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

[HabsAddict]

How about blake lizotte?
Put him on a line with gallagher and they would drive your opponents into nervous breakdowns

I know nothing about Lizotte but at 5'9" and 175, he can't back up a pest attitude.

We have a nasty, big body pest that is going to the AHL next season and looks like a bottom 6. It's another younger Xhekaj so you know fighting and attitude is in his blood.

I was going to suggest Byfield for Ghule and a top 5 1st, but you need him more for your rebuild then we do.

 

[CowMix]

The Kings have won 7 playoff games in 9 years.

Why are you including the retooling years when the goal wasn't to make the playoffs? If the Kings rebuils you know they won't make the playoffs either so are you going to complain about that? Probably since all the prospects are amazing until they don't light the league on fire in their first season so we can call them all busts.

The Kings have won 7 playoff games in 3 years which is not good either but it's not the picture you want to paint, which proves my point of negativity all the time.

 

[chris kontos]

I know nothing about Lizotte but at 5'9" and 175, he can't back up a pest attitude.

We have a nasty, big body pest that is going to the AHL next season and looks like a bottom 6. It's another younger Xhekaj so you know fighting and attitude is in his blood.

I was going to suggest Byfield for Ghule and a top 5 1st, but you need him more for your rebuild then we do.

Byfield for ghule is as bad as the pld bonus add on i suggessted.
You'll not get byfield even out of our cold, dead hands

 

[bland]

Why are you including the retooling years when the goal wasn't to make the playoffs? If the Kings rebuils you know they won't make the playoffs either so are you going to complain about that? Probably since all the prospects are amazing until they don't light the league on fire in their first season so we can call them all busts.

The Kings have won 7 playoff games in 3 years which is not good either but it's not the picture you want to paint, which proves my point of negativity all the time.

No, it's the wins over the course of this management group which DOES include the period in which they DID try to succeed with ridiculous decisions like Phanuef and Kovalchuk. They started the rebuild 2 years too late and left it 2 years too early. This is a discussion that includes the entire body of work.

Your arguments are weak, sorry nonsense.

 

[chris kontos]

Why are you including the retooling years when the goal wasn't to make the playoffs? If the Kings rebuils you know they won't make the playoffs either so are you going to complain about that? Probably since all the prospects are amazing until they don't light the league on fire in their first season so we can call them all busts.

The Kings have won 7 playoff games in 3 years which is not good either but it's not the picture you want to paint, which proves my point of negativity all the time.

What is your response to the fact that the present mgmt has taken the kings from a championship organization back to the hockey siberia it was for decades?

 

[CowMix]

What is your response to the fact that the present mgmt has taken the kings from a championship organization back to the hockey siberia it was for decades?

The organization had already left it's championship stage before this management took over.

 

[HabsAddict]

Byfield for ghule is as bad as the pld bonus add on i suggessted.
You'll not get byfield even out of our cold, dead hands

It wasn't a usury offer but of course you don't trade your future.

We need top 6 young forwards more then anything else, other then Kalyev, I don't see much that we can trade for. We got a pile of young defenseman but the one we are going to trade don't have high end potential. Serviceable 4th to 6th LHD AND RHD youngsters.

You are in the twilight zone of not bad enough for a rebuild but not good enough to stay the path.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Why are you including the retooling years when the goal wasn't to make the playoffs? If the Kings rebuils you know they won't make the playoffs either so are you going to complain about that? Probably since all the prospects are amazing until they don't light the league on fire in their first season so we can call them all busts.

The Kings have won 7 playoff games in 3 years which is not good either but it's not the picture you want to paint, which proves my point of negativity all the time.

Dawg you’re gonna overdose on that copium.

 

[King'sPawn]

Why are you including the retooling years when the goal wasn't to make the playoffs? If the Kings rebuils you know they won't make the playoffs either so are you going to complain about that? Probably since all the prospects are amazing until they don't light the league on fire in their first season so we can call them all busts.

The Kings have won 7 playoff games in 3 years which is not good either but it's not the picture you want to paint, which proves my point of negativity all the time.

The Kings also were going for it in 2017-18 (Vegas swept them) and they were going for it in 2018-19 when they signed Kovalchuk. It was only after being so bad that they changed course mid-season and started their "re-tooling".

If you want to be generous and talk about success only when they are trying, it's been 4.5 years of Blake's regime.

And even if you want to keep your head stuck in the sand and insist they've only been going for it for 3 years, the fact they have only a few wins despite coming out of a rebuild suggests either they came out of the rebuild too early or it wasn't a successful rebuild.

Either way, even when being generous, I don't think 7 playoff games won in any stretch of time of "going for it" would warrant even a C grade for Blake's regime..

 

[Schmooley]

The organization had already left it's championship stage before this management took over.

Blake made the playoffs and got swept by Vegas. He then tried to win and brought in guys like Kovalchuk, Phaneuf. Then kept trying by bringing in guys like Edler and Maatta. He made lateral shake up moves like Pearson for Hagelin even before he decided to retool.
You are right they left their championship window but Blake didnt think so.

 

[chris kontos]

The organization had already left it's championship stage before this management took over.

Thats half of what i asked. And opinion based based.
Good luck sports fan

 

[HabsAddict]

The very first thing you guys need to do, IMMEDIATELY is fire BargainBin.

He is as useful to your future as hemorrhoids. Maybe worse.

 

[CowMix]

Blake made the playoffs and got swept by Vegas. He then tried to win and brought in guys like Kovalchuk, Phaneuf. Then kept trying by bringing in guys like Edler and Maatta. He made lateral shake up moves like Pearson for Hagelin even before he decided to retool.
You are right they left their championship window but Blake didnt think so.

Sometimes retools work sometimes they don't. Rebuilding isn't the only way to build a contender.

 

[Schmooley]

Sometimes retools work sometimes they don't. Rebuilding isn't the only way to build a contender.

Yea thats true though I think cup winners that did a full rebuild managed to win more and sustain success rather than a team like the Blues that retooled and caught lightning in a bottle.
At what point do you say Blakes retool didnt work? Hes been here a while.

 

[tigermask48]

The organization had already left it's championship stage before this management took over.

No they hadn't. This is an outright denial of the events. Blake came in April of 2017 traded for Jussi Jokinen, Carl Hagelin, Dion Phaenuf, and Torrey Mitchell, signed Kovalchuk all in an effort to make the playoffs.

Then he started dismantling the team towards the end of the abysmal Willie Desjardins season in 2019. Up until that point he was clearly still trying to build around the previous group, to say otherwise is a gross mis-remembering of the facts.

To be honest Blake either thinking he still had a contender in April 2017, or badly mis-evaluating the 2018 roster should have been the first red flag.

 

[funky]

I know nothing about Lizotte but at 5'9" and 175, he can't back up a pest attitude.

We have a nasty, big body pest that is going to the AHL next season and looks like a bottom 6. It's another younger Xhekaj so you know fighting and attitude is in his blood.

I was going to suggest Byfield for Ghule and a top 5 1st, but you need him more for your rebuild then we do.

I really wish some fellow King’s fans would realize this. He is a water bug. He dances around the ice looking really busy, but really accomplishes nothing but the odd intercepted puck.

He bounces off opposition players and usually ends up on his ass. People like him scoring, but that is minimal at best. I would rather have a very large 4th line center that can play the penalty kill and knock some teeth out when needed. I would rather have the opposition team scared of someone coming into drill them into another time zone on the forecheck.

Then our coach has her team fall back to the 1-3-1 and allow other teams to set up, take their time, and plan an attack. no one is scared, no one is worried about coughing up a puck, they’re licking their lips, knowing that they have the puck in their hands and all the time in the world to do something with it.

 

[HabsAddict]

I really wish some fellow King’s fans would realize this. He is a water bug. He dances around the ice looking really busy, but really accomplishes nothing but the odd intercepted puck.

He bounces off opposition players and usually ends up on his ass. People like him scoring, but that is minimal at best. I would rather have a very large 4th line center that can play the penalty kill and knock some teeth out when needed. I would rather have the opposition team scared of someone coming into drill them into another time zone on the forecheck.

Then our coach has her team fall back to the 1-3-1 and allow other teams to set up, take their time, and plan an attack. no one is scared, no one is worried about coughing up a puck, they’re licking their lips, knowing that they have the puck in their hands and all the time in the world to do something with it.

All else the same, size matters. Hockey is a physical game and size helps in terms of distributing pain, or not receiving it as much.

Sure, you have players like PLDonkey who have no desire to win, but then you have Byfield.

We're good on the rebuild with a pile of young, quality bottom 6, what we need is top 6 to come out of rebuild.

 

[funky]

There is a lot of doom and gloom, but we have two very big, swift skating. highly skilled players to build around in Byfield and Kempe. Both these guys play abrasive and both have great defensive instincts.

It starts with giving these guys the team lead and having some of the veterans take a seat more often

We have super skilled players like Fiala and Moore.

Kopitar is a legacy player and will not be traded and I would argue at $7 million a year. There’s not a team in this league that wouldn’t be honored to have him. management has to realize that he can be the quiet leader in the room, but the “C” has to be on someone more vocal with a little bit more energy.

PowerPlay one should be a right and not a given. Just because you’re the other statesman in the room doesn’t give you the right to play 75% of power-play one. Super talent guys like Byfield, Fiala, Kempe, Clarke and Arty. Every one of these guys résumé talks about how much offensive talent they have yet they’re taught to check, play defense, and not put in rules to succeeded in the offensive zone. These guys should not need a coach to tell them what to do. They all use creativity and offensive talent when they’re not neutered by this coaching staff.

I’m honestly starting to believe that Yanni is the smartest person in the room. It’s the development stuff and the coaching stuff that ruined the prospects he brings in.

It’s Blake building a defensive core to try and protect inept goaltending instead of worrying about trying to get the puck up the ice where our forwards can succeed. The forwards are always caught back trying to help the defense move the puck we’re giving up areas of the ice that should’ve been ours and that should’ve pushed the opposition defense back.

If things stay the same, we might as well not even bring Clarke up as he’ll be the next Kaliyev neuter pre-draft talents to try and fit our system

There is still great pieces to retool around. We just need the right guy to pull the strings and somehow get us out of this PLD disaster. If somehow a new GM could get out from that $8.5 million burden and move Byfield back to center in his place. I think a lot of the fans would have a much cheerier outlook on next season.


Fiala - Byfield - Kempe
Turcotte - Kopitar - Kaliyev (Fagemo)
Moore- Danault- Laf
Thomas - ? Big dude- ?face puncher

Doughty- Chychrun
Clarke - Anderson
Spence - ? Big dude.

Ullmark

 

[KingsHockey24]

Too bad we didn't trade for Klim Kostin for pennies like the Sharks did.

He was their best player down the stretch.

 

[King'sPawn]

There is a lot of doom and gloom, but we have two very big, swift skating. highly skilled players to build around in Byfield and Kempe. Both these guys play abrasive and both have great defensive instincts.

Kempe is going to be 28 by the start of next season. How much longer do you expect him to be with the org to build around? He's not exactly a franchise-level of player.

 

[HabsAddict]

There is still great pieces to retool around. We just need the right guy to pull the strings and somehow get us out of this PLD disaster. If somehow a new GM could get out from that $8.5 million burden and move Byfield back to center in his place. I think a lot of the fans would have a much cheerier outlook on next season.


Fiala - Byfield - Kempe
Turcotte - Kopitar - Kaliyev (Fagemo)
Moore- Danault- Laf
Thomas - ? Big dude- ?face puncher

Doughty- Chychrun
Clarke - Anderson
Spence - ? Big dude.

Ullmark

I can't comment much on your line-up but I can comment on PLD.

There was a slim chance dumb GMs would still buy that PLD was a playoff monster. But the regular season and so far in the playoffs, he's a boat anchor that no GM will touch. To get out this mistake you either package him with a top player as incentive or you buy him out.

You only got a small window to get it done.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

But if you had lizotte and Gallagher on one line each could get into one of the opposing 1cs pant legs

No matter how the team is built you won't be optimistic or happy that's the whole point, people like you strive to be negative, its really sad way to be a fan. We're already starting an off-season thread and circle jerk firing Blake after 1 game?

The Kings are in the playoffs, that is something to be optimistic about. Anything can happen in the playoffs, teams make cinderella runs all the time. Its not like we are a black hole team like Dean always talked about that is finishing out of a playoff spot and not getting a high draft pick.

And don't give me some BS how you are posting for so long so you know better, I'm not some new poster either get out of here with that BS. I never called you not a true fan, your just a bigger fan of your own ego. Have fun on my block list.

Honestly man for years I got accused of being blindly optimistic.

Now I’m accused of being blindly pessimistic.

The nuance you’re missing is what made me make that transformation…which is Blake mistake and Blake mistake.

We aren’t fans of the “anything can happen in the playoffs” but because that’s something you say to young teams on the way up—not capped out aging teams with dwindling assets that are likely to be much worse next year with no help on the way. This was supposed to be the best year and every move says Blake staked his job to that.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Blake’s best move

We would be interested in Kalyev for a late 1st.

We got a bunch of young defenseman that are NHL ready and top 4 potential.

Don't even mention PLDonkey or I'm burning down your outhouse.

He’s an RFA, you can offer sheet him and give up a fifth at the worst. That’s the ditch Rob Blake has driven his value into.

 

[HabsAddict]

Blake’s best move

He’s an RFA, you can offer sheet him and give up a fifth at the worst. That’s the ditch Rob Blake has driven his value into.

Actually a 3rd or nothing is the lowest OS.

Is he that far into Blake's dog house?

How about a young defenseman like Harris?

 

[Johnny Utah]

Helenius will make the Kings next season or the season after that gives us Kopitar, Danault, PLD and Helenius down the middle. That’s four big centers (minus Danault) who plays big.

Something to look forward to.