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

[Seanaconda]

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 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.

Powerplay minutes are normally the least taxing on a center so if he can still produce those should probably be the minutes you cut last tbh .

 

[Sol]

I’d be completely surprised if they showed any signs of rotating Kopitar out of 1c. I think he gets 22 minutes a night again safely. Todd loves Kopitar too much.

 

[Bandit]

Powerplay minutes are normally the least taxing on a center so if he can still produce those should probably be the minutes you cut last tbh .

Especially for Kopitar since he just stands there and passes back and forth with the point for 2 minutes.

 

[Statto]

Powerplay minutes are normally the least taxing on a center so if he can still produce those should probably be the minutes you cut last tbh .

I don’t disagree but thats one of those things performance would (well, should) dictate.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Colorado I think unloaded Oreilly Stasny and Duchene. Im not even saying they should or shouldnt have. It just shouldnt bother you that people discuss it on a message board.


Its a discussion board and people want to talk about that. Dont let it get to you.

It doesn't bother me except for the fact that it's just NEVER HAPPENED in the context that people are discussing, COL last won the cup in 2001, they didn't strip it down at all....

There's a major difference between winning the cup, and then in 2-3 years trading all the players that won that cup to rebuild etc (which doesn't happen)

And winning the cup and in 2-3-4-5 years, players retiring or moving on via FA....

If you want to discuss rebuild's, that's fine and dandy, but keep the discussion honest about what actually happens.

 

[cyclones22]

I'm just so sick of constantly blaming the forward prospects. It's always their fault. Work harder, play better, earn it. The Kings must be among the worst franchises in developing scorers. The annual scoring numbers speak for themselves. Yet it is always the prospects fault for not showing out regardless of the context of their usage. The franchise won't look inward at the process needing change.

If these kids are not good enough or are the wrong selections, then why are the folks who are making the selections, developing the prospects, giving them ice time, getting raises, promotions, and contract extensions? Why are they still employed when they're failing at a key aspect of their jobs? Seems a bit counterproductive to reward all of these folks doesn't it?

To stay on topic I love the Fiala trade. For what it cost, I do it 10 out of 10 times.

 

[SniperOnTheWing]

Just to give you a heads up, Fiala is historically a slow starter. But once he gets cooking he’s PPG+ the rest of the way. If he finds a way to hit the ground running he’s got 90+ points in him.

 

[LAKings88]

Fiala was brought in to play with both a Kopitar and Byfield as ones role starts to diminish and the others starts to grow. Fiala is a line driver, wants the puck in his stick and is one of the top players in the NHL at getting the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone.

We should have a wicked top 9 if the rookies start to take off

Kempe - Kopitar - Fiala
Moore - Danault - Arvidsson
Iafallo - Byfield - Kaliyev

Fiala played 18 mins a night last year w little PP time. Give him an extr minute and drop Kopitars by 2. This has to be the year to Drop Kopitars time. Do it by limiting his time on special teams. The poor dude is gonna have to skate his ass of to keep up with Fiala and Kempe.

I would love to see 2 PP lineups used equal. The old and the new. If one gets hot lean on them a bit more.

Kempe - Kopi - Arvidsson- * - Doughty

Fiala - Byfield - Kaliyev - * - Chychrun (yes, still think it’s happening).

* - player to be determined.

Our Pen Kill can be highlighted by Danault and Moore. Kopi can start PP2 with Kempe.

My free agent move is Nic Desjarlais. Addresses size and toughness up front.

I will get flamed for wanting Chychrun but the kid has size and skill and can put pucks in the net. His contract allows is to spend a bit extra elsewhere.

He pairs perfect with Roy leaving the Doughty Anderson pairing together and it clears up a glut of forwards.

If that is the lineup the only upgrade I see is Moore and possible Iafallo. Moore has a year left cheap and I am hoping Turcotte can step into that role.

As for defense I am attached to no one other than Doughty and have huge hopes for Clarke. Need to get a PP QB and need to get a crease clearer

Goaltending I am a bit worried about.

All I know is the ink hasn’t dried on last season and Blake has come out firing for not only next year but the next half dozen with the Fiala trade. We have a boatload if overstock, prospects and still have a bunch of picks. Think Blake has more moves coming.

I agree with this.

Kings really need Byfield to find his way tho.

 

[kings11]

I’d be completely surprised if they showed any signs of rotating Kopitar out of 1c. I think he gets 22 minutes a night again safely. Todd loves Kopitar too much.

And that’s why Todd needs to go..
No reason for Kopi to play over 20min pg..
Danault has driven that point across and Byfield needs at least 15-16min pg

 

[Mats26]

Just to give you a heads up, Fiala is historically a slow starter. But once he gets cooking he’s PPG+ the rest of the way. If he finds a way to hit the ground running he’s got 90+ points in him.

There is also a possibility that Fiala will not find immediate chemistry with Kopitar\Kempe which complicates things out of the gate. All 3 like caring the puck up ice, will be interesting to see in pre season if this works out. 90+ points for Fiala is way to high of a projection. It would mean Kopitar has similar numbers this season as his center, very unlikely.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

LeBrun: Updates on the draft, free agency and Jim Montgomery's fresh start in Boston

As the NHL Draft approaches, there's intrigue about what the Canadiens will do with the first pick, and how that affects everyone else.

theathletic.com

The L.A. Kings had talks with Chicago on Alex DeBrincat but opted for Kevin Fialia instead, and there’s no question the Blackhawks want more than what Minnesota got for Fiala, which was still a very solid return.

But it speaks to Chicago’s valuing DeBrincat as a more proven NHL goal scorer than Fiala so far, and it’s hard to dispute that.

So it’s probably going to take a three-asset package to get DeBrincat from the Blackhawks, although it’s not that simple to suggest it’s a firm price because it depends on the varying quality of the assets and on the organization offering them.

 

[bmr]

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

Side bet? He's over 25 goals next year.

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.

Totally agree on this. Petersen should have been a 2-3 million guy based on his progression. I think maybe they overpaid thinking that their goaltending prospects were pretty weak. This is still the biggest need for them. Was REALLY hoping we would land Wallstedt.

 

[Kudelski37]

There is also a possibility that Fiala will not find immediate chemistry with Kopitar\Kempe which complicates things out of the gate. All 3 like caring the puck up ice, will be interesting to see in pre season if this works out. 90+ points for Fiala is way to high of a projection. It would mean Kopitar has similar numbers this season as his center, very unlikely.

This is why I think Kaliyev still plays in the top 6 this year even with the addition of Fiala.

 

[bmr]

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

Why do you think the direction is confusing? Blake has been addressing all of the teams needs (leadership, scoring, defense), all while maintaining a very good prospect pool and hasn't handed out long-term, bloated contracts to overage players. I don't understand how the team is mishandling these young forwards. Every single one of them has been given an opportunity to succeed and is rewarded with more ice time when their play warrants it.

We literally went from a 21-28 record in 2020-21 to a 44-27 record in 2021-22 and having some success in the playoffs. Now if we pull an Edmonton or Toronto in the next season or two, I will start wondering. However, I see too much talent and character on this team. Don't the young guys need to earn their respect? Just like starting a new job for any of us - it's not something we get overnight.

Current roster:

Kevin Fiala - 25
Anze Kopitar - 34
Adrian Kempe - 25
Viktor Arvidsson - 29
Phillip Danault - 29
Trevor Moore - 27
Alex Iafallo - 28
Quinton Byfield - 19
Ramus Kupari - 22
Gabriel Vilardi - 22
Blake Lizotte - 24
Brendan Lemieux - 26
Carl Grundstrom - 24
Arthur Kaliyev - 21

Drew Doughty - 31
Mikey Anderson - 23
Tobias Bjornfot - 21
Sean Durzi - 21
Matt Roy - 26
Sean Walker - 27
Jordan Spence - 21

Quick - 36
Petersen - 27

Only Kopitar and Quick are long in the tooth. Everyone else is or should be entering their prime. I'd much rather see guys like Byfield/Vilardi, etc.. playing the 3rd line role and being elevated into a higher role when there is an injury or dictated by their superior play.

This is why I think Kaliyev still plays in the top 6 this year even with the addition of Fiala.

I think he will definitely see some top-6 next year. The kid is too good. He was 14G, 13A for 27P in 80 games last year and really started to round out his game. I believe he will be 40 points or higher next season.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Why do you think the direction is confusing?

Dude...we could be Colorado or Tampa and Sol would still be confused.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Why do you think the direction is confusing? Blake has been addressing all of the teams needs (leadership, scoring, defense), all while maintaining a very good prospect pool and hasn't handed out long-term, bloated contracts to overage players. I don't understand how the team is mishandling these young forwards. Every single one of them has been given an opportunity to succeed and is rewarded with more ice time when their play warrants it.

We literally went from a 21-28 record in 2020-21 to a 44-27 record in 2021-22 and having some success in the playoffs. Now if we pull an Edmonton or Toronto in the next season or two, I will start wondering. However, I see too much talent and character on this team. Don't the young guys need to earn their respect? Just like starting a new job for any of us - it's not something we get overnight.

Current roster:

Kevin Fiala - 25
Anze Kopitar - 34
Adrian Kempe - 25
Viktor Arvidsson - 29
Phillip Danault - 29
Trevor Moore - 27
Alex Iafallo - 28
Quinton Byfield - 19
Ramus Kupari - 22
Gabriel Vilardi - 22
Blake Lizotte - 24
Brendan Lemieux - 26
Carl Grundstrom - 24
Arthur Kaliyev - 21

Drew Doughty - 31
Mikey Anderson - 23
Tobias Bjornfot - 21
Sean Durzi - 21
Matt Roy - 26
Sean Walker - 27
Jordan Spence - 21

Quick - 36
Petersen - 27

Only Kopitar and Quick are long in the tooth. Everyone else is or should be entering their prime. I'd much rather see guys like Byfield/Vilardi, etc.. playing the 3rd line role and being elevated into a higher role when there is an injury or dictated by their superior play.



I think he will definitely see some top-6 next year. The kid is too good. He was 14G, 13A for 27P in 80 games last year and really started to round out his game. I believe he will be 40 points or higher next season.

To the bolded, that's not good enough for a 2nd round scoring machine....it's just not, if the Kings are to have any success that 40 points HAS to be 40 goals, otherwise we f***ed up his development and he will be a bust....


(Am I doing it right?)

 

[Rorschach]

We got a PPG scorer in the beginning of his prime, at a position of great need, and signed to a below retail price including UFA years. For a low first and a decent prospect that wouldn’t sign here anyway…

Not to mention we have three young centers who need help badly…

And the part that actually amazes me is that Blake did this AFTER his extension was signed.

 

[Fishhead]

I'm just so sick of constantly blaming the forward prospects. It's always their fault. Work harder, play better, earn it. The Kings must be among the worst franchises in developing scorers. The annual scoring numbers speak for themselves. Yet it is always the prospects fault for not showing out regardless of the context of their usage. The franchise won't look inward at the process needing change.

If these kids are not good enough or are the wrong selections, then why are the folks who are making the selections, developing the prospects, giving them ice time, getting raises, promotions, and contract extensions? Why are they still employed when they're failing at a key aspect of their jobs? Seems a bit counterproductive to reward all of these folks doesn't it?

To stay on topic I love the Fiala trade. For what it cost, I do it 10 out of 10 times.

Well, it's on prospects to play at the top of their games to earn spots so the first part has a lot of merit. The vast majority of guys who break out are going to do so regardless of their deployment. They bring it in practice and seize the opportunity when given.

I fully agree with part 2, that's where I think the blame lies. I don't think our scouting is bad at all, we just aren't good at targeting those types of players. The most ironic thing to me is that most of us constantly rolled our eyes about DL's picks - always got to have that character, right? Always two-way play, never takes a chance on offensive players, and so on. Yet, under his watch we drafted Simmonds, Schenn, and Toffoli, (and maybe Kempe) who turned out to be offensive weapons and Pearson (and at worst Kempe), who are good secondary scorers. Schenn took a bit longer, but Simmonds was breaking out at 21, Toffoli was 21-22.

Nothing so far since Blake took over. To be fair, Arty could be breaking out very soon and Byfield is too young to judge yet, so he might get those feathers in his cap. There is also the fact that EVERY franchise has these same drafting issues and fans constantly complain about it. The Kings are probably average at drafting forwards, maybe slightly below average. I'd love to see them bring in some new blood to help them get above average because with their ability to draft defense it would keep the pipeline healthy long-term. They don't need to fire anyone, just suppliment.

 

[Cheech89]

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.

I watched Vilardi fail a lot over the past two seasons, losing assignments, under competing against easier competition.
I’d say QB had many fails last season, constantly mishandling the puck for instance.
It was sink or swim for many D corp prospects.
Id say I have a good idea of what some of our prospects can do.
I’ll admit there are many other prospects we haven’t had a good luck at yet, but that’s the nature of the beast. Only so many roster spots.

 

[BringTheReign]

Side bet? He's over 25 goals next year.


Totally agree on this. Petersen should have been a 2-3 million guy based on his progression. I think maybe they overpaid thinking that their goaltending prospects were pretty weak. This is still the biggest need for them. Was REALLY hoping we would land Wallstedt.

I agree wholeheartedly, but I also think folks forgot that Petersen had excellent numbers prior to last season. Multiple news outlets were talking about him being a breakout candidate, and given his pedigree and underlying numbers he looked like he would be. Check out the chart below, and that Kings logo in the top right quadrant is Cal right next to Demko and Hellebuyck. You couple that with the fact that that players like Murray, Binnington, Demko, Varlamov, Lehner, etc. were all signing for around $5M, and voila.

There are currently 24 goalies in the NHL making $4M or more this season. Cal looked like he'd be better than average. I'm guessing given his past leaving Buffalo that there was some threat of him accepting QOs into free agency as well. I don't like the $5M number, but I think the term at least lines up with before when some guys will leave their bridge contracts.

 

[cyclones22]

Is it completely outside of the realm of possibility that Fiala could go full Panarin and just blossom into a star level player? He just didn't put numbers last year, he looked great doing it. Fiala's shooting percentage wasn't an outlier either. Put Arty on the other wing to play the Boldy role = Profit.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

Especially for Kopitar since he just stands there and passes back and forth with the point for 2 minutes.

It really is sad. Doesn’t anyone tell him that shit is terribly ineffective?

 

[Steve Zissou]

This is still the biggest need for them. Was REALLY hoping we would land Wallstedt.

I was hoping LA was going to trade up for him as well, but Billy Guerin in Minny is proving himself to be a GOAT in his short time thus far. I really like the way he is building that franchise for years to come.

Those 2 buyouts are albatrosses but both of those contracts had NMC attached to them. Oddily enough, it was reported Guerin didn't even ask them to waive them.

 

[HookKing]

To the bolded, that's not good enough for a 2nd round scoring machine....it's just not, if the Kings are to have any success that 40 points HAS to be 40 goals, otherwise we f***ed up his development and he will be a bust....


(Am I doing it right?)

Not even...its MINUTES!

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Not even...its MINUTES!

Well..just chalk that up to another thing I f*** up.....keep it coming