How to UNFUBAR what Blake has done.

[AbsentMojo]

And AEG will be making a $1.87 in revenues with that line up. They let DL do a complete tear down years ago, they'll never let another one happen again. The rosters moves over the last few years says it all.

I agree but the premise of this thread is where YOU would go from here - and thats what I would do... capitalize on the quality youth, make strategic trades following a vision - e.g. DL was most proud of Stoll and Greene for Lubo. Blake seems to have no regard for culture nor does he understand in the cap era you have to have talent on ELCs or else you run into a budget problem with giant holes on your roster like we have now.

 

[FSL KINGS]

Why would they blow it up when they're contenders?

 

[Statto]

Very little is realistic in this thread either from a hockey or business standpoint but…

I’d move Roy, RV and Danault - Danault in off season.

Bring in size, grit at 3LD…. ride Kaliyev at RW and then maybe trade if he doesn’t deliver. We have Clarke and Spence nightly. Turcotte at 4C to start.

Danault money is needed because QB will not be cheap.

In off season move Byfield to C , have Kopitar lead the shut down line. PLD gets 2C deployment. Sign goaltender. Let Lewis go, trade Grundstrom and Lizotte, replace with mix of Ontario players that are ready and cheap, smart gritty 4 line wingers.Keep JAD for Swiss Army knife role 13th forward.

Move Gavrikov before 2025 TDL on expiring contract. Flip whatever we get for cheaper 2nd pair option. We need to get used to moving pending UFA’s but have a succession plan in place, it’s why keeping depth is key. No trading of picks unless for u25 yr olds.

Wave a magic wand and we’re done.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

LOL. I am interested in your full strategy when you have time to respond.


Let's start with the coach, you want to hire a coach that is under contract with another org for 2 more season?
While letting two valuable assets walk for no compensation

Here are the UFA goalies that you are only willing to give 3 years to. Who do you think is gonna sign for 3 or less years on this list?, especially considering the quality and age of the goalies on this list)

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

Now if you want to go the trade route, you have to give up assets. These are our draft picks, note that the 2nd, 3rd and 5th are already gone
View attachment 820837

Are you trading Clarke? Which asset are you going to give up for a goalie?

Ok, got a few minutes here,

So like I said, hire a Tortorella LIKE coach, no nonsense, no BS, f*** your feelings type of coach,

UFA Goalies, off that list, Wedgewood maybe a two year deal, for trade ideas, I would kick tires on Gibson, Gustavsson, Blackwood, Vejmelka, Kotchetkov, Primeau, Depending on who you are talking about, none of those guys are worth a 1st, I'd offer a 2nd in 2025 and a prospcect at best, Fagemo, Madden, Thomas etc. As much as you want a Shesterkin, or Hellebyuck, or Oettinger, those guys are expensive in asset costs, I would focus on bolstering the G pipeline, by bringing in guys like they did with Portillo etc,

I would absolutely let Arvidsson and Roy, and Lewis walk, Use them for a playoff push this year, yes the team is good enough no matter what the minions think around here, if you trade those guys at the deadline and surrender the season, you are sending a terrible terrible message to the entire team, including Byfield, Spence, Clarke etc. So unless they go 0-15 to the break, you keep those guys for the push, then let them walk,

Then in the off-season you replace Arvidsson with Kaliyev or Laf, replace Roy with Spence, you replace Lewis with Fagemo or Thomas, or Madden, or plug ABC. You look at improving on Englund with the 8 million in cap space you will have, have to see if these guys make it to FA, but Hanifin, Forbort, Forsling, Skej, Seeler etc,

You run with

Byfield, Kopitar (Kempe, Kaliyev, Laf)
Moore - Danault (Kempe, Kaliyev, Laf)
Fialia - Dubois (Kempe, Kaliyev, Laf)
JAD - Turcotte - XXXX

Andersson - Doughty
Gavrikov - Clarke
XXXXX - Spence

XXXXX
Copley or XXXXX

Per Cap Space, 22M in project cap space, have to resign Byfield, Kaliyev, Turcotte, JAD, Spence, Lizotte, Grundstrom, if you deal Lizotte and Grundstrom for whatever you can get, that leaves majority for Byfield, let's say 8 million like you said, that's 14 million for 4 players, those 4 will probably split 6 million however you want to divy it up, that's 8 million for a bottom pair LHD, a bottom six mean SOB, and two goaltenders.....easily doable.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Ok, got a few minutes here,

So like I said, hire a Tortorella LIKE coach, no nonsense, no BS, f*** your feelings type of coach,

UFA Goalies, off that list, Wedgewood maybe a two year deal, for trade ideas, I would kick tires on Gibson, Gustavsson, Blackwood, Vejmelka, Kotchetkov, Primeau, Depending on who you are talking about, none of those guys are worth a 1st, I'd offer a 2nd in 2025 and a prospcect at best, Fagemo, Madden, Thomas etc. As much as you want a Shesterkin, or Hellebyuck, or Oettinger, those guys are expensive in asset costs, I would focus on bolstering the G pipeline, by bringing in guys like they did with Portillo etc,

I would absolutely let Arvidsson and Roy, and Lewis walk, Use them for a playoff push this year, yes the team is good enough no matter what the minions think around here, if you trade those guys at the deadline and surrender the season, you are sending a terrible terrible message to the entire team, including Byfield, Spence, Clarke etc. So unless they go 0-15 to the break, you keep those guys for the push, then let them walk,

Then in the off-season you replace Arvidsson with Kaliyev or Laf, replace Roy with Spence, you replace Lewis with Fagemo or Thomas, or Madden, or plug ABC. You look at improving on Englund with the 8 million in cap space you will have, have to see if these guys make it to FA, but Hanifin, Forbort, Forsling, Skej, Seeler etc,

You run with

Byfield, Kopitar (Kempe, Kaliyev, Laf)
Moore - Danault (Kempe, Kaliyev, Laf)
Fialia - Dubois (Kempe, Kaliyev, Laf)
JAD - Turcotte - XXXX

Andersson - Doughty
Gavrikov - Clarke
XXXXX - Spence

XXXXX
Copley or XXXXX

Per Cap Space, 22M in project cap space, have to resign Byfield, Kaliyev, Turcotte, JAD, Spence, Lizotte, Grundstrom, if you deal Lizotte and Grundstrom for whatever you can get, that leaves majority for Byfield, let's say 8 million like you said, that's 14 million for 4 players, those 4 will probably split 6 million however you want to divy it up, that's 8 million for a bottom pair LHD, a bottom six mean SOB, and two goaltenders.....easily doable.

I love the part about the ‘minions’.

 

[KINGS17]

lets be real though, they're gonna ride this into the end of the season and pray for a playoff miracle

blake probably isn't gonna be allowed to go get any rentals but he will lose his job at the end of the season if they don't make it in

...and then they should all be fired.

 

[johnjm22]

Very little is realistic in this thread either from a hockey or business standpoint but…

I’d move Roy, RV and Danault - Danault in off season.

Bring in size, grit at 3LD…. ride Kaliyev at RW and then maybe trade if he doesn’t deliver. We have Clarke and Spence nightly. Turcotte at 4C to start.

Danault money is needed because QB will not be cheap.

In off season move Byfield to C , have Kopitar lead the shut down line. PLD gets 2C deployment. Sign goaltender. Let Lewis go, trade Grundstrom and Lizotte, replace with mix of Ontario players that are ready and cheap, smart gritty 4 line wingers.Keep JAD for Swiss Army knife role 13th forward.

Move Gavrikov before 2025 TDL on expiring contract. Flip whatever we get for cheaper 2nd pair option. We need to get used to moving pending UFA’s but have a succession plan in place, it’s why keeping depth is key. No trading of picks unless for u25 yr olds.

Wave a magic wand and we’re done.

If you made these moves, you'd probably have to go even further because other vets wouldn't want to be here. Doughty would hate it. You'd probably have to move him. He wants to win NOW. Possibly Kopitar as well.

Kempe will be 28, has been with LA for a decade and seen very little team success. He probably wouldn't want to be here for a rebuild either.

Moore is gonna be a near 30 goal scorer. His value will never be higher. Probably should consider moving him.

Personally I'd like to see Fiala and PLD gone. You don't win with these type of players.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

If you made these moves, you'd probably have to go even further because other vets wouldn't want to be here. Doughty would hate it. You'd probably have to move him. He wants to win NOW. Possibly Kopitar as well.

Kempe will be 28, has been with LA for a decade and seen very little team success. He probably wouldn't want to be here for a rebuild either.

Moore is gonna be a near 30 goal scorer. His value will never be higher. Probably should consider moving him.

Personally I'd like to see Fiala and PLD gone. You don't win with these type of players.

Are you trying to tell us that moving players in real life isn't as easy as doing it on Xbox? Crazy...

 

[KINGS17]

If you made these moves, you'd probably have to go even further because other vets wouldn't want to be here. Doughty would hate it. You'd probably have to move him. He wants to win NOW. Possibly Kopitar as well.

Kempe will be 28, has been with LA for a decade and seen very little team success. He probably wouldn't want to be here for a rebuild either.

Moore is gonna be a near 30 goal scorer. His value will never be higher. Probably should consider moving him.

Personally I'd like to see Fiala and PLD gone. You don't win with these type of players.

They all want to win now, but they are not good enough to win now, so...bye.

I don't care how pissed the vets get.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

I don't care how pissed the vets get.

Good to know...you almost make it sound you are paying them as well.

 

[Herby]

If you made these moves, you'd probably have to go even further because other vets wouldn't want to be here. Doughty would hate it. You'd probably have to move him. He wants to win NOW. Possibly Kopitar as well.

Kempe will be 28, has been with LA for a decade and seen very little team success. He probably wouldn't want to be here for a rebuild either.

Moore is gonna be a near 30 goal scorer. His value will never be higher. Probably should consider moving him.

Personally I'd like to see Fiala and PLD gone. You don't win with these type of players.

Yes,

That is part of doing rebuild. Look at this team the last time it rebuilt, there were some quality players traded, including the captain who had been with the team for over a decade (Norstrom), the teams leading scorer (Demitra) , the teams best overall player (Visnovsky). Also guys like Aaron Miller, Conroy, Sopel.

No player in the league wants to be part of a rebuild, yet numerous teams (including all the ones who had sustained runs of SC contention in the last two decades) decided that rebuilding was a better option than trying to finish 3rd in the division or the WC and trying to win 4 playoff series on the road.

You just can't let players in their mid-30's dictate what is best for the franchise when it comes to achieving the ultimate goal of winning a SC. Look where this team would likely be had they not gone the route they did in 2021 (which was likely at least somewhat brought on by the demands of an older player). You add what was traded (specifically Faber) to the high draft picks you would have had and you come out of this next season with a clear 8-10 year SC window.

Some fans don't care about losing in round 1 or round 2, many of us saw this same script at the turn of the century and would just rather be bad and try and go down proven paths of success, even if that "makes us miserable" or "rooting against the team to prove people wrong". I'd rather be the 2012-2014 Kings, 2010-2015 Hawks, 2009-2017 Pens than the 98-2002 Kings or the Predators for the last dozen years, but again that makes me a miserable fake fan according to some clowns here.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Yes,

That is part of doing rebuild. Look at this team the last time it rebuilt, there were some quality players traded, including the captain who had been with the team for over a decade (Norstrom), the teams leading scorer (Demitra) , the teams best overall player (Visnovsky). Also guys like Aaron Miller, Conroy, Sopel.

You are comparing the 06-07 team who had only 17 wins in 53 games to this years team who has 27 wins? lol, why?

 

[The Butcher]

I understand that catching the same lightning in a bottle as 2012 is unlikely, but nobody envisioned that team winning a cup that year, much less DOMINATE at 16-4.

I'm smart enough to know what I don't know. While I mostly agree that the team Blake has built has major holes and problems, I can see them getting hot and going on a run, especially if both our goalies can continue to be effective.

That said, the prudent thing to do is probably sell.

 

[Herby]

You are comparing the 06-07 team who had only 17 wins in 53 games to this years team who has 27 wins? lol, why?

The Kings rebuild began when Lombardi was hired and then on draft night of 2006 when the team traded it's leading scorer for a pick and a prospect. Not during the 06-07 season, the 06-07 season (as well as the next two) were a result of decisions that were made to gut a black hole team that's ceiling was finishing 6-10 in the conference and maybe winning a round (sound familiar?)

The Kings were coming off a season where they won 42 of 82 games (51.2%), right now the Kings have won 27 of 53 games (50.9%).

But keep telling yourself the teams are not in the same caliber.

 

[Buddy The Elf]

They only complete waste of cap and roster space is PLD. Everything else is manageable via trade etc. Blake's obviously not going to get fired until the end of the season but what I fear is that the Kings do win a round in the playoffs and he keeps PLD. That NTC is a death knell for years to come. If you want to know what I would if I was the GM today. I would waive PLD. Then if nobody would take him I'd start taking phone calls on what I'd have to give to get rid of him.

Fiala has value. He's pretty much a PPG player. Just about every other player on the Kings team has some sort of value or their contract isn't an albatross at the very least. I honestly think people are a bit hyperbolic about the Kings situation. The biggest problem is Blake. I want him gone but I'm not going to actively root against the only professional sports team I give two hoots about or I might as well not even watch.

 

[Herby]

They only complete waste of cap and roster space is PLD. Everything else is manageable via trade etc. Blake's obviously not going to get fired until the end of the season but what I fear is that the Kings do win a round in the playoffs and he keeps PLD. That NTC is a death knell for years to come. If you want to know what I would if I was the GM today. I would waive PLD. Then if nobody would take him I'd start taking phone calls on what I'd have to give to get rid of him.

Fiala has value. He's pretty much a PPG player. Just about every other player on the Kings team has some sort of value or their contract isn't an albatross at the very least. I honestly think people are a bit hyperbolic about the Kings situation. The biggest problem is Blake. I want him gone but I'm not going to actively root against the only professional sports team I give two hoots about or I might as well not even watch.

Dave Taylor's gift to Dean Lombardi was two future Hall of Famers in the pipeline.

Rob Blake's gift to the next GM will be players in the tail ends of their primes with excellent contracts. PLD is really the only one that is a bad contract. Kempe and Moore are total steals for what they bring, and Gavrikov would be very enticing to a contender this summer. Even a guy like Danault would draw some interest from contending teams who need a defensive oriented veteran who is good in the room. Fiala might be a pinch overpaid and a turn-off to contending teams with a lot of big contracts, but I could see a young team coming out of their rebuild having some interest in the offense he brings.

 

[Buddy The Elf]

Dave Taylor's gift to Dean Lombardi was two future Hall of Famers in the pipeline.

Rob Blake's gift to the next GM will be players in the tail ends of their primes with excellent contracts. PLD is really the only one that is a bad contract. Kempe and Moore are total steals for what they bring, and Gavrikov would be very enticing to a contender this summer. Even a guy like Danault would draw some interest from contending teams who need a defensive oriented veteran who is good in the room. Fiala might be a pinch overpaid and a turn-off to contending teams with a lot of big contracts, but I could see a young team coming out of their rebuild having some interest in the offense he brings.

Three if you're counting Quick. He obviously wasn't a cut and dried blue chip prospect but he obviously became what he became and he was a DT pick.

I honestly don't think this team is that far off being a contender if they get rid of PLD, play QB at center, improve goaltending (although that really hasn't be a huge issue this year) and maybe add some grit in their bottom six or a top 4 defenseman that's physical. The team as it stands is top heavy and the cap allocation is mindless.

I'm going to go on a wing and a prayer that this is 2012 part deux. There are some parallels here but I don't want to get ahead of myself. As @The Butcher pointed out, nobody saw the Kings winning the Stanley Cup after their ice cream social with John Stevens in 2011. I'm not criticizing anyone individually here but I also agree with the The Butcher that nobody here is as smart as they think they are. I will say there are probably a few people on here with a better handle on building a team than Blake... but that's not saying much.

 

[Herby]

Three if you're counting Quick. He obviously wasn't a cut and dried blue chip prospect but he obviously became what he became and he was a DT pick.

I honestly don't think this team is that far off being a contender if they get rid of PLD, play QB at center, improve goaltending (although that really hasn't be a huge issue this year) and maybe add some grit in their bottom six or a top 4 defenseman that's physical. The team as it stands is top heavy and the cap allocation is mindless.

I'm going to go on a wing and a prayer that this is 2012 part deux. There are some parallels here but I don't want to get ahead of myself. As @The Butcher pointed out, nobody saw the Kings winning the Stanley Cup after their ice cream social with John Stevens in 2011. I'm not criticizing anyone individually here but I also agree with the The Butcher that nobody here is as smart as they think they are. I will say there are probably a few people on here with a better handle on building a team than Blake... but that's not saying much.

I was counting Quick and Kopitar. I assume you are including Doughty, but Doughty was Dean's pick and a credit to Dean. People say it was a slam dunk pick, and maybe it was, but he put the team in a position to be picking at the top of the draft, something that many Kings GM's had never been willing to do, paying the price to be bad enough in the short term win in the long-term.

I am a believer in repeating what has worked before. I look around the league and I see in the last 15-20 years that almost all the best teams have been constructed a similar way, and just wish that the Kings had gone down that path again. Is it a guarantee to work? Nope, but it has a better chance of working than trying to build through trades and FA which has always been an uphill battle. Vegas is really the only parallel I think you can draw, and they just had that unique situation with teams gifting them so many assets in the expansion draft and the once in a decade situation where a 24 year old #1 C becomes available on the market. But basically everyone else has been built with drafting Hall of Famers at the top of the draft and building around them once they completely blossomed.

It's just tough to look at what this team could have as far as young assets if a different direction had been taken in the summer of 2021. You likely have your 1C, 1D, huge upside offensive d-man, 1 LW capable of being a C too, lots of decent secondary pieces. All of these pieces would be under 24. That is how you begin looking at yourself as another Chicago, Tampa or Pittsburgh, which ultimately should be the goal.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Three if you're counting Quick. He obviously wasn't a cut and dried blue chip prospect but he obviously became what he became and he was a DT pick.

I honestly don't think this team is that far off being a contender if they get rid of PLD, play QB at center, improve goaltending (although that really hasn't be a huge issue this year) and maybe add some grit in their bottom six or a top 4 defenseman that's physical. The team as it stands is top heavy and the cap allocation is mindless.

I'm going to go on a wing and a prayer that this is 2012 part deux. There are some parallels here but I don't want to get ahead of myself. As @The Butcher pointed out, nobody saw the Kings winning the Stanley Cup after their ice cream social with John Stevens in 2011. I'm not criticizing anyone individually here but I also agree with the The Butcher that nobody here is as smart as they think they are. I will say there are probably a few people on here with a better handle on building a team than Blake... but that's not saying much.

Appreciate that.....only if everyone else saw it the way you....wait....shit, that wasn't about me was it? (I kid....I kid)

 

[The Butcher]

Three if you're counting Quick. He obviously wasn't a cut and dried blue chip prospect but he obviously became what he became and he was a DT pick.

I honestly don't think this team is that far off being a contender if they get rid of PLD, play QB at center, improve goaltending (although that really hasn't be a huge issue this year) and maybe add some grit in their bottom six or a top 4 defenseman that's physical. The team as it stands is top heavy and the cap allocation is mindless.

I'm going to go on a wing and a prayer that this is 2012 part deux. There are some parallels here but I don't want to get ahead of myself. As @The Butcher pointed out, nobody saw the Kings winning the Stanley Cup after their ice cream social with John Stevens in 2011. I'm not criticizing anyone individually here but I also agree with the The Butcher that nobody here is as smart as they think they are. I will say there are probably a few people on here with a better handle on building a team than Blake... but that's not saying much.

I guess Stevens had them for a couple games but it was Terry Murray who got fired. And if memory serves, Lombardi was reluctant to fire him and supposedly ripped into the team,, blaming them for costing a good man his job.

 

[Buddy The Elf]

I was counting Quick and Kopitar. I assume you are including Doughty, but Doughty was Dean's pick and a credit to Dean. People say it was a slam dunk pick, and maybe it was, but he put the team in a position to be picking at the top of the draft, something that many Kings GM's had never been willing to do, paying the price to be bad enough in the short term win in the long-term.

I am a believer in repeating what has worked before. I look around the league and I see in the last 15-20 years that almost all the best teams have been constructed a similar way, and just wish that the Kings had gone down that path again. Is it a guarantee to work? Nope, but it has a better chance of working than trying to build through trades and FA which has always been an uphill battle. Vegas is really the only parallel I think you can draw, and they just had that unique situation with teams gifting them so many assets in the expansion draft and the once in a decade situation where a 24 year old #1 C becomes available on the market. But basically everyone else has been built with drafting Hall of Famers at the top of the draft and building around them once they completely blossomed.

It's just tough to look at what this team could have as far as young assets if a different direction had been taken in the summer of 2021. You likely have your 1C, 1D, huge upside offensive d-man, 1 LW capable of being a C too, lots of decent secondary pieces. All of these pieces would be under 24. That is how you begin looking at yourself as another Chicago, Tampa or Pittsburgh, which ultimately should be the goal.

My bad.... you're right about Doughty. I'm not sure how that slipped my mind. At any rate, I agree with following what has worked and that VGK is probably the one anomaly. But hey, it can work! Obviously it would be the smart thing to do but obviously nobody had the cajones to get rid of the key legacy players

One thing I had brought up back when Sutter was hired as that all of the Cup winners post 2005 lockout had a top ten offense. Sutter had never coached a team with a top ten offense. I don't know if the Kings ever did finish top 10 during the regular season under him but they certainly figured out how to score in the playoffs. I only bring that up regarding your comment of following what works.

I guess Stevens had them for a couple games but it was Terry Murray who got fired. And if memory serves, Lombardi was reluctant to fire him and supposedly ripped into the team,, blaming them for costing a good man his job.

I was referring to that brief interim where Sutter hadn't been brought in yet and Stevens was coaching. He took them out to get ice cream after a game. Talk about desperation to find something that worked! That's why when Todd said he had tried everything to get them going again I suggested taking them for ice cream.

But yeah, DL definitely laid into the players for getting TM fired but it needed to be done. TM did his job teach structure etc but he had no pulse and it rubbed off on the players.

 

[KINGS17]

They only complete waste of cap and roster space is PLD. Everything else is manageable via trade etc. Blake's obviously not going to get fired until the end of the season but what I fear is that the Kings do win a round in the playoffs and he keeps PLD. That NTC is a death knell for years to come. If you want to know what I would if I was the GM today. I would waive PLD. Then if nobody would take him I'd start taking phone calls on what I'd have to give to get rid of him.

Fiala has value. He's pretty much a PPG player. Just about every other player on the Kings team has some sort of value or their contract isn't an albatross at the very least. I honestly think people are a bit hyperbolic about the Kings situation. The biggest problem is Blake. I want him gone but I'm not going to actively root against the only professional sports team I give two hoots about or I might as well not even watch.

I think Kopitar and Doughty are a waste of cap space. Not because they are bad players, but because the Kings will never win jack with them on their current contracts.

...and that’s not even considering the opportunity cost of not moving them and missing out on younger and cheaper assets required for an actual rebuild.

 

[Statto]

I think we are a Goalie, at 3D pair LD upgrade and a physical bottom 6 winger away from being a play-off threat. I’m conscious of Hiller’s sample size being small but he seems to be giving the players their heads and letting them be themselves. That’s showing trust and was my biggest criticism of TMac even before discussing in game adjustments. If he keeps getting the best out of the younger guys it might get interesting.