Speculation: Fire Rob Blake Blow it Up Offseason Thread (update: Robitaille, Blake and Hiller stay)

[BaileyFan]

While I wouldn't root against the team, missing the playoffs might be the best possible thing this year because Blake is way over his expiration date and the bleeding has to stop. This front office needs to be cleaned and irradicated. We need whatever that needs to happen for AEG to act to actually happen and put a close to this era.

I love Luc, he's my favorite player all-time, and he's always been very gracious and good with fans, but he absolutely has no idea what he is doing in a managing role and cannot be behind any decisions on the ice. He's gotta go if he can't be placed in a non-hockey operation role.

I’d agree, except if you had said at this time last year that the team would have a worse record than the year before, get the coach fired and replaced with his rookie assistant, PLD would be even worse than the most pessimistic expectations and get shipped out at a loss within a year, match up with the Oilers again and get embarrassed in less games than before, and all of it would happen without the silver lining of Clarke/Turcotte/Thomas getting regular NHL reps, then I’m sure you would’ve said there was NO WAY Blake would be let into the building at Toyota Center the day after the season ended.

Instead, they claimed that they made great progress, that they were right there with the elites of the league, and ownership gave them the green light to go out and make more horrible trades and signings. Who’s to say a playoff miss in this upcoming season wouldn’t just result in Blake only getting a 2 year extension instead of 3?

 

[FSL KINGS]

How do you expect to sign Byfield and Spence if you acquire Laine or Necas both starting at 7m a year? You guys have 10,6m left

Cap is easy enough to work around. Not a big issue.

 

[BoneHutson]

Cap is easy enough to work around. Not a big issue.

If you acquire Laine for nothing at full salary (which is what CLB is looking to do), youre left with 2m to sign both of them. Even if you manage to dump Gavrikov, youre still only at 7-8m which would not be enough if a team OS him at 9.1m

 

[Statto]

Very OT….

I was chuckling to myself earlier, re-reading some old ASD related literature, because it occurred to me that the amount of time we all spend on here means hockey qualifies as a special interest far beyond that of a special fan. Even the way we argue on here draws parallels…. how so much is perceived as the end of the world… I could go on.

What I’m saying is that i suspect that there u is a lot of ASD on here. That’s not a judgment or criticism by the way, just an observation that amused me. I probably have Asperger’s, but have learned to work with it & both my kids are Asperger’s as f… I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one on here.

 

[FSL KINGS]

If you acquire Laine for nothing at full salary (which is what CLB is looking to do), youre left with 2m to sign both of them. Even if you manage to dump Gavrikov, youre still only at 7-8m which would not be enough if a team OS him at 9.1m

No one is offer sheeting Byfield at 9 million. The cap hit would destroy any competitive team. 6.7 maybe, but Byfield probably has a good rapport with the team & is unlikely to go this route.

Blake has shown creativity in the past to squeeze by the salary cap. I'd be curious on a poll of Kings fans if they believed Blake was out shopping for a big named forward right now. Most would probably think it's a bad idea to spend assets on one, but would think it's a completely Blake thing to do.

 

[BoneHutson]

No one is offer sheeting Byfield at 9 million. The cap hit would destroy any competitive team. 6.7 maybe, but Byfield probably has a good rapport with the team & is unlikely to go this route.

Blake has shown creativity in the past to squeeze by the salary cap. I'd be curious on a poll of Kings fans if they believed Blake was out shopping for a big named forward right now. Most would probably think it's a bad idea to spend assets on one, but would think it's a completely Blake thing to do.

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IMO teams like MTL, BUF, PHI or CLB could definitely OS him for 9.1m/1y then extend him for 7.5-8m long term on January first.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

If you acquire Laine for nothing at full salary (which is what CLB is looking to do), youre left with 2m to sign both of them. Even if you manage to dump Gavrikov, youre still only at 7-8m which would not be enough if a team OS him at 9.1m

Hasn't the kings made enough bad moves without compounding it by bringing Laine

 

[Johnny Utah]

Matt Roy was on John Scott’s podcast today and said Blake him an offer but he and his wife decided it was time to get out of California. Also hinted Toronto was in the mix.

Where did Blake see him fitting with Clarke? Strange.

 

[Peter James Bond III]

Why wait? Sell now!

I'm waiting to see if we start a top10 prospects list and what the results will look like

Sell Now! Missed a big return on Roy at the deadline.

I think the 'We were right there' will be a little different next April.

Luc: "We were right there"

24-25 scenario: Kings miss playoffs by 1 point. Came down to the last game of the season...but they were right there.

 

[KingsOfCali25]

Matt Roy was on John Scott’s podcast today and said Blake him an offer but he and his wife decided it was time to get out of California. Also hinted Toronto was in the mix.

Where did Blake see him fitting with Clarke? Strange.

It's because California is too expensive. Players don't want to pay the taxes here. No one is going to be able to afford to live here relatively soon. It's going to be only the super rich and their staff works that will remain

 

[Schmooley]

It's because California is too expensive. Players don't want to pay the taxes here. No one is going to be able to afford to live here relatively soon. It's going to be only the super rich and their staff works that will remain

Yea money has a lot to do with it. Also one interview last year he made a comment about the idiots dancing in the locker room so maybe he wanted to leave to join a more serious group of players.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

Matt Roy was on John Scott’s podcast today and said Blake him an offer but he and his wife decided it was time to get out of California. Also hinted Toronto was in the mix.

Where did Blake see him fitting with Clarke? Strange.

I mean look what you can buy in Florida, Nashville, or utah for 3 million vs what you can buy in the South Bay for 3 million.

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Not too mention Florida and Nashville have zero state tax and way cheaper property taxes and cost of living. If you’re not the guy making 7 mil or more a year other states are way more advantageous. Not to mention LA traffic and driving to Crypto form hermosa or redondo every other day for games is just so unnecessary.

 

[johnjm22]

I was told by someone in the organization that they tried to re-sign Matt Roy so I know that's true.

They also made it sound like they expect Clarke to be full time this year. Had Roy been re-signed I'm not sure what they would have done with Spence, I didn't ask. I should have.

This person unintentionally made it sound the Kings don't have much of a set plan or direction. Brought up Florida almost missing the playoffs last year as an example of how you just need to get in. That was depressing to hear.

The organization takes a look at what people are saying on social media.

Ownership pays very close attention to the team. Not just Phil, but the whole family.

I was told Fagemo will be given a chance.

Edmundson is better than Burroughs/Englund in their eyes. Other teams were trying to sign him. Sounded like the term is probably what got him to sign here. Compared him to Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene. I said Edmundson had poor defensive analytics, they said they have their own analytics.

 

[Sol]

Interesting insight. So no plans ay lol

 

[Steve Zissou]

On Dubois, "I feel like the media paints this picture of him, and to me it couldn't be further from the truth... He's a great teammate and great locker room guy... I don't know where the media gets this stuff"

Roughly around 13:30.

 

[Statto]

I'll see if I can find it, but Yannetti said there were extenuating circumstances. He specifically mentions an earlier pick of Nabokov.

They were expecting the first couple goalies taken to be bigger ones. When Nabokov was taken, they thought George was a higher risk of going early.

I think Yannetti called out specifically their original plan wasn't to take George in the second.

The pod I listened to I took slightly differently, in that they wanted George and when Nabokov went they panicked and started thinking about trading up to get George. Instead they took a breath and held on and got their man. I may not have been listening properly though….

 

[tigermask48]

On Dubois, "I feel like the media paints this picture of him, and to me it couldn't be further from the truth... He's a great teammate and great locker room guy... I don't know where the media gets this stuff"

Roughly around 13:30.

Lol. Except the media in LA was largely painting him as a great guy and teammate, and crap on the ice. He had those clips with Byfield, the dog adoption event, he was portrayed as a great dude.

The effort just was never there during the game. The two aren't mutually exclusive. You can be a great person and still not be very good at hockey.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Someone said it best about PLD - maybe his heart is not in it.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Someone said it best about PLD - maybe his heart is not in it.

That’s been my conclusion through my armchair psychologizing of him. Likely a good dude, has gotten to where he is on a baseline talent level, isn’t driven the same way other players are. Hell, if I could be financially stable and just chill all the time without pushing myself too hard, I’d take that any day of the week.

 

[Omni Owl]

On Dubois, "I feel like the media paints this picture of him, and to me it couldn't be further from the truth... He's a great teammate and great locker room guy... I don't know where the media gets this stuff"

Roughly around 13:30.

I have no doubt that he's a great dude, likes good dogs, solid teammate, etc...
He clearly doesn't give a f*** compared to most players and just wanted to secure a bag, which Blake and Co. were more than happy to oblige. Shows you how sought after a big body C with "skill" is. Anyway, props to Blake for dumping that contract before it became a problem, ultimately only cost us some valuable assets.

 

[BigKing]

On Dubois, "I feel like the media paints this picture of him, and to me it couldn't be further from the truth... He's a great teammate and great locker room guy... I don't know where the media gets this stuff"

Roughly around 13:30.

Well, he is still on the same team as the guy so he isn't going to bury him on a podcast.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

I was told by someone in the organization that they tried to re-sign Matt Roy so I know that's true.

They also made it sound like they expect Clarke to be full time this year. Had Roy been re-signed I'm not sure what they would have done with Spence, I didn't ask. I should have.

This person unintentionally made it sound the Kings don't have much of a set plan or direction. Brought up Florida almost missing the playoffs last year as an example of how you just need to get in. That was depressing to hear.

The organization takes a look at what people are saying on social media.

Ownership pays very close attention to the team. Not just Phil, but the whole family.

I was told Fagemo will be given a chance.

Edmundson is better than Burroughs/Englund in their eyes. Other teams were trying to sign him. Sounded like the term is probably what got him to sign here. Compared him to Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene. I said Edmundson had poor defensive analytics, they said they have their own analytics.

Well none of that is encouraging in my eyes. Ownership pays attention to what people say. Well if that was the case They would have removed Luc and Blake and bring in fresh people outside Kings family. They have their own analytics, well maybe that's why we are where we are at. If they compared to Matt Greene, love greener, but we dont need 3 of them. Willie Mitchell, not even in same ballpark.
Just my opinion, but the way I see it ownership doesn't get it

 

[Omni Owl]

Well none of that is encouraging in my eyes. Ownership pays attention to what people say. Well if that was the case They would have removed Luc and Blake and bring in fresh people outside Kings family. They have their own analytics, well maybe that's why we are where we are at. If they compared to Matt Greene, love greener, but we dont need 3 of them. Willie Mitchell, not even in same ballpark.
Just my opinion, but the way I see it ownership doesn't get it

I'm pretty sure management has this upcoming year to make some real progress or its adios, at least in an ideal scenario. The sooner the front office is jettisoned the better. Problem is, who replaces Blake and Co? I could see Bergevin snaking his way into the top spot, but he is arguably worse than Blake. If I were AEG I'd bring Lombardi back as a shadow GM, similar to how Edmonton runs things. Pretty sure that bridge is already burned tho...

 

[Trash Panda]

Someone said it best about PLD - maybe his heart is not in it.

If PL had half the heart that Lizzo did, he would be a perennial 80pt nightmare to play against.

Great dude I’m sure, but It’s entirely in his heart, I have no doubts.

 

[tigermask48]

I'm pretty sure management has this upcoming year to make some real progress or its adios, at least in an ideal scenario. The sooner the front office is jettisoned the better. Problem is, who replaces Blake and Co? I could see Bergevin snaking his way into the top spot, but he is arguably worse than Blake. If I were AEG I'd bring Lombardi back as a shadow GM, similar to how Edmonton runs things. Pretty sure that bridge is already burned tho...

No idea if the interest is there and it's a very small body of work thus far... But a name that came to my mind was Jeff Jackson from Edmonton? Doubly so if he ends up losing the GM job there, as he's made some good moves so far since taking over for Ken Holland.

Otherwise I'd hope it'd be a new direction away from former Kings players like Mathieu Darche, Emilie Castonguay, Kate Madigan, or someone out of juniors with a connection to Yannetti who becomes the GM if it has to be an internal hire?

I think my want would be a fresh new perspective and I think giving one of the qualified handful of female candidates out there a chance would get eyes on LA.