How did the Kings go from having one of the deepest RHD depth in the league to where they can't even really stomach Doughty getting injured?

[King In The North]

Kings are one example of ending the rebuild way too early.

 

[Statto]

Akil Thomas --> 51OA in 2018, journey is still pending but likely a bust for the kings

3 shoulder surgeries are mainly the issue here, not his talent/attitude or anything like that.

He looked good in his first call up last season. Weirdly hasn’t had a game this year but he’s on the roster. I guess they see Lewis as the future instead.

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

LA needs Rob Blake removed yesterday.

 

[SimpleJack]

On top of everything else they actually got incredibly fortunate to have both Kopitar and Doughty remain this productive and relevant(still a legit 1C and top pairing D respectively) this late into their careers….and that should have been an added bonus on top of all that young talent.

Right now they should be boasting a top 3D of Faber/Durzi/Doughty + Vilardi/Byfield/Kempe/Kopitar up front + more.

Instead they’re looking at a mess on D and Fiala(who doesn’t move the needle) + a pointless/wasted year of the endlessly inept PLD.

An utter catastrophe. GM should have been fired yesterday. Why are they waiting?

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

LA ain’t done rebuilding, they gotta go back and finish that rebuild.

Ok, but Blake is building the Kings like my crackhead neighbor is building a deck/playset/boat. It’s a lot going on, and none of it is good.

 

[hamzarocks]

Actually, it was Faber + 1st(19th overall). MN used the pick on Ohgren, who is playing on the team right now, albeit in a bottom six capacity.

Yikes didnt remember that it was the 19th OA pick as well

Blake tried accelerating the rebuild and it just failed big time

3 shoulder surgeries are mainly the issue here, not his talent/attitude or anything like that.

He looked good in his first call up last season. Weirdly hasn’t had a game this year but he’s on the roster. I guess they see Lewis as the future instead.

He is a good player but injury issues have hurt his stock

Similar to turcotte who has injury issues (though unlikely he was a 5th OA level player even if healthy)

 

[Crazy8oooo]

I've never understood this criticism of Doughty. Are players supposed to just accept being on a shitty team and not give any effort because the GM wants to accumulate draft picks? It made me appreciate him more, that despite his accomplishments he still wanted to compete. It's not on Doughty to guide the rebuild, Blake is the one managing the team.

Criticism? Where did I criticize anyone? It was a simple question.

 

[crassbonanza]

Criticism? Where did I criticize anyone? It was a simple question.

There are a decent amount of people upset because they think he ended the rebuild with those comments. I think the reality is that Blake/Luc had their hostile takeover with promises of being a competitor and 5 years later the team had accomplished nothing. The timing just coincided with a player making comments about being frustrated with losing.

 

[Osprey]

Dean Lombardi in his 6th year as Kings GM:

Rob Blake in his 8th year as Kings GM:

 

[Crazy8oooo]

There are a decent amount of people upset because they think he ended the rebuild with those comments. I think the reality is that Blake/Luc had their hostile takeover with promises of being a competitor and 5 years later the team had accomplished nothing. The timing just coincided with a player making comments about being frustrated with losing.

I can see where people might be upset at his comments. When you have your star player making such comments and those comments are out there publicly, it adds pressure on management to do something, otherwise you risk hostility in the locker room. Maybe the timeline is just a coincidence as you say, but his comments likely added pressure to the situation as well. And to be clear, this isn’t/wasn’t meant to criticize Doughty but more so to point out that he could be a contributing factor for all the subsequent moves in an attempt to compete.

 

[MoneyManny]

Marc Bergevin. That man is worse than a Trojan horse for a hockey franchise.

 

[chris kontos]

Rob Blake drives a Prius at 40 mph in the fast lane

on his phone smoking a joint

 

[GeeoffBrown]

I do think it's a slippery slope to hire a GM who was once a great player for your organization. It's a tough conversation to fire him and leaves you in an awkward spot for alumni stuff

 

[Jets]

FWIW Kupari seems like a whole new player this year after looking like a bust last year.

He's been one of the best forwards through the first three games for us, even though he's getting 4th line minutes.

 

[chris kontos]

doughty and kopitar should have been traded when they would have returned something. because if the management had any balls they would have sent them somewhere to contend. they shipped conn smythe winner jonathan quick. as the required rebuild was nevr done or done in a half assed manner.
the entire management team is a surf and beach club resort that will never compete as long as the entire present regime is in place. luc robitaille is more interested in jersey sales and designing new fashions for the players and insulating the entire management club via cronyisim. and if things look bad now for the team and the incompetent rob blake wait until he's replaced by luc's pal marc bergevin.
for this long time kings fan it has truly passed the point of laughing at these management hobbyists and turned into watching a professional sports organization whose goal is not to win but to ensure a status quo of job protection and hobby level involvement.

 

[chris kontos]

Criticism? Where did I criticize anyone? It was a simple question.

send him somewhere to comepete. he's not the gm. and continue the required rebuild

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

If their assistant GM, or whatever Bergevin's title is there is the next possible candidate, then they're in better hands now

 

[TheNewEra]

sounds like you need the veteran mentorship of travis hamonic

 

[BaileyFan]

sounds like you need the veteran mentorship of travis hamonic

Blake will pay a 2nd and Spence for him.

 

[Crazy8oooo]

send him somewhere to comepete. he's not the gm. and continue the required rebuild

This is the path I would’ve liked to have seen if I were a Kings fan. But at the same time, I can see where others thought it was time to start making moves to compete as well. Kind of a catch 22 because in order to do that, you take the risk trading away some of that young talent which has bit them in the butt.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Ok, but Blake is building the Kings like my crackhead neighbor is building a deck/playset/boat. It’s a lot going on, and none of it is good.

Yep someone else needs to go back and finish the rebuild.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'm just glad this is happening on the East Coast/Canada so they can't escape criticism

Theyve been lucky to fly relatively under the radar by hiding from media exposure and never doing any sort of interviews

but clock is maybe hopefully finally ticking, three years overdue.

The Petersen contract should have been the end of it. The subsequent trade, PLD trade and surrounding circumstances, and now are already three steps more than most GMs get.

FWIW Kupari seems like a whole new player this year after looking like a bust last year.

He's been one of the best forwards through the first three games for us, even though he's getting 4th line minutes.

absolutely zero surprise, it's a tribute to Kings' 'development'. Guys show up, look amazing, then the Kings beat it out of them in the AHL/4th line and they look like shit until they leave and excel elsewhere, rinse, repeat.

If I'm any other GM in hockey right now I'm trying to get Kaliyev Turcotte Thomas and even Spence and Clarke at a discount in exchange for 'veteran leadership' because those guys are primed to blow up on any team that takes people under age 28 seriously. Unfortunately those are quite literally our only real prospects left from the 'rebuild' because of the purge of assets it takes to be a black hole team.