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

[Maynard]

Nobody asked me about this but when did that ever stop me?

I have no issue with any of these guys having hugely successful podcasts and blogs. I just wish the team was more selective about who they partner with, and who they put all over every inch of their official podcasts. Jesse is obviously a nice guy and on his worst day is far more listenable than the Mayor of Dipshitistan. But today I listened to a Reign podcast where the guy didn’t know the name of the opposing team and seemed confused (if not indignant) about the divisional playoff format. Just couldn’t be bothered to look at the names and titles of things he’ll be discussing. When his phone rang I chuckled out loud like “this is your guy huh?”.

He’s really nice though!

Cool.

 

[KINGS17]

So you believe that Hoven and Bernstein are being paranoid? Because there have been instances where they have said that their coverage and insider information is tied to having "positive relationships with the Kings". Would they not be fed the type of guests and presumably information they are given if they had a more realistic outlook on the job done by those running the Kings?

If those guys feel that way, and in light of other things that have happened to people who cover the team, why is it outrageous to think that the organization wants only certain types of media ideas pushed?

If Hoven came out today and said,

"these past seven years have obviously been a failure, the development has not been what was needed, the results have been poor, the blame has to fall at the feet of the decision makers"

Does he have the same access to the team and interviews this summer? Keep in mind this would just be holding a view that the vast majority of the fanbase believes.

Plenty of comments like that are made by sports media members all over the continent, how many people are losing their press credential over it, (that is what they said in the pod before last)



I don't really care if Yannetti has an opinion or not, if he wants to go on Hoven's show and tell us that the slow-cook is the greatest development strategy in the history of hockey, that every player needs to spend a minimum of two seasons in the AHL, that inserting young players into bottom six roles with Trevor Lewis is optimal for growth and that Rob Blake is the brightest mind in the league.

My issue with Yannetti is using past successes of the organization (doing things a different way) to hype up what they are doing now. Nobody who followed this team in the building years of 2006-2009 could in their right mind say that they were a slow cook organization. Kopitar and Doughty went straight to the NHL as teenagers, never stepping foot on AHL ice. Jack Johnson jumped straight from college to the NHL at 20, never stepping foot on AHL ice, Wayne Simmonds never played an AHL game before making the Kings at 20, Oscar Moller made the team at 19 with only a handful of AHL games at the end of his age 18 season, Jonathan Quick as a goaltender played only one season of minor pro hockey before becoming the Kings starting goaltender at age 22. I use the word liar, because Yannetti is lying when he says the Kings have "always been a slow cook organization" and that "slow-cooking players brought us two Stanley Cups". This is blatantly dishonest and both Yannetti and Hoven should be embarrassed that they were said, and that they were amplified on Hoven's show.

You seem to take offense to the term lies, but what is a better term? Do you believe Yannetti is being truthful when comparing the Kings under DL to the Kings under Rob Blake? Do you believe Hoven is being truthful when he parrots those same comments to listenders?

Hoven seems to get angry when people say he parrots the ideas of the organization, but perhaps a way to not have people think like that would be to stop pushing lies like these. But instead of looking in the mirror and saying "am I pushing lies told to me" his MO is to attack the listers who point out the lies and the parroting.

Just to mention one more player, Kyle Clifford only played 7 games in the playoffs with the Monarchs after his last junior season in Barrie, then it was straight to the NHL.

How is it we remember these players, but the so called experts cannot?

 

[LAKings88]

I keep seeing the narrative that LA nailed their gamble on bargain bin goalies.

I can’t find it but Rosen had a tweet about how LA plays 1-3-1 because they don’t trust their goalies.

Will a new system expose their goalies more?

Would a better goalie be able to do better in the 1-3-1?

Not sure the answer but I still don’t believe in the dumpster diving. Given the cap I understand why I just think they need a guy who can steal games and not just make routine saves.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

Who is Hovan that everyone is talking about? Oh, that’s the guy who gave himself his own nickname? The Mayor.

 

[Maynard]

Who is Hovan that everyone is talking about? Oh, that’s the guy who gave himself his own nickname? The Mayor.

It’s stolen mayor valor if you think about it. I’m disgusted.

 

[bland]

Forget about this stuff, do yourself a favor and head to youtube to watch the entire games from those 12 and 14 runs. Did a run of the Game 7s over the past few nights, and the gulf in class between then and now couldn't be bigger.

Game 7 in Chicago and a fluky bounce gives the Hawks an early 2. goal lead. Next shift, Stoll, Williams and King come out with a heavy forecheck and a soft shot gets stopped by Crawford. Both Williams and Stoll poke at him after the whistle, leading to Stoll pulling off Crawford's mask in the scrum. Immediately changed the tone of the game and Chicago doesn't get a shot on goal for the next 9 minutes while the Kings tie the score as a benefit of taking charge of the temperature of the game.

There isn't a soul on this team with that kind of panache to know what's needed and the desire and ability to pull off the dick move when necessary. Buncha cuckolds by comparison.

 

[Statto]

God forbid one uses someones literal quotes to base their opinion. But since I am apparently to stupid to figure it out hyperbole and sarcasm, maybe you, @King'sPawn or @Statto or anyone else who agrees with you can further translate for the uninformed what he meant by this quote, since we apparently can't take it literally.



First off, do you believe these comments to be accurate of the situation? Yes or No. Since you are able to speak freely you should have no problem giving a Yes or No answer.

Second, since apparently it doesn't mean what he literally says (which was factually incorrect), the floor is yours to translate what he "really meant" with this quote. Since apparently it's ridiculous to think he may be "lying" about things in the past to protect his current bosses and himself. It's even more funny and laughable when you consider that Hoven has used the exact words that Yannetti used on that podcast to carry water for Blake's antiquated development strategy. If Yannetti was being sarcastic and not serious, and everyone knew it, why on Earth would Hoven reference those quotes?

I'm truly genuinely curious what you guys think he means by these quotes and why I am wrong to call him a "liar" for it?

You can also tell us why we can't take literal quotes by Hoven and Bernstein about "losing insider access" can't be taken seriously, why would they say it?

As for the other guys, how much coverage is each one granted and has to lose? The debate isn't that the Kings force every member of their organization to act a certain way, the debate is that the one with the largest following feel compelled and/or are directed to carry water for the organization and is thus given insider information and the top interviews to do so. But I guess it's not fair to quote Hoven about having insider access tied to positive reporting. "That's not what he meant", right?

I liked the post because I agreed with some of it and thought it was well written. I actually
Ike plenty of posts I don’t actually agree with as long as they are well written and argued.

In terms of the Yanetti stuff though, no I didn’t take it literally at the time and just thought he was talking in terms of general principles and yes there are exceptions to those. I don’t think Yanetti always uses the best analogies or examples but I also recognise myself in the way he thinks and speaks as it appears he’s talking about one thing and thinking about another at the same time (I annoy myself at times, let alone other people).

So when you and others have been critical of his interviews (I forget which bits specifically although the McDavid/AHL stuff was one example) i have thought to myself that I didn’t interpret what Yanetti said in the same way you and some others did. I didn’t always strongly argue it as I didn’t know which of us was correct, or if it was somewhere in between.

So, the bit about only McDavid level guys skip the AHL, sure if you take it that he meant it literally then yes it’s completely wrong. However if you’ve seen more than 5 NHL games and/or know how to use Google you’d know straight away that it’s not factually correct. So I took it to means more that only certain guys are ready and there’s not that many (relatively) that get to step straight in. I don’t think it was a great answer by any means but I don’t think he was attempting to lie.

The likelihood that he was possibly trying to defend the decisions BLuc have made with QB (which he has to do in his position) probably contributed to it and it obviously wasn’t a decision he made. I also took from the interview he didn’t agree with it - very much reading between the lines because of tone, cadence in his voice and the lack of a broader explanation, which he likes to give on things he’s fully behind. I would completely agree though that a proper fully focused interviewer would have asked the right follow up questions to get a better answer on it. However when was the last time you saw anyone from any team challenged on answers to questions when they sit down on podcasts etc. it just doesn’t happen from what I have seen.

Anyhow, that’s how I saw it at the time but I can’t sit here and say I was 100% correct.

Sorry, not a good reply. It’s 7am and I haven’t had my coffee yet.

 

[crassbonanza]

All of this talk about Kings fans becoming bloggers/reporters reminded me of when dancing boy was writing for Eklund on hockeybuzz.

 

[johnjm22]

I have no issue with any of these guys having hugely successful podcasts and blogs.

Hugely successful?

How many total streams do you think Kings Of The Pod or All The King's Men gets per episode? A lot of times ATKM doesn't even break 1K on YouTube.

The Mayor's entire website might get a like 5K hits per month or something.

Seems pretty miniscule.

 

[BigKing]

Forget about this stuff, do yourself a favor and head to youtube to watch the entire games from those 12 and 14 runs. Did a run of the Game 7s over the past few nights, and the gulf in class between then and now couldn't be bigger.

Game 7 in Chicago and a fluky bounce gives the Hawks an early 2. goal lead. Next shift, Stoll, Williams and King come out with a heavy forecheck and a soft shot gets stopped by Crawford. Both Williams and Stoll poke at him after the whistle, leading to Stoll pulling off Crawford's mask in the scrum. Immediately changed the tone of the game and Chicago doesn't get a shot on goal for the next 9 minutes while the Kings tie the score as a benefit of taking charge of the temperature of the game.

There isn't a soul on this team with that kind of panache to know what's needed and the desire and ability to pull off the dick move when necessary. Buncha cuckolds by comparison.

Years and years of saying this and still no change. Imagine building a team without enough skill and not enough moxie.

 

[Statto]

With Berube going to Toronto it’s looking like it’ll be Hiller as I suspect Berube will have been first choice - he certainly should have been IMO. If it is Hiller, my wish (hoping feels unrealistic) is that BLuc gives him free rein to coach as he see fit. His track record is that of being a creative power play coach and it’d allow him to bring that creative play to the wider play of the team, as opposed to tinkering with the defensive system he inherited. The players certainly seemed to like his overall approach to training and motivation, which seemed to come from the players both after he was hired and at the end of the season.

I’m far from certain that he’s the right guy for the job, but if they take the risk I hope they let Hiller stand or fall doing it ‘his way’. That equally applies to whomever ends up in the role. Whilst Hiller would be a gamble, it probably take a Hail Mary appointment to get the most out of the roster.

It seems ridiculous that we are hoping the head coach will be allowed to dictate the systems we use… what a sh!t show.

 

[Statto]

All of this talk about Kings fans becoming bloggers/reporters reminded me of when dancing boy was writing for Eklund on hockeybuzz.

The thing is people were giving complete credence to the equivalent (or lower) level of bloggers and their evaluation of talent in the drafts for example. So for example the whole QB has no game IQ BS - all recycling one bad take as their own evaluation.

Most of the news outside of the likes of TSN seems to come from fans turned bloggers/reporters and it’s the same across sport globally. In that sense I do not think ‘our’ guys are bad tbf. I think there is an unrealistic expectation for these guys to fill a gap that has developed in terms of how sports media is covered in the modern world.

 

[Trash Panda]

Forget about this stuff, do yourself a favor and head to youtube to watch the entire games from those 12 and 14 runs. Did a run of the Game 7s over the past few nights, and the gulf in class between then and now couldn't be bigger.

Game 7 in Chicago and a fluky bounce gives the Hawks an early 2. goal lead. Next shift, Stoll, Williams and King come out with a heavy forecheck and a soft shot gets stopped by Crawford. Both Williams and Stoll poke at him after the whistle, leading to Stoll pulling off Crawford's mask in the scrum. Immediately changed the tone of the game and Chicago doesn't get a shot on goal for the next 9 minutes while the Kings tie the score as a benefit of taking charge of the temperature of the game.

There isn't a soul on this team with that kind of panache to know what's needed and the desire and ability to pull off the dick move when necessary. Buncha cuckolds by comparison.

To this day, I have never seen the tone set so effectively by a Kings player, as I did watching Mike Richards in game 1 against Vancouver in 2012.

From the word go, he was a complete pain in the ass every time he stepped on the ice, and the rest of the team fed off it. I truly believe his example is what inspired Brown to play the best hockey of his career. It was beautiful.

 

[Maynard]

Hugely successful?

How many total streams do you think Kings Of The Pod or All The King's Men gets per episode? A lot of times ATKM doesn't even break 1K on YouTube.

The Mayor's entire website might get a like 5K hits per month or something.

Seems pretty miniscule.

Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just meant that I have no issue with them being around in general. I don’t like the team elevating amateur hobbyists to provide official content for fans, but I do like the idea of fan podcasts existing.

 

[FrozenKing18]

I dint want to ask this question on the Around the league thread, but RJ mentioned Wroblewski. Speaking of former coaches, how come Mike Stothers was never given a look ? even as an asst. coach at the time of coaching changes back then

 

[RocketKing]

Forget about this stuff, do yourself a favor and head to youtube to watch the entire games from those 12 and 14 runs. Did a run of the Game 7s over the past few nights, and the gulf in class between then and now couldn't be bigger.

Game 7 in Chicago and a fluky bounce gives the Hawks an early 2. goal lead. Next shift, Stoll, Williams and King come out with a heavy forecheck and a soft shot gets stopped by Crawford. Both Williams and Stoll poke at him after the whistle, leading to Stoll pulling off Crawford's mask in the scrum. Immediately changed the tone of the game and Chicago doesn't get a shot on goal for the next 9 minutes while the Kings tie the score as a benefit of taking charge of the temperature of the game.

There isn't a soul on this team with that kind of panache to know what's needed and the desire and ability to pull off the dick move when necessary. Buncha cuckolds by comparison.

Brady Tkachuk would change the culture of this team and if he’s on the block I’d make everyone not named QB or Kempe available to make it happen.

 

[Papa Mocha 15]

I think until we start over with new management, this team is just doomed to be always the ugly bridesmaid at playoffs. Until then, it's just semantics unless someone makes a bonehead decision to sign someone else to a dumbass long term contract. I would rather DD go to a contender for picks as well as Kopi if either want it and rebuild once management is reset with an actual vision.

Bargain shopping for a goalie, playing 1-3-1, avoiding forechecking might cut it in the minors where no one knows what they are doing.... I watched my kids soccer team play like this the other day and these no contact teams get run over by every team in every contact sport. Florida, Rangers, hell...even Vancouver, teams that will actually hit you in the playoffs are the teams that are in the dance still. Teams soft like charmin are stopped at the door.

Dustin Brown hit against Henrik Sedin was the "turning point" of that series. I can't think of anyone willing to do that on this roster. That's not a player problem, that's an identity problem created by management. There needs to a vision and I don't see the 131 being the answer. It's system play. It doesn't work. It protects the bargain goalie.

 

[King'sPawn]

With Berube going to Toronto it’s looking like it’ll be Hiller as I suspect Berube will have been first choice - he certainly should have been IMO. If it is Hiller, my wish (hoping feels unrealistic) is that BLuc gives him free rein to coach as he see fit.

Given that at the conference he said "We’ll meet with him and just go over exact changes that he would feel would go into place before we get a decision."

Now, I get in general management and the coaches should be on the same page. It's the 'exact' changes 'before [a decision]' I get more of a micromanagerial outlook.

But maybe I'm just pessimistic.

 

[tny760]

Given that at the conference he said "We’ll meet with him and just go over exact changes that he would feel would go into place before we get a decision."

Now, I get in general management and the coaches should be on the same page. It's the 'exact' changes 'before [a decision]' I get more of a micromanagerial outlook.

But maybe I'm just pessimistic.

that's 100% the vibe i got

they made it clear they were pulling the reins on the ice too

 

[chris kontos]

that's 100% the vibe i got

they made it clear they were pulling the reins on the ice too

was there ever any question?
the three stooges can make as many individual changes as they want and as long as they stay in place the results will be the same.

 

[Master Yoda]

What coach will sign a long term deal with a lame duck GM?

Someone not qualified

 

[bland]

I think until we start over with new management, this team is just doomed to be always the ugly bridesmaid at playoffs. Until then, it's just semantics unless someone makes a bonehead decision to sign someone else to a dumbass long term contract. I would rather DD go to a contender for picks as well as Kopi if either want it and rebuild once management is reset with an actual vision.

Bargain shopping for a goalie, playing 1-3-1, avoiding forechecking might cut it in the minors where no one knows what they are doing.... I watched my kids soccer team play like this the other day and these no contact teams get run over by every team in every contact sport. Florida, Rangers, hell...even Vancouver, teams that will actually hit you in the playoffs are the teams that are in the dance still. Teams soft like charmin are stopped at the door.

Dustin Brown hit against Henrik Sedin was the "turning point" of that series. I can't think of anyone willing to do that on this roster. That's not a player problem, that's an identity problem created by management. There needs to a vision and I don't see the 131 being the answer. It's system play. It doesn't work. It protects the bargain goalie.

That series was over when Richards sat Burrows down at the end of game 1, Brown simply followed suit.

Once you show a mentally fragile team that not only can you beat them with skill, but you can brush aside their attempts to change the tone, you have them by the throat. Richards established the pimp hand, Brown kept it strong.

 

[Maynard]

That series was over when Richards sat Burrows down at the end of game 1, Brown simply followed suit.

Once you show a mentally fragile team that not only can you beat them with skill, but you can brush aside their attempts to change the tone, you have them by the throat. Richards established the pimp hand, Brown kept it strong.

A far cry from the current Kings team where the try to beat teams with “structure” lol.

 

[bland]

A far cry from the current Kings team where the try to beat teams with “structure” lol.

I prefer the 2014 run because they had an answer for anything. Down a game or three? Down in an elimination game? No big deal, we got this. They had a guy that could make the exact right decision regardless of the situation.

 

[KingsFan7824]

To this day, I have never seen the tone set so effectively by a Kings player, as I did watching Mike Richards in game 1 against Vancouver in 2012.

From the word go, he was a complete pain in the ass every time he stepped on the ice, and the rest of the team fed off it. I truly believe his example is what inspired Brown to play the best hockey of his career. It was beautiful.

And that's why DL made his mistake in 2014. The sexy eyes of Mike Richards is too much for anyone. Not the first mistake he made, not even close, but the first one after winning. A mistake that was only possible because Carter cried his way out of Columbus, and the Kings were on their way to possibly missing the playoffs in their "contender" year, so DL was desperate enough to trade for yet another guy in his later 20's with a decade on his contract.