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Here and Now: The Preseason

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I thought Toffoli, Grundstrom and Amadio were solid if unspectacular together. Didn’t goober it up in their own zone, and created more than a few legit scoring chances. No complaints re: their play.

Hutton Bjornfot and Lizzotte all were really noticeable in a positive way.

JAD and Kupari were decent, but I think they are likely headed down to start in the AHL. Nothing wrong with that, too many forwards and they will benefit from the increased role.

I might be okay with MacD as a #7 to start the year.
 
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Yes we all see TT has regressed, that is not the point.

Its no coincidence that after one good game, he is our scapegoat again last night.

At least let him suck for several straight games before we are singling him out.
 
LaDue was pretty terrible last night. I mean they could keep him and send down Roy but Walker is already better than LaDue imo.
 
What is Roy? Ive always had trouble distinguishing his game from Walker, though I admit Walker looked decent last night.
 
HookKing said:
Well, a year ago the Kings were coming off a season with the league's best D and top PK -- both with a healthy DF on the top pair. Not to mention DD had his best year ever 5 on 5 (scoring). Unfortunately, you can't man a D with just 2 players. Expecting DD and TB to play together for more than special situations shouldn't be expected.
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Sure that trusty Ford F-150 has been reliable for you and gotten you to places on time. But if someone drops a Volvo S90 in your lap, you don't give those keys back willingly.

Drew has never been that enthusiastic over a defensive partner, ever. And he's obviously been on the ice with TB in practice etc. You know the goods when you see it. There's a difference between "I can work with him" and "I want to work with him". This is definitely a want vs can situation it seems.
 
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jfont said:
bland's post has 6 likes so far..

yours, zero (0).. nada

lol
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What does like count have to do with anything?

I agree with Bandit but don't always "like" a post if it's possibly the start of an argument.

For all of Toffoli's talk about how much practice sucked last season, all eyes were rightfully on him expecting to take charge.

He looked much better last night, but he looked terrible to start and even worse in the previous games.

You want to criticize the practices, you can't look like the least practiced player on the ice in a new season. Pretty simple.
 
I'm loathe to stick up for Toffoli or any other vets for that matter BUT

Let's remember they're deprogramming AND learning a new system.

I saw TT in particular try harder than ever before forechecking to get pucks back.

It's a process, and even if we all acknowledge in near-consensus that he was garbage earlier, he was much, much better last night.

Maybe it's not enough, maybe the game has passed him by, maybe he's not a fit for this new system, whatever--I'm not going to bash his heart/effort when it was very apparent to me that he's trying to put his money where his mouth is.
 
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Coach M should let everyone know that that are on notice and then make then read this sign

Notice-1-300x240.png
 
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Raccoon Jesus said:
I'm loathe to stick up for Toffoli or any other vets for that matter BUT

Let's remember they're deprogramming AND learning a new system.

I saw TT in particular try harder than ever before forechecking to get pucks back.

It's a process, and even if we all acknowledge in near-consensus that he was garbage earlier, he was much, much better last night.

Maybe it's not enough, maybe the game has passed him by, maybe he's not a fit for this new system, whatever--I'm not going to bash his heart/effort when it was very apparent to me that he's trying to put his money where his mouth is.
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Exactly. As long as a player gives their best they will always get my respect.
 
King'sPawn said:
What does like count have to do with anything?

I agree with Bandit but don't always "like" a post if it's possibly the start of an argument.

For all of Toffoli's talk about how much practice sucked last season, all eyes were rightfully on him expecting to take charge.

He looked much better last night, but he looked terrible to start and even worse in the previous games.

You want to criticize the practices, you can't look like the least practiced player on the ice in a new season. Pretty simple.
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Except that isn't what has been happening. Toffoli was also the Kings best forward in his last preseason game. He has been playing well this preseason and the comments here aren't reflecting that, its just group-think piling on that isn't representing the reality of the situation.

I don't mind fair criticism, he absolutely deserved it just like 8 or 9 other forwards who had miserable seasons. However, the vitriol here has been comical. Its the same nonsense with the way most of the same folks talk about Forbort.

And to address your previous point about Kopitar, if Toffoli signs a massive extension then proceeds to have his two worst pro seasons in the first three years of that deal, you can bet the farm that I would hold him to a higher standard.

Kopitar has the most to give, is paid the most, and therefore has a higher expected responsibility. When he lets his team down, the impact is far worse than that of a complimentary winger. Its not the same value - just like Doughty deserves far more criticism than Forbort for last years showing. The two can't be held to the same expectations.
 
bland said:
Except that isn't what has been happening. Toffoli was also the Kings best forward in his last preseason game. He has been playing well this preseason and the comments here aren't reflecting that, its just group-think piling on that isn't representing the reality of the situation.

I don't mind fair criticism, he absolutely deserved it just like 8 or 9 other forwards who had miserable seasons. However, the vitriol here has been comical. Its the same nonsense with the way most of the same folks talk about Forbort.

And to address your previous point about Kopitar, if Toffoli signs a massive extension then proceeds to have his two worst pro seasons in the first three years of that deal, you can bet the farm that I would hold him to a higher standard.

Kopitar has the most to give, is paid the most, and therefore has a higher expected responsibility. When he lets his team down, the impact is far worse than that of a complimentary winger. Its not the same value - just like Doughty deserves far more criticism than Forbort for last years showing. The two can't be held to the same expectations.
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Oh really?
Tyler Toffoli Signs 3-Year Contract Extension with LA Kings

Toffoli is the fifth highest paid forward on the Kings, and the second highest paid winger after Dustin Brown. He's paid to perform like a top six forward, and his play has been below average in two of the last three seasons.

Some selective thinking you have going on here.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Oh really?
Tyler Toffoli Signs 3-Year Contract Extension with LA Kings

Toffoli is the fifth highest paid forward on the Kings, and the second highest paid winger after Dustin Brown. He's paid to perform like a top six forward, and his play has been below average in two of the last three seasons.

Some selective thinking you have going on here.
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4th most goals and tied for 4th in points last season so he actually outperformed his pay scale.

I'm being a dick here, obviously, but he has become a favorite target on here because we all had high expectations for him. You, in particular, were super high on him while he was in Ottawa as many of us were as well. Then he comes in and is the sniper we all expected him to be while also playing a great positional game, as evidenced by his +/- at the start of his career.

He's like a pitcher that has lost his fastball for some reason and doesn't know how to get it back. He was killing it in 2018 and then has been in the tank for a season and a half. What's frustrating is that he still gets in scoring position but his best asset--his shot--has completely failed him.

That being said, he got better as the game went along in the Vegas pre-season game but the hate on him from the first period remains the narrative. He was not bad last night.

Bjornfot whiffs on a couple of shots but the talk is how he is going to be our #2 defenseman for the next 15 years. Lizotte loses a puck for no reason then trips over the blue line for an off side and everyone is in love with him. If Toffoli does any of those things, there would be 5-6 posts immediately about how he sucks.

He isn't as bad as he is being made out to be. He's an easier target than Kopitar or Doughty because he isn't as good, he isn't an all-timer King and his contract is up. He's the chosen whipping boy now at forward and it will probably take 20 goals to get people off his back. I think he can do it.

Now in regards to Forbort and groupthink...the group is right. He sucks.
 
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I think most of Toffoli's problems are in his head. The thing is, he's paid to be a top six forward and to create scoring chances, and I think he had one good chance last night. I barely noticed him at all, and didn't really even acknowledge him because he was unnoticeable.

The Toffoli who used to get situated in between the circles who terrorized goaltenders with his shot is a thing of the past, and we haven't seen that player since he played with Kopitar and Lucic.

We got glimpses of it when he went on a bit of a streak playing with Kempe and Pearson in 2017-18, but he seriously cooled off as the season progressed (as did his linemates) and his play has been more than underwhelming for quite some time.

Toffoli played in all 82 games last season and scored 13 goals, and only three of those were on the powerplay, and he averaged over 2:00 of ice time per game in man-advantage situations.

This is a player who has been diminishing before our very eyes. It's similar to what is going on in Montreal with Jonathan Drouin. Montreal media and fans are critiquing him for similar reasons, yet he's put up better numbers than Toffoli. For those interested in reading up about what's going on with Drouin in Montreal, here's a good read where you'll notice similar criticisms that we share with Toffoli.
How Canadiens' Drouin is preparing to take next next step in 2019-20 - Sportsnet.ca

And it's not like Toffoli is producing like Kessel that he can take some nights off. His shots aren't even dangerous anymore. They're just soft lobs that always result in offensive zone faceoffs that the Kings usually lose. When I see a lack of intensity to get to pucks, a lack of a second effort in front of the net, a lack of drive to get to the hard scoring areas... I start to question a player's passion. Granted, last season may have been tough on everyone, but we've been lamenting Toffoli's performance for a few years now.
 
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