Kings News: Fiala to for 2022 first-round pick and Brock Faber

[Sol]

Kempe - yes, I absolutely see him breaking out. He showed flashes of high-end skill in 2017-20, but never had a season over 16 goals and just hit 35. Whether that's a fluke or not remains to be seen, but he also had 6 points in 7 games in the playoffs. He was the single deadliest player on the ice in overtime during the regular season. I feel like matching him with Fiala will get him a ton more scoring chances. Dude is fast and can finish. He can be streaky at times, but I think this is the first season I've seen him actually become more consistent on a nightly basis. He may regress, but i'm betting he's still at 50+ points next year. Did you not see it that way this past year?

I get what you are saying about the forwards, but if you were running this team...do you not make that trade for Fiala? What about Danault and Arvidsson? You subtract those 3 guys and we are a hot mess - no way we make the playoffs. Even at the expense of the other forwards, you get those guys 10 times out of 10.

Blake seems to be much more measured than Lombardi so far w/ asset management. I think we were all worried that he wouldn't pull the trigger when we were on the cusp and he's addressing this team's needs every offseason.

That’s just not realistic. Remember when William Karlsson went insane on the Knights and everyone said he was the real deal ? Come on. One season isn’t proof. Jordan Nolan showed a lot of skills too but it’s another thing to put it together. Signing Kempe to a fat deal is riskier than what the Kings paid for Fiala. That’s unarguable. I’d love to think that Kempe broke out at freaking 25 year olds with all the nhl time he’s had under his belt. But let him do it another season until you determine he’s legitimate. One season doesn’t override all the other ones. Especially for a forward.

Asset wise you can say that but you can’t yet at all say that the direction the team is heading in is the right one when there’s a good amount of counter arguments to be made about it and precedence.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Because it’s a viewpoint as if we’ve been lied to…which is just dumb. They aren’t going down that path so move the f*** on already and let’s discuss what is reality and not this pipe dream.

Get pissy about trading Faber rather than another prospect…that’s a real argument.

Rob Blake a month ago: "We need Kaliyev to be a top-six player for us next year."

Actions speak louder than words. You don't need to say you're in a rebuild if you're repeatedly in the lottery.

Kempe - yes, I absolutely see him breaking out. He showed flashes of high-end skill in 2017-20, but never had a season over 16 goals and just hit 35. Whether that's a fluke or not remains to be seen, but he also had 6 points in 7 games in the playoffs. He was the single deadliest player on the ice in overtime during the regular season. I feel like matching him with Fiala will get him a ton more scoring chances. Dude is fast and can finish. He can be streaky at times, but I think this is the first season I've seen him actually become more consistent on a nightly basis. He may regress, but i'm betting he's still at 50+ points next year. Did you not see it that way this past year?

I get what you are saying about the forwards, but if you were running this team...do you not make that trade for Fiala? What about Danault and Arvidsson? You subtract those 3 guys and we are a hot mess - no way we make the playoffs. Even at the expense of the other forwards, you get those guys 10 times out of 10.

Blake seems to be much more measured than Lombardi so far w/ asset management. I think we were all worried that he wouldn't pull the trigger when we were on the cusp and he's addressing this team's needs every offseason.

The Fiala trade fits EVERYTHING, IMO. I have zero problem with that move. It's good value, fits the current team, fits the kids. The only issue I have with it currently is the continued roadblocks for the kids ever taking over.

People will rebut "well they aren't the right kids/they haven't developed" to which I say then we are in the black hole for the next 5-7 years at the very least. You can't fake a rebuild. If Byfield isn't the guy, you needed to be in the mix for Bedard, not trading for more late 20 year olds.

 

[Sol]

Hahahahahha he looked so damn good in the AHL lol

Lol I judge people at Staples when I see them wearing a petersen jersey

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I don't expect to Kempe to get 35 goals again, his shooting percentage was a little inflated and league wide offense was up. But at his current shooting volume--sustainable in his new role--and career average shooting, he's still a 25-30 goal guy. That's a nice evolution.

 

[Sol]

Rob Blake a month ago: "We need Kaliyev to be a top-six player for us next year."

Actions speak louder than words. You don't need to say you're in a rebuild if you're repeatedly in the lottery.





The Fiala trade fits EVERYTHING, IMO. I have zero problem with that move. It's good value, fits the current team, fits the kids. The only issue I have with it currently is the continued roadblocks for the kids ever taking over.

People will rebut "well they aren't the right kids/they haven't developed" to which I say then we are in the black hole for the next 5-7 years at the very least. You can't fake a rebuild. If Byfield isn't the guy, you needed to be in the mix for Bedard, not trading for more late 20 year olds.

Thats pretty much the point I have been feeling myself. The way the rookies are being handled at forward gives me the implication that they don’t think highly of them which then begs the question why is Blake getting Fiala when he should be looking to draft high. You can counter and say the rookies don’t deserve a better chance than what they got then doesn’t that tell you even more of how they are regarded by the management.

The direction of this team is very confusing. You can argue either way but no one can deny the fact that the direction isn’t clear at all with the prospects

 

[FSL KINGS]

Blake's biggest screw up so far this summer is trading the 1st round pick a week before the draft so now there's nothing to talk about. The realization that it's going to be more difficult after the trade to have a bad season next year in a good draft isn't helping.

I'm really hoping for Kadri, Trocheck or Copp, maybe even a Strome so Byfield can slide over to Kopitar's wing.

 

[Sol]

I don't expect to Kempe to get 35 goals again, his shooting percentage was a little inflated and league wide offense was up. But at his current shooting volume--sustainable in his new role--and career average shooting, he's still a 25-30 goal guy. That's a nice evolution.

I think he tops out at 20 goals tops. He has all the makings of a guy who was trying over his head for a bag rather than the usual Kempe we know where he’s extremely streaky and disappears. we’ve seen the second Kempe way too much to rule it out

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Blake seems to be much more measured than Lombardi so far w/ asset management. I think we were all worried that he wouldn't pull the trigger when we were on the cusp and he's addressing this team's needs every offseason.

It’s early in the off-season, Blake still has one in the chamber to make a move.

A lot of the criticism with Blake, is due to the lack of communication. It’s the total opposite of what DL did, and DL spent a lot of time talking about boxes and culture etc.

You don’t hear Blake talk about his plans much, and if he does it is very short. So it’s easy to criticize that he’s just trying to keep his head above water, he just doesn’t articulate to people what the plan or vision is for this organization.

 

[Fishhead]

So, aside from Kempe, who will be 26 in short order, you listed the rotating cast of bottom sixers and injury fill in d-men, with the exception of Anderson.

Does that strike you as a team committed to youth success, or rebuilding? because that was the main point. It's a retool. They're focused on a playoff team with mid-to-late 20s players and the kids are an afterthought filling out the roster.

Well, that's not what was said in the original post, that's different. I would also argue that Bjornfot isn't an injury fill-in, I mean the guy has started almost every game since he was recalled last season, unless he was injured.

It's fairly obvious that this team was never going to do a full rebuild, it wasn't possible without jettisoning Kopitar, Quick, and Doughty. Not going to get 4 or 5 straight top 5 picks as long as those guys are around. And if you can't do that nowadays, there really is no point. However, having guys who are 22, 20, 19, 20, and 21 taking regular shifts and getting a large amount of games - by choice - is still a good sign that they are still committed to youth. If they weren't, we would have seen more of those prospects traded, and they are pretty much all still here. The Kings play a lot of young guys by choice, just not in the roles that we might want to see them in. But that's the patience part of rebuilding - none of them have shown they are good enough to play key roles yet.

I see what Blake is trying to do, he's being opportunistic. Gotta pick up guys like Danault and Fiala when the opportunity arises. Things still hinge on whether Byfield, Kaliyev, and maybe one other forward prospect can hit their ceilings. If they do, this is going to be a really good team. If they don't, it probably doesn't matter anyways.

 

[Sol]

I’ll just say this to conclude on my feelings that this teams direction is at best unclear by using this anecdote.

When I was training in jiu jitsu they knew I had a small fighting background so they would put me up against many higher level belts so they can gauge where I was at. They allowed me to fail and even welcomed it because it gave them an idea of what I could do and what I couldn’t do. Now compare that to the forward prospects. Were any of them put in a position to show what they could do ? Or would they put in a position where pretty much failure was expected. No momentum building shifts, mind numbing benching, scratches. Nothing conducive to say the least. Now we can say that the prospects suck or whatever but I would be lying through my teeth if I told anyone that they were put in a position to succeed. They weren’t. There’s no denying that. They weren’t allowed to fail which will only hide flaws even more and make development even slower.


If Blake thinks they suck then we should be tanking for picks and not trading them. If he thinks they’re good then he should fire Todd for his gross ineptitude with how he’s pretty much setting the kids up to fail. No other way to look at it.

 

[Little Psycho]

What I'm really worried about is that they are going to give Petersen another shot cos no one sane would want that contract. Quick is one split away from ending on the IR, forcing Petersen to take the reins.

 

[SufferingSelfCreated]

I’ll just say this to conclude on my feelings that this teams direction is at best unclear by using this anecdote.

When I was training in jiu jitsu they knew I had a small fighting background so they would put me up against many higher level belts so they can gauge where I was at. They allowed me to fail and even welcomed it because it gave them an idea of what I could do and what I couldn’t do. Now compare that to the forward prospects. Were any of them put in a position to show what they could do ? Or would they put in a position where pretty much failure was expected. No momentum building shifts, mind numbing benching, scratches. Nothing conducive to say the least. Now we can say that the prospects suck or whatever but I would be lying through my teeth if I told anyone that they were put in a position to succeed. They weren’t. There’s no denying that. They weren’t allowed to fail which will only hide flaws even more and make development even slower.


If Blake thinks they suck then we should be tanking for picks and not trading them. If he thinks they’re good then he should fire Todd for his gross ineptitude with how he’s pretty much setting the kids up to fail. No other way to look at it.

LOLZ.

 

[Sol]

LOLZ.

Insightful response lol

 

[SufferingSelfCreated]

Insightful response lol

I used a lot less words to say nothing. So I have that.

 

[crassbonanza]

I get what you are saying about the forwards, but if you were running this team...do you not make that trade for Fiala? What about Danault and Arvidsson? You subtract those 3 guys and we are a hot mess - no way we make the playoffs. Even at the expense of the other forwards, you get those guys 10 times out of 10.

Danault just had his breakout season with 51 points and he is about to be 29. I imagine the cap will climb, but typically you get the best value out of a UFA signing for the first couple of years, then they become a drag towards the end. Can we expect Danault to continue having a shooting percentage of 14% as he enters his 30's or is he more likely to fall below the 9% that he had throughout his 20's? Arviddson has put up a combined .58 PPG over the past 3 seasons and will also be turning 29 next season. Both of those guys are odd additions for a team that has yet to have a young breakout talent. You add pieces like that to get you over the top when you have young talent that has shown star potential. Doughty, Kopi and Quick had already shown that they were some of the best in the league when they were young and Lombardi supplemented them with Richards and Carter(who coincidentally were the same age as Fiala is now). What does making the playoffs mean, when the driving forces of that success are likely to decline soon?

 

[AbsentMojo]

What I'm really worried about is that they are going to give Petersen another shot cos no one sane would want that contract. Quick is one split away from ending on the IR, forcing Petersen to take the reins.

They'll trot out the platoon again and pray - then look to find an upgrade for next season with CalPete being the expensive backup. Will never understand how an unproven guy gets 5mil for 3 years.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Danault just had his breakout season with 51 points and he is about to be 29. I imagine the cap will climb, but typically you get the best value out of a UFA signing for the first couple of years, then they become a drag towards the end. Can we expect Danault to continue having a shooting percentage of 14% as he enters his 30's or is he more likely to fall below the 9% that he had throughout his 20's? Arviddson has put up a combined .58 PPG over the past 3 seasons and will also be turning 29 next season. Both of those guys are odd additions for a team that has yet to have a young breakout talent. You add pieces like that to get you over the top when you have young talent that has shown star potential. Doughty, Kopi and Quick had already shown that they were some of the best in the league when they were young and Lombardi supplemented them with Richards and Carter(who coincidentally were the same age as Fiala is now). What does making the playoffs mean, when the driving forces of that success are likely to decline soon?

Good points re Danault and Arviddson.. i made that assessment too. I see the window coming up in about 2 or 3 years, and by then Danault prob be in decline.. still useful like a Stoll 3rd line C wont put up many points but will win you key faceoffs in playoffs and does all the little things to help you win. Btw Stolli went downhill quick after he turned 30.

 

[kilowatt]

They'll trot out the platoon again and pray - then look to find an upgrade for next season with CalPete being the expensive backup. Will never understand how an unproven guy gets 5mil for 3 years.

Yeah. That's the biggest head-scratcher of Blake's tenure so far, in my opinion. The guy went from a two-year, $925,000 contract, to a three-year, $5,000,000 contract?

Over the past two years, among goalies with 40+ games played, Petersen is ranked 36th in save percentage with a .904%, 37th in goals against average with a 2.89, tied for 27th in shutouts with 3, and tied for 31st in wins with 29. Quick is better in all four categories. Petersen's stats suggest a fringe starter at best.

How'd he get that much? He makes almost as much as Danault! More than Matt Roy, Alex Iafallo, and Viktor Arvidsson. He's the 15th-highest-paid goaltender in the league.

This is a really big year for him. Hope he shows up.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

I’ll just say this to conclude on my feelings that this teams direction is at best unclear by using this anecdote.

When I was training in jiu jitsu they knew I had a small fighting background so they would put me up against many higher level belts so they can gauge where I was at. They allowed me to fail and even welcomed it because it gave them an idea of what I could do and what I couldn’t do. Now compare that to the forward prospects. Were any of them put in a position to show what they could do ? Or would they put in a position where pretty much failure was expected. No momentum building shifts, mind numbing benching, scratches. Nothing conducive to say the least. Now we can say that the prospects suck or whatever but I would be lying through my teeth if I told anyone that they were put in a position to succeed. They weren’t. There’s no denying that. They weren’t allowed to fail which will only hide flaws even more and make development even slower.


If Blake thinks they suck then we should be tanking for picks and not trading them. If he thinks they’re good then he should fire Todd for his gross ineptitude with how he’s pretty much setting the kids up to fail. No other way to look at it.

Sol is comparing his bush-league karate class to a professional sports organization. I've heard it all now...

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Can we expect Danault to continue having a shooting percentage of 14% as he enters his 30's or is he more likely to fall below the 9% that he had throughout his 20's?

Depends on if he keeps shooting from inside the crease!

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Yeah. That's the biggest head-scratcher of Blake's tenure so far, in my opinion. The guy went from a two-year, $925,000 contract, to a three-year, $5,000,000 contract?

Over the past two years, among goalies with 40+ games played, Petersen is ranked 36th in save percentage with a .904%, 37th in goals against average with a 2.89, tied for 27th in shutouts with 3, and tied for 31st in wins with 29. Quick is better in all four categories. Petersen's stats suggest a fringe starter at best.

How'd he get that much? He makes almost as much as Danault! More than Matt Roy, Alex Iafallo, and Viktor Arvidsson. He's the 15th-highest-paid goaltender in the league.

This is a really big year for him. Hope he shows up.

They just believe big in him is all I can up with. Great pedigree, good head on his shoulders, success at every level. They woldn't be the first ones to be wrong about a goalie, but his history is more good-to-great than bad.

I think he's taking more of a beating than he deserves here, even if I understand why. But he's going to get every chance they can afford him to prove he deserves to be here. There's really no other option.

 

[Docgonzo]

Goalies are so weird and develop differently than anybody else. Remember Quick wasn’t even in the plans, it was supposed to be Bernier’s net. Quick only ended up playing because Ersberg got hurt after LaBarbera got hurt. And then he never let go of that net.

 

[yankeeking]

Between 2017 and 2021 this team had five 1st round picks, including a 2, 5, 7 and 11. In addition they had six 2nd round picks and traded established veterans for multiple guys in their early 20’s.

Whether you want to call it a rebuild or not, the Kings were bad enough and traded enough veterans for picks and prospects where they should have produced a lot more high end young players by now than they actually have.

Just because Doughty and Kopitar weren’t traded doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have been able to draft impactful players with those picks.

You are absolutely right they should have but they didn't so what do we do now as a team Try for more top ten picks and pray that one hits or pickup a bonafide scorer and play driver , we should be happy for this pivot because apparently we can't draft or develop forwards for whatever reason....... And to the post that the other playoff teams had more under 29 scorers leading the teams is a result of DL trades to patch the tteam back together in 15,16, and the fact we basically ran pearson out of town during a slump season and toffoli because we wanted to start the rebuild/retool or whatever it is and we had almost no one in the right age group thats why we signed iafollo, lizotte and peterson . i truly believe next playoff season after the dust clears when we lose the west conf finals that we will have 3 or 4 29 and under scorers step up and lead the team and kopi will be 4th on the team......going to be a good year guys i can feel it, and by the way did anyone see where i parked my unicorn my forum blue and gold glasses are blinding me

 

[deaderhead28]

 

[Statto]

I know we say it every year but this season is huge.

First we are getting waaay ahead of ourselves discussing the lack of roster spots and players being blocked. If they trade Iafallo Tonka is in the top 9 almost certainly. There is plenty of opportunity to evolve the roster and that will certainly happen.

Camp will significantly affect the lines and who plays with who, but you’d like to think the younger players will have a couple of more experienced vets around them in the top 9. Hopefully 5/5 they at least start by being fairly equitable in ice time and then as the season goes forward, performance will start to dictate things. Someone like Byfield needs a proper opportunity to succeed or fail because right now it’s hard to judge him. They also MUST change things up on the PP and do something significantly different. The PP is definitely where Byfield and Kaliyev (maybe even Clarke) have the talent to move the needle significantly.

I don’t quite see the need for semantics with rebuild or retool. The Fiala trade fit’s nicely into either approach given his age, so it’s not the right move to have this debate over. The Danault signing is probably is more so and we probably all agree that’s a great piece of business.

They’ve done a decent job of restocking the cupboard whilst keeping key veteran cornerstones in place. Its an ideal situation to be in, the debate should really be about how those veterans are used. Doughty was playing Elite hockey when fit last season, at a level the likely supersedes anything we’d have traded him for. He has several more years of good hockey in him and if the kids were to put it all together for 23/24 he could easily be the difference maker in a cup run. He’s not old for a D-Man.

Kopitar did look tired by the end of the season and should be gradually transitioning towards 2C levels of utilisation and then 3c usage by the end of 23/4. That assumes Byfield works out and If Kopitar is still running PP1 by the end of 23/4 we have huge issues. Personally I think by the end of this season he needs to have dropped either PP or PK duties altogether because his ice time needs to come down to extend his career. However they do it, they must give Byfield more responsibility and really give him an opportunity to succeed or fail. That won’t, nor should it, mean just throwing him in the deep end but there needs to be an obvious evolution in his role.

I’m fully expecting (hoping) a forward and another RHD to be moved in the hunt for the physical blue liner we need but there is a lot of time for that to happen. Currently everyone is grading Blake’s off season exam paper when he’s only answered the first question on it.