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

[Herby]

I agree with many of everyone's thoughts here, but Robitaille deserves exponentially more blame in this thread

They are interchangeable to me. If you say Luc sucks it’s the same thing as saying Blake sucks and vice versa.

I think it was @BigKing who said it best, these two men will have robbed Kings fans of an entire decade.

They will leave the team in worse shape than they got it in and will have zero banners hanging from the rafters. And the gutting of picks and prospects will be felt well into the 2030’s.

Master Class

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

They are interchangeable to me. If you say Luc sucks it’s the same thing as saying Blake sucks and vice versa.

I think it was @BigKing who said it best, these two men will have robbed Kings fans of an entire decade.

They will leave the team in worse shape than they got it in and will have zero banners hanging from the rafters. And the gutting of picks and prospects will be felt well into the 2030’s.

Master Class

Probably without a series win.

 

[Lt Dan]

They are interchangeable to me. If you say Luc sucks it’s the same thing as saying Blake sucks and vice versa.

I think it was @BigKing who said it best, these two men will have robbed Kings fans of an entire decade.

They will leave the team in worse shape than they got it in and will have zero banners hanging from the rafters. And the gutting of picks and prospects will be felt well into the 2030’s.

Master Class

I think you'll be able to follow my thought process here....

You know how in anti-terrorism they talk about killing the head of the snake?

Robitaille is the head of the snake. He staged the coup that got Lombardi fired. He put Blake in charge. I've heard rumors that he is behind most of the dumb in game entertainment including the stupid drummers. (Apparently Luc wanted more of a soccer / La Galaxy environment at Kings games)

and I will always blame Luc from the PLD trade. He was WAY Too much of a cheerleader to not be pulling the strings on the acquiistion

 

[MonkeysUncle]

I think you'll be able to follow my thought process here....

You know how in anti-terrorism they talk about killing the head of the snake?

Robitaille is the head of the snake. He staged the coup that got Lombardi fired. He put Blake in charge. I've heard rumors that he is behind most of the dumb in game entertainment including the stupid drummers. (Apparently Luc wanted more of a soccer / La Galaxy environment at Kings games)

and I will always blame Luc from the PLD trade. He was WAY Too much of a cheerleader to not be pulling the strings on the acquiistion

1000%, he also brought in Bergevin,. The fact is he was and has never been qualified to be in the position he is in. The only reason he is is because he was a Kings fan favorite/legend as a Player. That's it, now way he get job for any other reason. Ownership only cares about about fans and team when they stop bringing in money and when the stops, they will care again..

 

[Lt Dan]

1000%, he also brought in Bergevin,. The fact is he was and has never been qualified to be in the position he is in. The only reason he is is because he was a Kings fan favorite/legend as a Player. That's it, now way he get job for any other reason. Ownership only cares about about fans and team when they stop bringing in money and when the stops, they will care again..

I wish I could like this post four times

 

[Herby]

I think you'll be able to follow my thought process here....

You know how in anti-terrorism they talk about killing the head of the snake?

Robitaille is the head of the snake. He staged the coup that got Lombardi fired. He put Blake in charge. I've heard rumors that he is behind most of the dumb in game entertainment including the stupid drummers. (Apparently Luc wanted more of a soccer / La Galaxy environment at Kings games)

and I will always blame Luc from the PLD trade. He was WAY Too much of a cheerleader to not be pulling the strings on the acquiistion

I don't dispute anything you say, every time I hear Luc speak I am absolutely amazed that someone so unintelligent (did Luc graduate high-school?) is the president of a business valued at $2bn. I've used this before but it's like McDonalds hiring the all-star fry cook to run the company at the corporate level, it's complete insanity, and the results are not surprising, especially when the fry cook hires all his lackeys and his lackeys lackeys to run hockey ops.

I just don't subscribe to the belief that is sometimes pushed here on this forum that Luc (and Bergeron) are the ones pulling all the strings and Blake is some innocent bystander that has nothing to do with it. I think these two guys are on the same page about everything, and have been since the palace coup in 2017.

I don't think Blake would have let his entire legacy as a GM be soiled and any chance of ever getting a job elsewhere go up in smoke had he truly been against ending the rebuild in 2021. We have never heard anything about major vision disagreements, not from the organizational mouthpieces like Hoven or from an honest connected reporter like Rosen. If I were in Blake's shoes and I was powerless and opposed the organizational vision being mandated by the president, I would have resigned, and my guess is that happens a lot in sports with these random resignations of people at the management and executive levels.

 

[Sol]

“We were right there” said it all.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

“We were right there” said it all.

Yes it was, that was a 20 second dvr rewind to make sure I heard what I thought I heard and unfortunately it was. Then the family talk really made my head spin and all I could think of was, were was this family and integrity when you were conspiring to get rid of Lombardi as your ego could not take the fact that he and Sutter were getting all the props

 

[Lt Dan]

Yes it was, that was a 20 second dvr rewind to make sure I heard what I thought I heard and unfortunately it was. Then the family talk really made my head spin and all I could think of was, were was this family and integrity when you were conspiring to get rid of Lombardi as your ego could not take the fact that he and Sutter were getting all the props

I don't know where you have been all of our lives. I wish you had found this place a few years earlier.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

I wish I could like this post four times

It really is frustrating. It's one thing if some fans are unhappy and think management is not up to par, that's just natural, but when like 95% of the fans and people outside the fan base including and people who cover the sport that are pretty much saying the same things as these so called extremely small group of fans, then ownership may want to pay more attention to their team.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

I don't know where you have been all of our lives. I wish you had found this place a few years earlier.

Well after being a fan of Kings which seems like forever now and a hockey fan since I was 10, I had no choice my moms from Montreal lol. I've been coming from San Diego at least a minimum of 8 to 9 times a year i just got so bothered by the bs i keep hearing from management . It's like being back in days when they had those snake oil salesman.

 

[Lt Dan]

Well after being a fan of Kings which seems like forever now and a hockey fan since I was 10, I had no choice my moms from Montreal lol. I've been coming from San Diego at least a minimum of 8 to 9 times a year i just got so bothered by the bs i keep hearing from management . It's like being back in days when they had those snake oil salesman.

Somewhat on this topic...


Comparing Dave Taylor and Rob Blake's tenures as GM

 

[MonkeysUncle]

Yes, I think when it comes comparing them, I think Blake has done a better job as a whole.
I think the big issue is with Luc's input as he seems to more about the flashy things like names, making splashes etc.. more than the substance that makes up the team. I do wonder how Blake would do without Lucs influence and Bergevin input. I wonder if he's philosophy would change at all. I pretty sure he would not have screwed up the chemistry and have to make move after move to get Pld and then having to make more moves to get out of it. There just seems to be alot of course corrections under this regime
To me it seems like a complete change in management could be if the best thing for the teams future, that is if they bring the right person to run hockey operations.
I have always felt, just you because you were a great player, doesn't make you capable of running or building a winning team.
Sorry that was a little long

 

[tbrown33]

- Food options weren't the greatest but have declined in taste and value.
- Music sucks outside of Dieter.
- The "DJ".
- Lack of highlight packages of actual hockey.
- Pathetic Toyota Tundra Tough Hit of the Game (It is hard to find one).
- Crowd sucks and I'm part of it. Almost nothing to cheer for except a goal or a good save. Team is boring. Makes the Kings Crew seem even lamer when they try to get the crowd excited when they've been put to sleep already.
- "Fan since 2012 or '14" much more prominent. This is the brainwashed fanbase that learned hockey from the broadcasts and Kings twitter since then, i.e. "everything is fine".

There is a real lack of passion from the crowd but I do think that can turn around if the product on the ice starts to play with, dare I say, Pride/Passion/Power?

I'm not into that 18-40 or whatever demo anymore though: I'm sure young people that grew up with a certain brand of hockey think the whole thing is swell.

If you haven't been on twitter lately, the sentiment there basically mirrors the sentiment here/the recent front office confidence poll on the Athletic. If there are enthusiastic fans out there, they are not the terminally online ones like us.

 

[Statto]

I don't dispute anything you say, every time I hear Luc speak I am absolutely amazed that someone so unintelligent (did Luc graduate high-school?) is the president of a business valued at $2bn. I've used this before but it's like McDonalds hiring the all-star fry cook to run the company at the corporate level, it's complete insanity, and the results are not surprising, especially when the fry cook hires all his lackeys and his lackeys lackeys to run hockey ops.

I just don't subscribe to the belief that is sometimes pushed here on this forum that Luc (and Bergeron) are the ones pulling all the strings and Blake is some innocent bystander that has nothing to do with it. I think these two guys are on the same page about everything, and have been since the palace coup in 2017.

I don't think Blake would have let his entire legacy as a GM be soiled and any chance of ever getting a job elsewhere go up in smoke had he truly been against ending the rebuild in 2021. We have never heard anything about major vision disagreements, not from the organizational mouthpieces like Hoven or from an honest connected reporter like Rosen. If I were in Blake's shoes and I was powerless and opposed the organizational vision being mandated by the president, I would have resigned, and my guess is that happens a lot in sports with these random resignations of people at the management and executive levels.

I agree with most of this. Whilst I think Luc is driving the strategic bus, Blake can get off at any time. I think the finances these days make a resignation less likely than in the past but nonetheless it means he loses the mitigation that Luc’s decisions would otherwise have given him (if he quit at the end of the ‘23 season). You used to get a lot of top flight football (soccer) managers resign for various reasons but these days they ride it out, so they get sacked and the contract paid out in full. It’s not a good development from a sporting standpoint but I do understand it.

 

[Schrute farms]

If there are enthusiastic fans out there, they are not the terminally online ones like us.

Axl/Surf: "Hold my beer"

 

[Statto]

Yes it was, that was a 20 second dvr rewind to make sure I heard what I thought I heard and unfortunately it was. Then the family talk really made my head spin and all I could think of was, were was this family and integrity when you were conspiring to get rid of Lombardi as your ego could not take the fact that he and Sutter were getting all the props

You could tell that even Blake wanted him to stop talking. The look said it all.

 

[MonkeysUncle]

You could tell that even Blake wanted him to stop talking. The look said it all.

Its lone of those times when your watching something and you actually start getting embarrassed for them and you almost cant watch anymore.

 

[Statto]

Yes, I think when it comes comparing them, I think Blake has done a better job as a whole.
I think the big issue is with Luc's input as he seems to more about the flashy things like names, making splashes etc.. more than the substance that makes up the team. I do wonder how Blake would do without Lucs influence and Bergevin input. I wonder if he's philosophy would change at all. I pretty sure he would not have screwed up the chemistry and have to make move after move to get Pld and then having to make more moves to get out of it. There just seems to be alot of course corrections under this regime
To me it seems like a complete change in management could be if the best thing for the teams future, that is if they bring the right person to run hockey operations.
I have always felt, just you because you were a great player, doesn't make you capable of running or building a winning team.
Sorry that was a little long

I’ve had similar thoughts. I think Blake seemed happy rebuilding, I really do, with the triggers for ending it leaving Luc making the call to pivot early. If true, Blake could’ve walked then but I doubt any GM would. I also think Bergevin coming in was Luc and I can imagine a tenured GM walking at that point (DL for example). I also think PLD was heavily influenced by voices other than Blake but if he was seriously against it he definitely should have resigned. It would have meant Luc got the blame for every wrong decision up to that point (true or not) and it’d have made him a very good candidate for other GM jobs. Integrity is a major selling point. He’d probably have won back a lot of Kings fans also.

So I do think Blake could be doing a much better job without Luc, but he’s hitched his wagon (& possibly career) to him. Like you I think they both need to go but at this point we may as well see how the season plays out. I’ll back the team no matter what, I’ll look for the bright spots and hope we all have things wrong. If we get into the 2nd round I’ll happily eat crow but I just don’t see it, even if I think the roster is better balanced (albeit too late) and will hopefully be more fun to watch.

 

[shuchukfan]

it's like McDonalds hiring the all-star fry cook to run the company at the corporate level

I prefer to think of Luc as the Hamburglar, but I get your point.

 

[Steve Zissou]

New look for Matty Roy.

Big ups to GM Rob Blake – if you didn't have the cap space/hadn't started talks to resign him then you should have moved him at the deadline for a 1st rounder.

 

[Schrute farms]

New look for Matty Roy.

Big ups to GM Rob Blake – if you didn't have the cap space/hadn't started talks to resign him then you should have moved him at the deadline for a 1st rounder.

Hey, listen -- You don't trade a pending FA like Roy during the season when you are "right there" for the Stanley Cup

Heck, who in the world would the Kings have found to play RHD in his place?!?!?

 

[Lt Dan]

Big ups to GM Rob Blake – if you didn't have the cap space/hadn't started talks to resign him then you should have moved him at the deadline for a 1st rounder.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Hey, listen -- You don't trade a pending FA like Roy during the season when you are "right there" for the Stanley Cup

Poor Luc. So optimistic to a fault.

Heck, who in the world would the Kings have found to play RHD in his place?!?!?

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

 

[Sol]

Oh god I really hope Clarke found his balls in the AHL. That look of terror on his face from Mark Stone was the most cowardice I’ve ever seen in a long time.