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News Article: Elliotte Friedman: Mike Futa leaving the Kings

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Herby said:
The Kings screwed up, it doesn't have to be brought up a million times and people don't have to make excuses, it is what it is, teams screw up, Calgary gave up on Martin St. Louis and he ended up being one of the best players in the 2000's. The Kings European Scouts and Management did not realize they had an NHL 30 goal-scorer, looking back he obviously should have been brought over some time earlier.

And props to Kubalik, he believed in himself and held out for what he thought (and correctly thought) he deserved, he was not an AHL player, he knew his value and didn't want to ride busses. And he was really good this year, his arsenal of shots is elite, the puck booms off his stick like it does some of the top scorers in the league.

The sucky thing for the Kings was that their draft strategy for skilled players in that era largely amounted to dart throws in the later rounds, basically all of them missed except for one and they didn't get him over here.
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Don't blame the European scouts! It was Pseudo GM Blake that's all F... him and now the Kings have said goodbye to Futa who should have been the GM!
 
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andys said:
Don't blame the European scouts! It was Pseudo GM Blake that's all F... him and now the Kings have said goodbye to Futa who should have been the GM!
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Just curious, whose fault is it that Kubalik didn't sign any offer the Kings presented to him?
 
Fishhead said:
I can't believe I'm doing this... but:

Dominik Kubalík has received an offer from the Los Angeles Kings

There's the offer from 2017

"He thinks all prospects should be tinkled pink with signing with the big team for nothing or under the conditions they set...where is the negotiating for the talent who proved himself for the last 4-5 years and since he was 14 that he's a scorer and not some slug!"

You don't know how contracts work for these players. There is no negotiating, or lowballing. It's a set contract, it's an ELC - the same for any team he signs with.

And this is what Stan Bowman had to say:

"Bowman asked Kings GM Rob Blake about Kubalik. "On first approach, Rob said, 'I don't think we want to trade him. We might try to sign him ourselves,'" Bowman said. Bowman said fine but checked back again. And again."

They made an offer, he didn't take it. Stop trying to rewrite history to make a point that isn't there. There's this thing called the internet, where everything is. If he wanted to sign with the Kings, he would have. It was the same exact contract no matter where he signed.

Here's a quote from Martin Straka, his GM, on Kubalik:

"But I talked to him about it then, and he said he did not want to go there. He was scared they would put him on a farm team, and he would not have success. It was only when he had confidence in [himself] that he was ready to go over."

It was all Kubalik, not the Kings. End of story. No one is going to convince you otherwise, because you'll just gloss over everything and believe what you want to believe. At this point it's like talking to a flat-earther. No amount of evidence is going to convince you. He wasn't ready, didn't accept the offer, and by the time he was ready the Kings didn't have confidence he would come over. Nothing else to say, really.
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Hang on a second, This article says nothing about Kubalik not wanting to sign with the Kings unconditionally, it simply says that his current circumstances/obligations had to be met before he could consider their offer. This response happens EVERY DAY in the NHL. It isn't like the kid simply said something like "nope, don't want to sign with the Kings" or "that isn't an offer I will consider". If anything the kid was showing a great deal of good character and loyalty to his country and his current team/contract. We should have gone out of our way to assure that he was comfortable with his situation and had completed his current obligations before we tried to bring him over. He is a kid who didn't want to miss out on a chance to play for his country nor to rat out on his current team mates for a maybe shot at the NHL. Add in that other teams where willing to offer him what he felt he would need in order to make the move over to the NHL and our semi offer went right out the window.

Teams lose out on great young players all the time and I don't think that losing Kubalik is going to make or break us (though he would be a truly great player to have on our roster) but to say that the guy didn't want to sign with us isn't fair.


"HC Ambrì-Piotta would have to agree to let him out of his current contract in order to be able to sign with the Kings. As the National League does not have a transfer agreement with the NHL, the Biancoblù would not receive any form of compensation for the loss of their player, though. Additionally, the Czech forward would not be able to play in the Olympic Games if he were to sign an NHL contract this season.
Kubalík has been loaned HC Plzeň for the 2017-18 season (15 goals, seven assists in 17 games) since the Biancoblù lack the space for another import player. Thus, the Kings loaning him to HCAP if the Czech were not to make the NHL team would also not work, as he would not get to play in the National League. The Kings are apparently also not the only team interested in him."
 
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More Kubalik bullsh**

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I will say this about Futa leaving the org. We have made a significant mistake and I believe that time will prove me out on this. As a former fan of DL the main reason for my appreciation of his tenure was due to his work with our scouting department. Of course giving DL credit for Futa and companies work was a mistake in hindsight when the later deserved the lions share of the credit. Futa should have been given the GM job instead of Blake but should have's amount to nothing. Futa will have no trouble finding work if that is what he wants to do and I would look for his next team to have a significant amount of success sooner rather than later.
 
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King'sPawn said:
People are still arguing with andys? I un-ignored him once and it was the last time I'll make that mistake.

He constantly ignores all evidence submitted and pushes the same ignorant rhetoric.

He's not even spouting opinions. He's spreading falsehoods to start arguments and at this point should just be flagged for trolling.
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lol
 
ricardfromage said:
Hang on a second, This article says nothing about Kubalik not wanting to sign with the Kings unconditionally, it simply says that his current circumstances/obligations had to be met before he could consider their offer. This response happens EVERY DAY in the NHL. It isn't like the kid simply said something like "nope, don't want to sign with the Kings" or "that isn't an offer I will consider". If anything the kid was showing a great deal of good character and loyalty to his country and his current team/contract. We should have gone out of our way to assure that he was comfortable with his situation and had completed his current obligations before we tried to bring him over. He is a kid who didn't want to miss out on a chance to play for his country nor to rat out on his current team mates for a maybe shot at the NHL. Add in that other teams where willing to offer him what he felt he would need in order to make the move over to the NHL and our semi offer went right out the window.

Teams lose out on great young players all the time and I don't think that losing Kubalik is going to make or break us (though he would be a truly great player to have on our roster) but to say that the guy didn't want to sign with us isn't fair.


"HC Ambrì-Piotta would have to agree to let him out of his current contract in order to be able to sign with the Kings. As the National League does not have a transfer agreement with the NHL, the Biancoblù would not receive any form of compensation for the loss of their player, though. Additionally, the Czech forward would not be able to play in the Olympic Games if he were to sign an NHL contract this season.
Kubalík has been loaned HC Plzeň for the 2017-18 season (15 goals, seven assists in 17 games) since the Biancoblù lack the space for another import player. Thus, the Kings loaning him to HCAP if the Czech were not to make the NHL team would also not work, as he would not get to play in the National League. The Kings are apparently also not the only team interested in him."
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Kubalik refused to attend any camps with the Kings after he ran back to the Czech Republic. Not even development camp.

How many prospects avoid development camp?
 
andys said:
You mean is it Kubalik's fault that the Kings gave him some lame offer...leave to incompetent Blake to do that!
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Well no, that offer, is the SAME OFFER that Chicago gave him.....you realize that right, entry level contracts are uniformed across the league....LA couldn't offer him a 5 year 20 million dollar contract, you know that right? They offered him what they were allowed to under the CBA.

So, yea, it's Kubalik's fault, or at the very least, his agent's fault, if they didn't know the rules... right ?
 
GoldenBearHockey said:
Well no, that offer, is the SAME OFFER that Chicago gave him.....you realize that right, entry level contracts are uniformed across the league....LA couldn't offer him a 5 year 20 million dollar contract, you know that right? They offered him what they were allowed to under the CBA.

So, yea, it's Kubalik's fault, or at the very least, his agent's fault, if they didn't know the rules... right ?
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Did you hear that sucking sound, followed by a quiet wooshing, then a slight squeal?

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Fishhead said:
Did you hear that sucking sound, followed by a quiet wooshing, then a slight squeal?

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Yep, I know that, but I like banging my head against a wall sometimes....I have no doubt it will be another 2 days before he answers, and he will change it around.
 
Matt13 said:
On an ELC, does the player make the same money in the NHL vs AHL?
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I don't know if an ELC can be one way vs two way, if it it's one way they make the same regardless, two way, more in the NHL etc.

Just googled it, ALL ELCs are two way by design.
 
Ok back to the topic, which is not based on any one prospect that "got away", I think we can see more of whether Futa leaving (and Blake staying) is a "mistake" or something unavoidable when we see what job he gets next and when. For example, if some team like Seattle hires Futa to head their scouting and pays him 3x what we were offering, then I don't call that a mistake on the Kings part to let him walk. If another team decides to hire Futa to be their first time GM and pays him 150% of what Blake is making, that's not a mistake to me. If Futa decides he just didn't want to work for a couple years and wanted to go fishing everyday with Mike Richards because life in the NHL Kings was too hard, or some other family/personal matter, then it's still not a mistake.

If he goes and becomes the first time GM for another team and for like the league minimum, we might be talking about if it's a mistake or not to let him go and keep our front office status quo.

At this time we don't know enough. I don't even know if Futa wants to be a GM or whatever.
 
GoldenBearHockey said:
Well no, that offer, is the SAME OFFER that Chicago gave him.....you realize that right, entry level contracts are uniformed across the league....LA couldn't offer him a 5 year 20 million dollar contract, you know that right? They offered him what they were allowed to under the CBA.

So, yea, it's Kubalik's fault, or at the very least, his agent's fault, if they didn't know the rules... right ?
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Blake wanted Kubalik to start in the minors and prove himself right,you got that right! Kings were loaded with garbage on the LWing and they wanted Kubalik to start in the minors...good move by the Pseudo-GM...who gave this nitwit his job...bet most anyone can do the job he has done...personally like to see him fired for gross incompetence! Kings could've had a legitimate scoring Winger for Kopistar and not the slugs toiling for the Kings now and for the next 3-4 years I'm thinking!
 
Rorschach said:
Ok back to the topic, which is not based on any one prospect that "got away", I think we can see more of whether Futa leaving (and Blake staying) is a "mistake" or something unavoidable when we see what job he gets next and when. For example, if some team like Seattle hires Futa to head their scouting and pays him 3x what we were offering, then I don't call that a mistake on the Kings part to let him walk. If another team decides to hire Futa to be their first time GM and pays him 150% of what Blake is making, that's not a mistake to me. If Futa decides he just didn't want to work for a couple years and wanted to go fishing everyday with Mike Richards because life in the NHL Kings was too hard, or some other family/personal matter, then it's still not a mistake.

If he goes and becomes the first time GM for another team and for like the league minimum, we might be talking about if it's a mistake or not to let him go and keep our front office status quo.

At this time we don't know enough. I don't even know if Futa wants to be a GM or whatever.
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I don't blame him for feeling stagnant or glass-ceiling'ed here, that's for sure, especially if his feedback was lessening in importance. I'm sure he's up for a GM role somewhere, or biding his time for one. He's more than earned it.
 
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Rorschach said:
Ok back to the topic, which is not based on any one prospect that "got away", I think we can see more of whether Futa leaving (and Blake staying) is a "mistake" or something unavoidable when we see what job he gets next and when. For example, if some team like Seattle hires Futa to head their scouting and pays him 3x what we were offering, then I don't call that a mistake on the Kings part to let him walk. If another team decides to hire Futa to be their first time GM and pays him 150% of what Blake is making, that's not a mistake to me. If Futa decides he just didn't want to work for a couple years and wanted to go fishing everyday with Mike Richards because life in the NHL Kings was too hard, or some other family/personal matter, then it's still not a mistake.

If he goes and becomes the first time GM for another team and for like the league minimum, we might be talking about if it's a mistake or not to let him go and keep our front office status quo.

At this time we don't know enough. I don't even know if Futa wants to be a GM or whatever.
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Kings made a blundering mistake by letting Futa go! The Kings will pay dearly...back to the good ol' days of trading Larry Murphy for a bag of pucks! And Goring for a Winger and D-man that wasn't very good!Shall I go on! Futa found players because of his connections and experience. Something Blake sorely is in need of...Lets jump for joy Kovalchuk is with,was with and now is counting his 12-13 Million for 1 1/4 seasons in LA...but the Kings didn't have give up anything right...12-13 Million! Blake's ass has to be on the HotSeat! Whenever it happens it will be way to late...Kings could have had a decent-good-Great GM who knew his way around and paid his dues...Blake was a player period nothing more! And I don't care if he was an All-Star,Norris Trophy winner that means squat in the board room! He has shit the bed and continues to shit the bed...And PS why would the Kings have given him the title of ASSISTANT GM if they didn't have designs on giving him the job. And he would have gotten a job elsewhere had the Kings not done that! Sounds like a promise to me! They knew how valuable he was and is...something was brewing and it led to a boiling over...Make no mistake Blake is NOT the answer in the GM role
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
What if Futa wanted to leave to pursue other opportunities? Ever thought of that?
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The info we know doesn't point that way, but it is possible.

We just know the Kings have struggled to find a fit and they announced they won't be renewing his contract.
 
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