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

[chris kontos]

You know what's better for long-term fan growth and grassroots hockey love than bringing the circus to town?

Putting a great product on the ice.

One would think. But as long as the present front office keeps cashing aeg checks, endless mediocrity and slimy excuse making is the future

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

When Blake trades a first round pick plus for a goaltender this offseason, those lost picks for not trading Roy at the deadline is REALLY going to hurt

 

[Statto]

He's a consultant. Every team in the league has guys like this, but for some reason in LA many fans seem to think he is the guy behind the green curtain. This organization is in the spot it's in primarily because of Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille. He was GM of the Habs when the stupid decision to end the rebuild was made, and Blake had previously shown interest in PLD. Do I want the guy to be the Kings next GM? No, I don't, but to blame him for any of this nonsense is ridiculous.

If BLuc allowed a consultant to have that much influence they should be fired for that alone, so I tend to agree. Either way he’d not be to blame. Horrible thought that he could be our next GM though.

 

[tny760]

When Blake trades a first round pick plus for a goaltender this offseason, those lost picks for not trading Roy at the deadline is REALLY going to hurt

this is what i'm afraid of

i genuinely think if he's left in charge he's going to triple down on this core and really do some damage to the future, i also think lame ducking him into the season would be an equally poor decision

 

[CarlSneep]

It's kind of a chicken/egg question but have the Kings' prospects underperformed because they were bad draft picks who were never going to get better, or did they never get better because the Kings insist on bringing them into their orbit and then suck at developing people? It's notable that the guys who have worked out didn't develop here and I'm a little skeptical that the best development specialists in the world all happened to play with Rob Blake at some point.

One of the bigger changes the Kings made when Rob took over was signing a bunch of AHL lifers to the Reign, most likely to make them better and boost their ticket sales. This means that the actual prospects in the A usually don't get as much ice time and, when they do, it's against other AHL plugs instead of other team's top competition. I have a feeling that has greatly hindered their development.

Obviously someone should be getting fired and I'm not super particular as to whom, but something worth thinking about.

 

[DoktorJeep]

this is what i'm afraid of

i genuinely think if he's left in charge he's going to triple down on this core and really do some damage to the future, i also think lame ducking him into the season would be an equally poor decision

The countdown is on for the first co opted sycophant to trot out the cliche that your best penalty killer is your goal tender. We were already the #2 PK in the regular season. Starting game 83, we can easily shutdown the best PP of all time with a legit goalie.

 

[tny760]

The countdown is on for the first co opted sycophant to trot out the cliche that your best penalty killer is your goal tender. We were already the #2 PK in the regular season. Starting game 83, we can easily shutdown the best PP of all time with a legit goalie.

"just gimme 20 more bucks man, i'll pay you back next week"

 

[All The Kings Men]

My guess is that DB is really the only external source for Kings tea in the whole market.

I know it's annoying to say half a thing and not offer any context... but this is incorrect.

I know at least one of Marek and Friedmann's Kings sources and it's not Bernstein. Bernstein may be an additional source (I have no idea) but he's not the ONLY source and for the record I refer to the source I do know as "unreliable" when I refer to them in private conversations.

 

[All The Kings Men]

opportunity cost

this concept is the single most overlooked and misunderstood element and god bless someone for bringing it up

not that I neccessarily agree with the rest of the post blah blah blah covering my ass blah blah blah

 

[DoktorJeep]

I know it's annoying to say half a thing and not offer any context... but this is incorrect.

I know at least one of Marek and Friedmann's Kings sources and it's not Bernstein. Bernstein may be an additional source (I have no idea) but he's not the ONLY source and for the record I refer to the source I do know as "unreliable" when I refer to them in private conversations.

My bad dog, it’s two or three more whole sources. Mea culpa.

Ignoring my sarcasm, you the only off ice guy inside the purple curtain I’m rooting for.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Blake is like a novice surfer taking off an large wave that is closing out -- realizes he bit off more than he can chew, but doesnt know how to kick out. Its just a matter of time before he gets bounced off the reef and rolled underwater until he's out of oxygen

 

[Herby]

It's kind of a chicken/egg question but have the Kings' prospects underperformed because they were bad draft picks who were never going to get better, or did they never get better because the Kings insist on bringing them into their orbit and then suck at developing people? It's notable that the guys who have worked out didn't develop here and I'm a little skeptical that the best development specialists in the world all happened to play with Rob Blake at some point.

One of the bigger changes the Kings made when Rob took over was signing a bunch of AHL lifers to the Reign, most likely to make them better and boost their ticket sales. This means that the actual prospects in the A usually don't get as much ice time and, when they do, it's against other AHL plugs instead of other team's top competition. I have a feeling that has greatly hindered their development.

Obviously someone should be getting fired and I'm not super particular as to whom, but something worth thinking about.

I think it's an equal share. The development is stupid, all of us, save a few feel this way. The abandoning of proven development paths in the NCAA and Europe to foolishly put teenage players in the AHL under the control of Blake's buddies Emerson and Surf Nutz has predictably failed miserably, with most of those players failing to develop to match the draft capital used on them. But the evaluation is bad too, just not enough high end guys drafted, the type of guys where it doesn't matter how they are handled. You have back to back Top 5 center picks in 19 and 20, you should have your locked in #1 center by the end of the 2024 season.

This organization had 13 players taken in the Top 2 rounds between 2017 and 2021.

1 of those players played for the Kings in this years the playoffs.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

Blake and extensions to unproven players. Equal to
Gavin Newsom and unemployment benefits during Covid.

 

[KINGS17]

Just wait, Blake and Luc will stay and PLD won't be bought out.
In press conferences they won't even know why someone would even ask questions like that.

Maybe the Kings should hire KJP when she is done at the White House.

 

[chris kontos]

There is no financial issue on the la kings.
Philip anchutz besides owning aeg also owns the denver and rio grande railroad. And probably alot of other stuff.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

Drew said his objective was to win one round. wtf is that bullshit! Just rebuild if they dont want to retire as kings it really doesn’t stop the world from spinning.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Drew said his objective was to win one round. wtf is that bullshit! Just rebuild if they dont want to retire as kings it really doesn’t stop the world from spinning.

Lucs, Blakes, Koalas, 1-3-1, perimeter, softness, low expectations... the managed decline of a previously top shelf organization toward perpetual mediocrity.

 

[KINGS17]

Drew said his objective was to win one round. wtf is that bullshit! Just rebuild if they dont want to retire as kings it really doesn’t stop the world from spinning.

Kopitar and Doughty are depreciating assets that should have been sold long ago.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Kopitar and Doughty are depreciating assets that should have been sold long ago.

An easy way to move them is declare a rebuild. They can either put up or shut it. Its time to stop worshipping past glories at the expense of the future. There are kids now that are 16 yrs old that have no recollection of the golden age..you need to win over the future fan base with a good product.. not this pretend bullshit

 

[tigermask48]

To possibly add something to Herby's point about it being both scouting and development. You really just have to look back about 4-5 years later to see how bad the Kings have done at both.

The Kings at one point had almost the consensus top prospect pool in the league, but almost zero players that were a good fit for the type of hockey the Kings wanted to play.

The few of those highly thought of prospects that did make it to the NHL (Bjornfot, JAD, Petersen, Vilardi, Kaliev, Durzi) have arguably all never looked better than they did as rookies.

The Kings just took all this talent and wasted it, turning these guys into just another guy players.

The scouting never identified players to fit the Kings and refused to develop the talent the prospects did have. It's just a huge waste.

 

[Sol]

The fact that Jesse hasn't already challenged Rob to a 1 on 1 fight in the octagon proves he isn't an ally with us.

 

[bland]

Ultimately, this is an ownership issue. The buck stops for the team with Luc and the buck stops for the owner with Dan Beckerman. They are the leaders who are accountable for hiring incompetent hacks for executive positions.

You can’t fault Yanetti and Emerson and Blake and Muzz’s alt account on HFB as a collective for the short comings of the team. They are all working overtime to their limits.

The problem is they are all high floor, low ceiling. Kind of like the players and coaches.

Brisson and Bergevin are a non-story if Luc isn’t in charge. Kopitar got paid by DL and there is zero French connection excuse there.

Friedman said he doesn’t know if there is a financial issue in LA. Which means there is no impetus for change. Until there is a hit to revenue, it’s business as usual for our hockey team.

Regarding the 8 year Kopitar extension being signed by Lombardi, this is a story that was never really discussed. There were rumblings at the time that Lombardi had issues with that extension and that the work was done whether he was in agreement or not. Of all the issues that would be the most interesting in that potential Lombardi book, the one I would most like to see clarified would be the rumor that HE wanted to rebuild in 2015 and was supplanted by status quo management. Could be BS, would love to hear his take on that.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Yeah, not surprising at all that they are all gone. It's just a shame that the "Masterclass by Rob Blake" post celebrating a third straight 3rd place finish and calling out myself, Sol and RJ was removed from the main board.

I still, for the life of me, don't understand how anyone could be happy with the management of this team. I know at this point it's basically only Axl, GBH, SN and a few other less outspoken ones, but it's still crazy any exist with 0 playoff series wins in 7 years.

I think you have been reading me wrong for 7 years.....or however long it's been, it's not that I think Blake has been great, good, mediocre, bad, or dogshit, it's that I DON'T CARE....I have ZERO control over what he does, or Lombardi did, or whomever is next, so I don't waste my time getting upset over it, you seem to think he's made a shit ton of mistakes, I think he happens to have made a few, off of memory, the Kopitar extension way way way sooner than he had to, the PLD 8 year extension, I get the trade, but he married himself to the guy before seeing him, those are the two major ones I can think of now, but the long short of it is, I don't care enough to get as upset as most of any of you, this is literally the Kings MO for the 60 plus years minus the blip of Lombardi years.

 

[DyslexicTom]

Regarding the 8 year Kopitar extension being signed by Lombardi, this is a story that was never really discussed. There were rumblings at the time that Lombardi had issues with that extension and that the work was done whether he was in agreement or not. Of all the issues that would be the most interesting in that potential Lombardi book, the one I would most like to see clarified would be the rumor that HE wanted to rebuild in 2015 and was supplanted by status quo management. Could be BS, would love to hear his take on that.

If true, that would go a long way towards redeeming Lombardi, considering that it was surprising for someone who had studied so much about building perennial champions to fall that quickly towards traditional sentimental thinking.

My criticism of the guy then was that he wasn't brave enough to make the ruthless decisions; if he had to fight uphill against upper management that was risk averse, then it would all make a little more sense.

 

[Johnny Utah]

The Kings cap space is cut in half with the Byfield contract extension, which could be hefty.

Not shocked by the PLD buyout rumors, they free up another 6 million.

Looks like we will be down a top 4 D man (can replace Roy with Clarke), a top 6 forward (Arvidsson), a 4th line RW (can be replaced with Thomas, Turcotte), and two goalies.

Need to sign players to replace the UFA's and potential RFA's who they might let walk - Grundstrom and Lizotte.

6 million gives them a lot more to work with.