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

[crassbonanza]

Personally I think it's unfair to blame to rebuild failure on Dewey/Kopi. I know Drew said he wanted to compete and not be a part of a rebuild, but isn't that what you want out of your star player? Do you want a guy who decides it's OK to suck because at some point in the future the team might be good? You don't want players to see themselves/the team as failures and accept it.

The goal of management is to have a defined plan and carry it out. I personally think that tanking forever does not work out nearly as often as many other people think it does, but if that is the goal management needs to stick to it. It's not on the players to accept being a shit team...

The reality is the Blake/Luc sold AEG on the concept that the guy who had just brought the franchise 2 cups was holding a cup contender back. They said it directly in the press conference announcing that Luc and Blake were taking over the team. There was obviously a panic moment when they were running on 5 years without any success, so they decided to chase the playoffs with the Danault signing. Every decision following that was about trying to prove their little coup worthwhile. This includes off ice decisions, including the media portion, the goal was to make sure that everyone knew that the Kings were in way better hands than that failure Lombardi.

My main point is though that I wouldn't want Doughty, or any other player for that instance, to accept being on a shitty team. I hated Roenick for years because he had that exact mindset when he joined the team.

 

[johnjm22]

They would've been better off having Englund lay down in front of the crease like a beached whale on the PK than having Roy defend. Roy let every pass just go right through him.

 

[Sol]

When Roy is focused, he's a great complementary partner.

But when he's off, you wish he had Durzi's on-ice defensive awareness.

thank god you agreed with me for once lol

He absolutely should have been moved at the TDL.

However, that need was not performance based.

For sure, I just wanted him gone because I wanted the Kings to sucker some GM into giving a ton of assets for a player who I think isn't really worth the value he has.

 

[Statto]

thank god you agreed with me for once lol


For sure, I just wanted him gone because I wanted the Kings to sucker some GM into giving a ton of assets for a player who I think isn't really worth the value he has.

He’s a number 4 guy that likes to give the puck away and has questionable net presence. He’s always been that and that spell with Gavrikov, last season, elevated his status. He will get paid like a #3 guy this UFA cycle and isn’t worth it. He would have netted a decent return this TDL and absolutely should have been moved. I was banging that drum all season due to his perceived and inflated worth.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Yeah but Matt Roy is what happens when you build a faulty dcore

He's an excellent player that will get paid and deserves it, he's a stellar #4 and a still near top tier #3, people are letting recency bias rip him apart, it's stupid

He should also not be your volume PKer based on size and net presence alone

He may not be missed on THIS team as Clarke/Spence bring a different dynamic that's needed but he was the first guy in a half decade to remotely plug what we've affectionately called "the voynov hole"

 

[bland]

The only reason that you let Roy walk is that you need to make room for Clarke. The Kings passive attack that seemingly requires endless horizontal passes from defenseman to defenseman is hindered by having four stay at homers on the nightly roster. The Kings inability to move the puck up ice and have defenders join the attack is one of the glaring inefficiencies of their offense.

Doughty needs a reduced work load, and he needs to be transitioned down to second pairing status sooner than later. That won't ever happen if they re-sign Roy.

 

[Nasti]

The only reason that you let Roy walk is that you need to make room for Clarke. The Kings passive attack that seemingly requires endless horizontal passes from defenseman to defenseman is hindered by having four stay at homers on the nightly roster. The Kings inability to move the puck up ice and have defenders join the attack is one of the glaring inefficiencies of their offense.

Doughty needs a reduced work load, and he needs to be transitioned down to second pairing status sooner than later. That won't ever happen if they re-sign Roy.

As long as Kopitar and Doughty are still playing, I don’t see this management group moving them down the lineup. Kopitar and Doughty wouldn’t allow it since apparently they have all the say.

 

[SFKingshomer]

The Faber move pisses me off as much as the PLD one. Everyone saw how much he was progressing and you trade him for a 1 dimensional winger. Blake set this franchise back a decade and better be gone.

 

[Statto]

Yeah but Matt Roy is what happens when you build a faulty dcore

He's an excellent player that will get paid and deserves it, he's a stellar #4 and a still near top tier #3, people are letting recency bias rip him apart, it's stupid

He should also not be your volume PKer based on size and net presence alone

He may not be missed on THIS team as Clarke/Spence bring a different dynamic that's needed but he was the first guy in a half decade to remotely plug what we've affectionately called "the voynov hole"

I’ve said this about Roy for 2 seasons, but agree on the roster construction and balance of the team. However if Roy is #3 on your D it’s a weakness because he’s not consistent enough with to many peaks and troughs.

Letting Roy walk though means you have to add an upgrade to 3 LD though.

 

[Statto]

The Faber move pisses me off as much as the PLD one. Everyone saw how much he was progressing and you trade him for a 1 dimensional winger. Blake set this franchise back a decade and better be gone.

I was very high on Faber at the time we drafted him but at the time the trade looked like good value. I didn’t expect he’d explode onto the scene so quickly but I don’t think anyone did otherwise he goes in the 1st round. We can argue if we needed Fiala but the actual trade I think was fair…. Unlike you know who.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

What really doesn't make sense in the context of Rob Blake likely staying as GM is this past trade deadline...

Why did Blake sit on his hands and do nothing if ownership didn't have him on a short leash??

If his whole thing was trying to give Kopi and Drew another chance to win - Wouldn't you have expected at least 1-2 deadline moves to improve the team if that was the case???? Like I know the cap situation wasn't great but there were plenty of other teams up against the cap still finding ways to improve.

Just another example pointing to this management group being disorganized / incompetent.

Either they didn't think the Kings were good enough so didn't bother making moves at the trade deadline to improve the team

• in which case they probably should've sold a player or two - cough cough, Matt Roy

Or they thought the team was good enough as is so didn't feel the need to add / change anything

• in which case they clearly aren't fit to evaluate the strength of an NHL roster

Orrrrrr they tried to make a couple moves at the deadline and just outright failed to get the deals done

• Which again, points to incompetence

 

[Statto]

I’m not defending Blake but maybe what he wanted/needed wasn’t on offer for a sensible price of what we could afford (assets & cap).

So I doubt he sat on his hands but he was handcuffed to limited options (due to his previous decisions).

What really doesn't make sense in the context of Rob Blake likely staying as GM is this past trade deadline...

Why did Blake sit on his hands and do nothing if ownership didn't have him on a short leash??

If his whole thing was trying to give Kopi and Drew another chance to win - Wouldn't you have expected at least 1-2 deadline moves to improve the team if that was the case???? Like I know the cap situation wasn't great but there were plenty of other teams up against the cap still finding ways to improve.

Just another example pointing to this management group being disorganized / incompetent.

Either they didn't think the Kings were good enough so didn't bother making moves at the trade deadline to improve the team

• in which case they probably should've sold a player or two - cough cough, Matt Roy

Or they thought the team was good enough as is so didn't feel the need to add / change anything

• in which case they clearly aren't fit to evaluate the strength of an NHL roster

Orrrrrr they tried to make a couple moves at the deadline and just outright failed to get the deals done

• Which again, points to incompetence

I’m not defending Blake but maybe what he wanted/needed wasn’t on offer for a sensible price of what we could afford (assets & cap).

So I doubt he sat on his hands but he was handcuffed to limited options (due to his previous decisions). If anything this is the incompetence piece.

 

[AbsentMojo]

What does it tell you when your PK is near top in the league in the regular season and worst in the playoffs?

 

[SmytheKing]

My recollection is a bit different.

My recollection is that he was offered a very lucrative contract but that Chris Pronger was in negotiation with the Blues at the same time and Pronger's contract (larger than Blake's offer? Maybe?) reframed the negotiations between Blake and the Kings.

This is correct. Another thing to keep in mind is that Pronger had just won the MVP and the Norris trophy along with being the captain of the top team in the league. Further, Blake was 30 and Pronger was 24. The Kings, from what I recall, offered him basically the same contract but about $500k less per year.

 

[SmytheKing]

I was very high on Faber at the time we drafted him but at the time the trade looked like good value. I didn’t expect he’d explode onto the scene so quickly but I don’t think anyone did otherwise he goes in the 1st round. We can argue if we needed Fiala but the actual trade I think was fair…. Unlike you know who.

The trade was "fair" but it wasn't something the Kings needed to do. Value for Value doesn't really mean a lot when you consider that the timing makes the value you're getting effectively worse. Like, the Kings trade for Richards was more valuable at the time because he's what they needed in that moment. It doesn't matter that Simmonds and Schenn ended up bringing more overall "value" for more years. They wouldn't have done that on the Kings at that time. Same with the Carter trade.

Faber for Fiala is those trades but in reverse.

 

[FrozenKing18]

I'm assuming the Fiala trade was like the Gaborik trade where he would be the final piece for the playoff run. Except the team was nowhere near ready for a deep playoff run.

 

[Piston]

What really doesn't make sense in the context of Rob Blake likely staying as GM is this past trade deadline...

Why did Blake sit on his hands and do nothing if ownership didn't have him on a short leash??

If his whole thing was trying to give Kopi and Drew another chance to win - Wouldn't you have expected at least 1-2 deadline moves to improve the team if that was the case???? Like I know the cap situation wasn't great but there were plenty of other teams up against the cap still finding ways to improve.

Just another example pointing to this management group being disorganized / incompetent.

Either they didn't think the Kings were good enough so didn't bother making moves at the trade deadline to improve the team

• in which case they probably should've sold a player or two - cough cough, Matt Roy

Or they thought the team was good enough as is so didn't feel the need to add / change anything

• in which case they clearly aren't fit to evaluate the strength of an NHL roster

Orrrrrr they tried to make a couple moves at the deadline and just outright failed to get the deals done

• Which again, points to incompetence

The only tradeable asset we had to improve the team was our #1 pick, and I suspect that was placed off limits from above given 1) we had traded our #1 two years in a row and 2) to provide a (potential) new GM with some flexibility. I'm not convinced AEG has made any decisions yet, although if Blake is still employed at the end of the week, he'll likely survive.

 

[Statto]

The trade was "fair" but it wasn't something the Kings needed to do. Value for Value doesn't really mean a lot when you consider that the timing makes the value you're getting effectively worse. Like, the Kings trade for Richards was more valuable at the time because he's what they needed in that moment. It doesn't matter that Simmonds and Schenn ended up bringing more overall "value" for more years. They wouldn't have done that on the Kings at that time. Same with the Carter trade.

Faber for Fiala is those trades but in reverse.

I can’t argue with that

 

[KingPuckChoo]

An Elite D AND a 1st rd pick for a top 6 forward is anything but fair

however i can see kings fans are entering a compromising phase, willing to accept stuff for stuff supported w/ some good old cognitive dissonance

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

The only tradeable asset we had to improve the team was our #1 pick, and I suspect that was placed off limits from above given 1) we had traded our #1 two years in a row and 2) to provide a (potential) new GM with some flexibility. I'm not convinced AEG has made any decisions yet, although if Blake is still employed at the end of the week, he'll likely survive.

I don't really buy this excuse. The Kings definitely had assets they could've parted ways with to add some depth. Teams were out here improving their rosters while trading away as little as a mid to late round pick or two. Brandon Duhaime is a player many posters on here suggested as an improvement for the bottom 6 & a way to add some toughness to the Kings roster. Colorado acquired him for a 2026 3rd round pick.

I'm not suggesting the Kings should've made a blockbuster deal and parted ways with a 1st round pick / A tier prospect or anything like that... I'm more just saying, it's another example of their 'plan' not making any sense.

If the goal was to try to give Doughty/Kopi a chance to win a cup.... Wouldn't it have made sense to add some depth at the TDL?? Nearly all other playoff teams were loading up and we just sat there. Hell, even Nashville made a move or two.

It's like Blake & co. just froze like a deer in the headlights... "Do we sell??? Do we buy?????? Crap idk let's just stay the course and hope for the best I guess". Even if trading picks for depth wouldn't have changed the end result of losing in the first round, at least it would be SOMETHING and at least it would be consistent with their 'plan'. And if they weren't going to buy they should've at least sold. It just seems like they legitimately didn't know what to do and/or lacked the creativity to get something done - Both of which are a bad look.

 

[kingsholygrail]

What does it tell you when your PK is near top in the league in the regular season and worst in the playoffs?

It doesn't tell you anything. What was our PK% versus the Oilers in the regular season? Because our PK% versus everyone else doesn't matter.

 

[Schrute farms]

It's doesn't seem like anything will be happening FO change wise. We're going to have another year of the same in 2024-2025. It's going to look the same.

If they don't make the playoffs next year, then maybe then we'll get the changes required by ownership. Which sucks, because i want to root FOR the team.

 

[AbsentMojo]

It doesn't tell you anything. What was our PK% versus the Oilers in the regular season? Because our PK% versus everyone else doesn't matter.

Excellent point. So it tells you Kings dont advance scout properly or adjust well to their opponent. There was an article posted from some Edmonton site that pointed out that the tight diamond was wrong for EDM power play and that Dallas had figured it out.

 

[bland]

The trade was "fair" but it wasn't something the Kings needed to do. Value for Value doesn't really mean a lot when you consider that the timing makes the value you're getting effectively worse. Like, the Kings trade for Richards was more valuable at the time because he's what they needed in that moment. It doesn't matter that Simmonds and Schenn ended up bringing more overall "value" for more years. They wouldn't have done that on the Kings at that time. Same with the Carter trade.

Faber for Fiala is those trades but in reverse.

Essentially it boils down to this management group believing that the keys to success are two-way centers on every line, defensive-minded blueliners, and a trapping system. They thought that just by adding offensive wingers that it would be enough to offset the defense-first mentality. It's why they stupidly brought in Kovalchuk and tried to make it a Brisson package deal with Pacioretty, why they brought in Athanasiou on the cheap and why they thought Fiala would work.

It's bad by design. Everybody needs to be rowing in the same direction, but they keep thinking that bringing in outliers won't rock the boat.

 

[SmytheKing]

An Elite D AND a 1st rd pick for a top 6 forward is anything but fair

however i can see kings fans are entering a compromising phase, willing to accept stuff for stuff supported w/ some good old cognitive dissonance

Easy on the revisionist history there. He had finished his sophmore season at Minnesota as Big-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Fiala had just finished a PPG 30-goal season in the NHL. The trade was fair.