end. Same with Pacioretty for Suzuki, Galchenyuk for Domi, maybe even Domi for Anderson. It seems pretty impossible that the Kings could even break even on this trade right now but stranger things have happened.

On the other hand, this might be Sergachev for Drouin part 2 and we’ll be stuck with a head case for almost a decade while Vilardi continues his ascent as a star player on a contending team.

 

[AbsentMojo]

His NMC kicks in next year, so if he's not bought out this year, he'd have to approve being waived for the purpose of a buyout.

Edit: additional info. These would be the cap hits if bought out on June 15 2024 (far right column):
View attachment 788110
The $1,130,952 cap hit would continue until 2038.

His cap hit if bought out June 15, 2025 would be:
View attachment 788111
The $2,194,444 cap hit would continue until 2037.

Big contracts to players who have yet to play a game is extremely dangerous, because if they struggle, you're burning a good chunk of the forest to put out a forest fire.

This would be on par with Milbury's Dipietro special Rick DiPietro Contract, Cap Hit, Salary and Stats - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

10 games for PLD and no points? Wow.

First off the Kings and even the beat writers were all saying this summer who is going to play center - can't have Lizotte as the 3C. Especially because of his size.

Well, isn't this managements fault? They drafted Vilardi, Kupari, Turcotte, Byfield and Hughes. None of them are playing center in the NHL. Three of them are playing wing (two of them for another team) and one is in the AHL.

Second point, if the Kings didn't think Lizotte could cut it as the 3C - which is obvious and they wanted a stop cap between when Kopitar's next years expires and Byfield takes over the 1C then sign RR or Bjugstad as the 3C for a 2-3 year deal.

Kopitar, Danault, RR/Bjugstad, Lizotte down the middle is just fine. Eventually, Turcotte or Helenius could slide in there as the 4C or push someone out.

The third line could have have Fiala-Bjugstad-Vilardi or Fiala-Ryan O'Reilly-Vilardi.

BTW, both RR and Bjugstad have more points than PLD. Look it up.

Even if they didn't have more points, at least they bring something to the game. Dubois literally brings nothing to the game.

 

[KingsOfCali25]

I was heavily on the Bjugstad option. Just how tough he was to play against in the playoffs. Plus, taking him away from Edmonton would help the Kings playoff chances. I didn't care for the Fiala trade because he wasn't a line driving player. He has always been a one many show kind of guy. We also gave up way too much to a team that had to move Fiala. The Kings out bid themselves both trades.

Kempe-Kopitar-Vilardi
Iafallo-Byfield-Arvidsson
Moore-Danault-Kaliyev
Grundstrum-Lizotte-Kupari

Anderson-Doughty
Gavrikov-Faber
Bjornfot-Roy

Goalie trade
Copley

Plenty of cap space. Options to move Iafallo/Arvidsson and Roy

 

[shuchukfan]

Remember when we all breathed a sigh of relief when PLD wasn't injured when slamming into the goalpost? Now I'm not so sure...

 

[tigermask48]

100%, what makes you think he was brought in to fight, knowing everything you just said? And not getting rid of Lemieux and they needed to take a contract back?

Which is more plausible, that he brought a guy in and told him to fight who....as you said "


OR.....they wanted to rid of Lemieux, and had to take on an expiring contract because 50 contract limit?

Kings acquire Zack MacEwen from Philadelphia in exchange for Brendan Lemieux + 5th Round Pick - LA Kings Insider

The first trade of the day, Insiders! The LA Kings have acquired forward Zack MacEwen from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Brendan Lemieux and a 2024 fifth-round draft pick. MacEwen brings with him 176 games of NHL experience with Vancouver and Philadelphia and has spent the bulk...

lakingsinsider.com

You really need to stop making crap up. Especially easily researchable crap like this or what KP pointed out. He was brought in to add toughness and is a bigger body than Lemieux who could fight bigger guys.

 

[KingsHockey24]

What is wrong with this line up?

Kempe-Kopitar-Byfield
Arvidsson-Danault-Moore
Fiala-RR/Bjugstad-Vilardi
Grundstrom-Lizotte-Lewis/Kupari

Plus, that leaves 4 million for a goalie....

It's missing Kyle Clifford.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Kings acquire Zack MacEwen from Philadelphia in exchange for Brendan Lemieux + 5th Round Pick - LA Kings Insider

The first trade of the day, Insiders! The LA Kings have acquired forward Zack MacEwen from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Brendan Lemieux and a 2024 fifth-round draft pick. MacEwen brings with him 176 games of NHL experience with Vancouver and Philadelphia and has spent the bulk...

lakingsinsider.com

You really need to stop making crap up. Especially easily researchable crap like this or what KP pointed out. He was brought in to add toughness and is a bigger body than Lemieux who could fight bigger guys.

And yet in your link nothing was said about toughness or wanting to fight.....talk about doing research.....your link is one person's anaylsis and says nothing to Blake's motivation.....

 

[tigermask48]

And yet in your link nothing was said about toughness or wanting to fight.....talk about doing research.....your link is one person's anaylsis and says nothing to Blake's motivation.....

Lol. You don't know about Zach Dooley or LAKings Insider?

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

View attachment 788329
Lol. You don't know about Zach Dooley or LAKings Insider?

Yep, still doesn't say what you think it does.

 

[Johnny Utah]

MacEwen still likes all the Kings posts on IG - I follow him.

It was a tough year for Big Mac - he lost his dad during Covid, then started out in the minors in Philly after they signed Deslauries. Then he came back up and became an everyday player and played well under Tort's, but got smoked by Foligno and broke his jaw and then was traded.

I was a huge Lemieux fan - even met him and had him sign a jersey (the one he knocked out Manson in) and he was really nice, but I kept hearing there was some off-ice issues with him. Either drinking or going out too much, idk, but something was going on...heard a few different rumors.

That Hague vs MacEwen fight in Vegas was pretty sad; you can tell he was hesitant from the broken jaw. He was def more engaged after that and tried to intimidate Edmonton (challenged Kane after his cheap hit on Doughty) and chased Nurse around all game.

Whether you like fighting or a player like him, the Kings will need another one at forward. They are soft as shit. Englund playing the #6 doesn't make the Kings tough. He helps, but that won't stop Edmonton, Vegas, etc.

The Kings were at their toughest a few years back when they had Lemieux and MacDermid and both were playing.

I hope we add a gritty forward at the deadline so we have that look again and Englund gets some help.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

So what’s the buyout number lol

 

[LAKings88]

I keep seeing a lot of talk about Faber. I don’t watch his games so I’m limited in my analysis but is he that much better than Spence? Similar numbers but Faber does play Doughty type minutes.

Clarke is also on the way.

I’ll take Fiala over Faber with Spence and Clarke any day.

 

[King'sPawn]

I keep seeing a lot of talk about Faber. I don’t watch his games so I’m limited in my analysis but is he that much better than Spence? Similar numbers but Faber does play Doughty type minutes.

Clarke is also on the way.

I’ll take Fiala over Faber with Spence and Clarke any day.

I'm a big Spence fan and yes, he's that much better. He's closer to Clarke.

And no, I wouldn't trade Faber for Fiala. But I wouldn't have made the trade back when it was made.

 

[Nasti]

All the years of “rebuilding” and stockpiling picks, only to blow it all for one last kick at the can for Kopitar and Doughty. The funny thing is, it took fewer years for Lombardi and his proper rebuild to become a cup winning team than it’s taken Blake to win a single round.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

All the years of “rebuilding” and stockpiling picks, only to blow it all for one last kick at the can for Kopitar and Doughty. The funny thing is, it took fewer years for Lombardi and his proper rebuild to become a cup winning team than it’s taken Blake to win a single round.

Yes because all those years of rebuilding have paid dividends for Edmonton, Buffalo, Ottawa, Detroit.....nothing like having a guaranteed plan right?

 

[Rick Knickleback]

That's the thing, how many assets do the Kings need to give up for a team to take him on for the next 7 years? Clarke+? Not many draft assets left and any roster assets weaken the team. It's not great.

Yes, now that my hangover (literal and metaphoric) from the last game has worn off, it's clear that the best shi**y option is to hope that his play improves. Maybe try him at LW on the first or second line? Completely forseeable disaster beginning to load.

 

[cheswick]

His NMC kicks in next year, so if he's not bought out this year, he'd have to approve being waived for the purpose of a buyout.

Edit: additional info. These would be the cap hits if bought out on June 15 2024 (far right column):
View attachment 788110
The $1,130,952 cap hit would continue until 2038.

His cap hit if bought out June 15, 2025 would be:
View attachment 788111
The $2,194,444 cap hit would continue until 2037.

Big contracts to players who have yet to play a game is extremely dangerous, because if they struggle, you're burning a good chunk of the forest to put out a forest fire.

To be perfectly clear here, he could still 100% be bought out. A NMC does not prevent buy outs. He could just reject the waiver process prior to the buy out and go straight to be bought out.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I love how slowly but surely more and more people are gravitating to the “he must be injured” cope. No, he just the same lazy heartless do nothing bitch he’s been his entire career.

I put more effort forth drunk as a skunk at a Vegas tournament at 10am with vodka in my water bottle than this f*** puts in for millions of dollars.

TBH I would pay to see this before I would pay to see another kings home game

The only possible silver lining is that a lot of Bergevin’s trades look bad at first but end up turning around eventually. Think of how bad Subban for Weber looked for MTL at first but it’s not unreasonable to suggest they won the trade in the end. Same with Pacioretty for Suzuki, Galchenyuk for Domi, maybe even Domi for Anderson. It seems pretty impossible that the Kings could even break even on this trade right now but stranger things have happened.

On the other hand, this might be Sergachev for Drouin part 2 and we’ll be stuck with a head case for almost a decade while Vilardi continues his ascent as a star player on a contending team.

Which is really what it boils down to.

No matter how we paint this trade 'for the future,' Blake is treating the Kings as a contender right now. Right now, this trade is an abject failure. Even with the games in hand the Jets are right there with us--and Vilardi is spearheading their first line while Iafallo is holding down the 2nd. Meanwhile, the Kings are succeeding in spite of Dubois and their third line scoring depth is currently a concern. Sure, Dubois is a C, but that's having very little effect, as he's at the same scoring pace as Lizotte which is WHY WE GOT DUBOIS IN THE FIRST PLACE and imo he's most likely to move back to wing eventually anyway at this rate. So, we got the worse player/winger for a ton of assets. I don't care if he figures it out 2-3 years from now, we got him and need him for NOW, yet it's become pretty clear he's not going to be productive unless he's the 2nd best player on his line. So we traded a play driving mark-stone-esque winger and a defensive stalwart two way guy AND a good depth player and high pick for a complementary two-way guy that drives the net once a game.

How many key players need to play key roles on contending teams around the league before everyone 'gets it?' These guys have no clue what to do with what they have and they're always chasing the shiny new toy.

I'd love a silver lining because right now I see another first-round exit with a deep Jets run and our failing deadline pickups only to see Kaliyev and Turcotte putting up 50+ points on another team and Clarke holding down a D spot elsewhere for a decade.

 

[King'sPawn]

And all three have more points than PLD.

Heck, let's dig deeper. Of all forwards who have played at least 28 games (chose that cut off as it's the fewest games played by any team), PLD is 187/281 in points. Even if you reduce the cut off to 15 games, he's 220/402 in points.

He's closer to the bottom than the top. And he's purely an offensive forward, top-5 in powerplay time on the team, starting in the opponent's zone more than any other regular, and virtually no penalty killing responsibilities. And of all players in the league (not just forwards), he has the 45th highest cap hit.

As always, he can turn it around, but to say he's been underwhelming is a compliment.