Is Rob Blake the Problem?

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Should he stay or go?


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    50
  • Poll closed .
Thanks, I think Luc is a nice guy as well. My observation after meeting with him several times is I am not sure I would trust his organizational skills and attention to detail enough to be overseeing Blake.

I can see why you might think that but Luc does oversee Blake in many ways to this very day. I suppose I should be more concerned but things being what they are it is a bit late for that type of thinking.
 
- Blake has virtually the same advisors as Lombardi as far as telling him "who to take." Does Lombardi not get credit for his drafts?
- How can Blake be stubborn about getting his own way but also just picks who other people tell him to take? That's pretty conflicting.

Lombardi doesn't get credit for his drafts imo. The credit all goes to Futs and co.
 
I can see why you might think that but Luc does oversee Blake in many ways to this very day. I suppose I should be more concerned but things being what they are it is a bit late for that type of thinking.

Has to be tough for Blake. He does not have the final say on personnel. Luc does. Unlike when Lombardi was here. To me it's a recipe for failure. You either trust your GM or you don't. Wouldn't be surprised to see Blake move on or go to another position in the organization. See the Willie D hiring. That was not the GM.
 
was it ever stated why?
My guess is that Blake had too many contracts that were weighing the Kings down,plus he couldn't promise Kubalik first,second or third line duties...this Kings maneuver hearkens back to the time when the Kings would off load first rounders(the '70's) and (part of the '80's) and make bad trades left,right and centre...Kubalik was a keeper and Blake blew his wad on Kovalchuk and others...Wonder what Kubalik would have looked like on Kopi's side...50 goal scorer me thinks
 
Has to be tough for Blake. He does not have the final say on personnel. Luc does. Unlike when Lombardi was here. To me it's a recipe for failure. You either trust your GM or you don't. Wouldn't be surprised to see Blake move on or go to another position in the organization. See the Willie D hiring. That was not the GM.
Like to see Futa and Yannetti assume the roles of GM and assistant GM!
 
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Let’s say that does happen. Blake and Luc both quit tomorrow. What do you think Futa and Yannetti would do this offseason that Blake and Luc wouldn’t do?
I don't think they rush their draft choices over to North America before they are ready...meaning let the kids(Kupari,Fagemo,Sodergren,Shafigullin...) play in their own leagues,play a tonne and then when they have dominated there bring them over! I doubt Bjornfot learned more in Ontario than he would have in Sweden...outside of that...the Kings don't look to be much better in 2020-21 maybe worse than this year. So hopefully they(Futa and Yannetti) continue to develop players in Ontario but also in Europe where they will play a tonne...I guess that's what I would do...Maybe Alex Turcotte plays in the OHL with Saginaw Spirit and scores(50 goals,90 assists) 140 pts,then plays for the Kings in 2021-22
 
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I don't think they rush their draft choices over to North America before they are ready...meaning let the kids(Kupari,Fagemo,Sodergren,Shafigullin...) play in their own leagues,play a tonne and then when they have dominated there bring them over! I doubt Bjornfot learned more in Ontario than he would have in Sweden...outside of that...the Kings don't look to be much better in 2020-21 maybe worse than this year. So hopefully they(Futa and Yannetti) continue to develop players in Ontario but also in Europe where they will play a tonne...I guess that's what I would do...Maybe Alex Turcotte plays in the OHL with Saginaw Spirit and scores(50 goals,90 assists) 140 pts,then plays for the Kings in 2021-22
IMO, Don’t underestimate NHL teams training staff. They are much better than any college staff, CHL or European staff. College players are restricted to certain hours of training, chl are much smaller organizations with smaller staff, and europe plays a very different game, mainly due to rink size. The only reason you would rather have a player outside nhl/ahl is because the player is not strong enough to play against men. There is very little gain in dominating a league.
 
I don't think they rush their draft choices over to North America before they are ready...meaning let the kids(Kupari,Fagemo,Sodergren,Shafigullin...) play in their own leagues,play a tonne and then when they have dominated there bring them over! I doubt Bjornfot learned more in Ontario than he would have in Sweden...outside of that...the Kings don't look to be much better in 2020-21 maybe worse than this year. So hopefully they(Futa and Yannetti) continue to develop players in Ontario but also in Europe where they will play a tonne...I guess that's what I would do...Maybe Alex Turcotte plays in the OHL with Saginaw Spirit and scores(50 goals,90 assists) 140 pts,then plays for the Kings in 2021-22

So you doubt Bjornfot learned more here where hes playing with other prospects who will move up to the kings with him, playing on NA rinks, learning the system that the Kings implement and got a taste of NHL up agaisnt Mcdavid while paired with DD?

The kids a stud, you surround him with the best players, coaches and experience you can and he will learn from the best possible mentors and vets.
 
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So you doubt Bjornfot learned more here where hes playing with other prospects who will move up to the kings with him, playing on NA rinks, learning the system that the Kings implement and got a taste of NHL up agaisnt Mcdavid while paired with DD?

The kids a stud, you surround him with the best players, coaches and experience you can and he will learn from the best possible mentors and vets.
I think the level of talent in the AHL is not better than in Sweden. And the coaching in the AHL is not good either
 
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IMO, Don’t underestimate NHL teams training staff. They are much better than any college staff, CHL or European staff. College players are restricted to certain hours of training, chl are much smaller organizations with smaller staff, and europe plays a very different game, mainly due to rink size. The only reason you would rather have a player outside nhl/ahl is because the player is not strong enough to play against men. There is very little gain in dominating a league.
Players that play in Finland and Sweden and Russia for that matter play against men...lets get that straight...they play fewer games and travel less in Finland and Sweden, thus have more time for training and practice. Having Kupari and Sodergren in Ontario was a lost year for them...they could have played a tonne in their home country and been better for it. Moverare is doing fine in Sweden and his game has improved because he got minutes there instead of fighting for minutes among other prospects on the Kings in Ontario.My thing is lets spread the prospects out and make sure they are all playing a tonne wherever they are...that also means lets get rid of the vets in Ontario like Sutter,Stanton,Bouma,Imama...they are not in the picture
 
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I think the level of talent in the AHL is not better than in Sweden. And the coaching in the AHL is not good either

I think the levels of both leagues are very close, as is the coaching. Getting used to the smaller playing surface is far more important than either of those small differences, not to mention understanding the systems played by the organization.
 
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