The bottom line is we are at the point where the move has to be made. There is no excuse for this level of play by anyone of any station within the organization. When your head coach goes the microphone after every game and pretty much makes a joke and says "I don't know" when asked what needs to happen, then you have to do something. This may not be Stevens' fault. Yeah, we were pretty decent last season up until the postseason, but the leader of the team publicly doesn't know what the f*** to do at the most crucial time of the season for this team so we need to burn the banners and draw new ones. Stevens has to go no matter what.
There is no redemption or silver lining here. Riding it out may balance us back to barely staying afloat but there is absolutely no question of where this team is right now versus what the expectation is. We are not in a rebuild. Blake and Luc both expect this team to compete for a Stanley Cup in the couple of seasons this team has left of its possible window. If you want to compete and possibly hit a home run in these next two years remaining then some radical things need to happen and some risks need to be taken. Blake took a risk with Kovalchuk and so far it is looking like a good one, but it will take a lot more to get this team to where he expects it and in a position to do something in the postseason and he needs to act like it. Don't mortgage the future, but rebuilding is for tomorrow, today is the day we try to win some shit.
I don't agree with much that Helene Elliot throws out there in regards to the Kings, but she is right this time about one point. Management overestimates this core and how far it can drag this franchise. In order to compete we are going to need the Mitchells, Williams, Stolls, and Greenes while not sacrificing our ability to handle the speed and 6-5 offensive game some of the successful teams around the league are riding, hoping, and rolling the dice on.
A big trade or move couldn't hurt, depending on obviously not overreacting, although that can never be relied upon and is a lot of the time out of our hands... Dean admitted that, while he was steady in his vision, he went to the phones and would seek that shakeup deal, but it takes two to tango and it's not easy to make something fair materialize out of nowhere especially early in the season when every other team in the league wants to hold onto what they have and ride it out and see about their postseason hopes/chances. Although we hope for one, a savior deal is not likely unless we are prepared to pay the price to get it done. However, a trigger should be pulled and a risk should be taken. Sure, you could end up with a Lucic deal, but you also might end up with a Williams one. You have to pay to play if you hope to compete and that is the direction the Kings chose for these two seasons...
TL;DR - The only option immediately available is changing the banners and purging the coaching staff; however, personnel needs to be adjusted as well even if it means we have to reasonably overpay to do it at this stage of the season.
