Confirmed with Link: Kings announce signing kovalchuk to 3 year contract.

[TruKingFan]

Blake was willing to part with future assets to acquire Pacioretty. The trade was only not finalized because of a failure to agree on terms with him.

That is more than "looking into it."

Yes, he had to make real-time decisions, but this was after a full season of little activity to evaluate the organization.

I don't expect Blake to be perfect. But I will definitely criticize the bigger misfires when they happen.

Kovalchuk is defensible, even if it didn't work out.

Gaborik for Phaneuf is defensible, even if it didn't work out.

Actively trying to trade futures for Pacioretty when that's what Lombardi did and set the organization back a few years is not defensible. At all. His saving grace was not backing down on his contract offer, but it still was a gross misstep on the organization direction.

All I'm saying is that we can argue what those "futures" are ad nauseum because nobody has any idea what they were. And when Blake stood his ground with the contract terms and the trade didn't happen there was really no misstep, right? Blake then pivoted and turned to his other calculated risk - Kovalchuk. It didn't work so now Blake pivoted once again - and this time, decided to back up and reset. And now we all agree it's the right thing to do, yes? Let's see how he moves forward as he reshapes the roster as new blood comes in. I for one, am very confident with young talent coming in starting with Vilardi. I think GV's a big add to this roster as early as next season.

 

[King'sPawn]

All I'm saying is that we can argue what those "futures" are ad nauseum because nobody has any idea what they were. And when Blake stood his ground with the contract terms and the trade didn't happen there was really no misstep, right? Blake then pivoted and turned to his other calculated risk - Kovalchuk. It didn't work so now Blake pivoted once again - and this time, decided to back up and reset. And now we all agree it's the right thing to do, yes? Let's see how he moves forward as he reshapes the roster as new blood comes in. I for one, am very confident with young talent coming in starting with Vilardi. I think GV's a big add to this roster as early as next season.

I'm not going to argue the futures. I don't remember the rumor details and it doesn't matter enough for me to research on it.

However, a failed transaction doesn't mean there was no misstep. This isn't the best example, but hopefully you find this apt.

Say you teach your kid about being responsible with money and after some time, you give them a credit card with a limit of $500.

The kid tries to make a $2000 purchase on a no-refund transaction. The card is declined.

Sure, no harm happened. But as a parent, aren't you the least bit concerned that after years of teaching your kid about finances, their first use of it is to spend way more than they can afford?

That's not "Oh Timmy. No probs, you little scamp." That's "Do you know how long it would have taken you to pay it off if that went through?"

That matters. Especially since all transactions are non-refundable in the NHL.

 

[Lt Dan]

I am willing to give Blake a mulligan on kovalchuk. At the time, we all thought that the kings were a playoff team and it essentially just wasted cash and cap space.
That being said, his next big move had better be a good one

 

[HookKing]

I think Blake was faked out by 2017-2018 which was one of the flukiest Kings seasons of all-time, that was an awful roster that somehow made the playoffs because Kopitar, Doughty and Quick all had arguably career years. And he made very poor decisions based on thinking that the team was a contender and it set the Kings back in numerous ways. Most significantly losing out on what should have been a Top 10 (If not top 5 pick) and leading to the accumulation of even more dead cap hits in Phaneuf and Kovalchuk and a reluctance to move on from many players who clearly should have been moved on from, and probably would have been had that season played out differently.

It's also fair to say that Blake inherited one of the worst situations in the NHL of any new GM hires going back a long time. The Kings were burdened with bad contracts and had a farm system that was not just bad, but probably the worst in the NHL. And now even missing out on that 2018 pick and lottery bad luck last year the Kings have a loaded system.

Kings also had the best D and PK in the league. That doesn't happen by fluke. Not to mention how could DD have possibly have had a career year with Forbort holding him back?

 

[YP44]

I am willing to give Blake a mulligan on kovalchuk. At the time, we all thought that the kings were a playoff team and it essentially just wasted cash and cap space.
That being said, his next big move had better be a good one

yup.
I was not a fan of the singing but I understood it. LA coming off a 100 point season in which they hate great defensive numbers but shit offensive numbers.

Not a blake fan but his Muzzin deal helps make up for it, no?

 

[Lt Dan]

yup.
I was not a fan of the singing but I understood it. LA coming off a 100 point season in which they hate great defensive numbers but **** offensive numbers.

Not a blake fan but his Muzzin deal helps make up for it, no?

absolutely

And I am giving a mulligan for this mistake, because it really didn't cost us assets. Just unused cap space

 

[YP44]

absolutely

And I am giving a mulligan for this mistake, because it really didn't cost us assets. Just unused cap space

Well it took LA out of the running on a guy like Panarin last yer (I don't thin kit would have been right time/fit), and likely out on Hall this summer (again not right time/fit) jsut do to cap space.

 

[Lt Dan]

Well it took LA out of the running on a guy like Panarin last yer (I don't thin kit would have been right time/fit), and likely out on Hall this summer (again not right time/fit) jsut do to cap space.

True, but also remember that we never get the top flight UFAs anyway

 

[YP44]

True, but also remember that we never get the top flight UFAs anyway

for sure. just playing devil'd advocate.

The Marleau to Hurricanes with a 1st for buy out would have been more reasonable without Kovalchuk's cap hit too

 

[All The Kings Men]

Especially since all transactions are non-refundable in the NHL.

Is it considered a refund if you're not happy with your purchase so you put it on craigslist and recoup your assets? Or even possibly make a tiny profit?

 

[Lt Dan]

for sure. just playing devil'd advocate.

The Marleau to Hurricanes with a 1st for buy out would have been more reasonable without Kovalchuk's cap hit too

excellent example.

I think we were in on that, more than most realize. There were Patty M to LA rumors going before that transaction, which had us all scratching our heads

 

[Lt Dan]

.

 

[BigKing]

Yes. We don't know for sure if AEG would have bought a 1st round pick via the Marleau transaction but it isn't hard to figure out that AEG wouldn't be excited to trust Blake with a $6MM purchase when they are about to buy-out Dion and had been dealing with buyer's remorse on Kovy after two months.

In the end, there isn't a huge negative impact on the Kings since this has been nipped in the bud; however, it is another example of Blake's poor GM'ing up until the Muzzin trade.

Hopefully it is looked back on as lovingly as the Cloutier signing, i.e. we don't give a shit since they eventually won. Blake has to perform for the Kovy signing to not impact his overall grade and for it to become a speed bump on the road to success but, at the moment, it is perfectly reasonable for those that doubt Blake's acumen to point to this signing as evidence.

Now, they appear poised to have an influx of talent but that needs to successfully play out before it is decided that Blake is doing a good job. I hope everything works out and--even though I don't and will never like Rob Blake--I hope he goes down as the greatest GM in Kings history. That means they are winning and that is more important to me than getting to shit on Rob Blake, although it would be fun if both could happen at the same time.

 

[Stimpythecat]

Perhaps those more into following individual players on social media or elsewhere can answer this.

If Muzzin were to hit UFA, any chance he would come back? I imagine the kings would want him back, right?

 

[Bandit]

.

;

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Yes. We don't know for sure if AEG would have bought a 1st round pick via the Marleau transaction but it isn't hard to figure out that AEG wouldn't be excited to trust Blake with a $6MM purchase when they are about to buy-out Dion and had been dealing with buyer's remorse on Kovy after two months.

In the end, there isn't a huge negative impact on the Kings since this has been nipped in the bud; however, it is another example of Blake's poor GM'ing up until the Muzzin trade.

Hopefully it is looked back on as lovingly as the Cloutier signing, i.e. we don't give a **** since they eventually won. Blake has to perform for the Kovy signing to not impact his overall grade and for it to become a speed bump on the road to success but, at the moment, it is perfectly reasonable for those that doubt Blake's acumen to point to this signing as evidence.

Now, they appear poised to have an influx of talent but that needs to successfully play out before it is decided that Blake is doing a good job. I hope everything works out and--even though I don't and will never like Rob Blake--I hope he goes down as the greatest GM in Kings history. That means they are winning and that is more important to me than getting to **** on Rob Blake, although it would be fun if both could happen at the same time.

It doesn't even have to be the Cloutier signing, DL was allegedly saved from himself on a number of UFA occasions--Brad Richards, for example.

All those things are forgotten when the chips fall into place, sometimes the best moves are those you don't make, and you can't really fault a guy for a trade that doesn't happen imo since the public doesn't know what was actually at stake.

I don't think @King'sPawn s credit example is all that bad by any means but damn near every GM has swings and misses.

 

[King'sPawn]

It doesn't even have to be the Cloutier signing, DL was allegedly saved from himself on a number of UFA occasions--Brad Richards, for example.

All those things are forgotten when the chips fall into place, sometimes the best moves are those you don't make, and you can't really fault a guy for a trade that doesn't happen imo since the public doesn't know what was actually at stake.

I don't think @King'sPawn s credit example is all that bad by any means but damn near every GM has swings and misses.

Of course. I'm not here to villify Blake. And, honestly, think he's done a good job for the most part.

The Pacioretty pursuit was definitely his worst known move/non-move though in my opinion, which deserved to be called out for the near catastrophe it was. Blake getting saved by outside forces didn't make it a harmless mistake. That's all I'm saying.

All GMs make mistakes. It was a very scary indicator of future things to come though, considering the years of mortgaging the future we already endured.

 

[Statto]

Well it took LA out of the running on a guy like Panarin last yer (I don't thin kit would have been right time/fit), and likely out on Hall this summer (again not right time/fit) jsut do to cap space.

It didn’t really though, did it. We would never have been in the running for either guy and as you say both player would not make sense anyway.

 

[Statto]

Now, they appear poised to have an influx of talent but that needs to successfully play out before it is decided that Blake is doing a good job. I hope everything works out and--even though I don't and will never like Rob Blake--I hope he goes down as the greatest GM in Kings history. That means they are winning and that is more important to me than getting to **** on Rob Blake, although it would be fun if both could happen at the same time.

That’s the problem with any debate about anything Blake does though. There is no objectivity in assessing things, even if you try to be balanced. Any posts from yourself, and a number of others, on anything Blake does are heavily influenced by your dislike for him. No matter how hard you try it’s very obvious. I can tell who is in the anti Rob Blake club, even if they don’t state it in their posts simply due to how unbalanced the opinions are (I never remember who as since MS mashed my brain up I’m terrible remembering names). It means perhaps unfairly, I mostly dismiss any posts on the subject.

There one anti Blake person that does manage to be objective, but I forget who .

 

[Statto]

Perhaps those more into following individual players on social media or elsewhere can answer this.

If Muzzin were to hit UFA, any chance he would come back? I imagine the kings would want him back, right?

I hope not, he’d be too expensive and want too much term. Someone will overpay him, let’s not be the team that does it. We have a bunch of contracts we want out of, let’s not add another that in 2-3 years time will feel like a big mistake.

 

[BigKing]

That’s the problem with any debate about anything Blake does though. There is no objectivity in assessing things, even if you try to be balanced. Any posts from yourself, and a number of others, on anything Blake does are heavily influenced by your dislike for him. No matter how hard you try it’s very obvious. I can tell who is in the anti Rob Blake club, even if they don’t state it in their posts simply due to how unbalanced the opinions are (I never remember who as since MS mashed my brain up I’m terrible remembering names). It means perhaps unfairly, I mostly dismiss any posts on the subject.

There one anti Blake person that does manage to be objective, but I forget who .

I can dislike him and still be objective. His NHL-level resume speaks for itself whether I like him or not. I've also been constant regarding that I like basically everything starting with the Muzzin trade.

On the flip side of your statement is the Pro-Blake club. His NHL resume is horrible so far but every mistake is explained away. It is perfectly fine to like him and think he has done a good job so far if that is how you feel but the majority of that has to be colored by drafting and prospect signings v. the actual NHL product.

He basically has an F at the NHL level so far but has an A in the drafting/prospect portion. The problem is that I've read the paper all the way through that has earned the F and I'm only partially through the paper that I'm giving an A on so far. Again, that is the point of my original post: the "haters" aren't going to care about all these early mistakes if he makes up for it moving forward. He's around 12 months now of being pretty solid. Hope it continues.

I'm not itching to do some "told you so" posts in a couple of seasons even if I don't like the guy. I can be objective while still wanting to boo him every time he touches the puck.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Muzzin has no points in his last 10 games.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I was all over Lombardi on this very board before the Kings started making the playoffs in 2010. It comes with the territory of navigating a rebuild. You're going to be scrutinized a lot more than usual with the big club consistently losing.

Any fool with a scouting report can hold on to their picks and tank and draft highly touted prospects. That doesn't impress me in the slightest. The Muzzin trade was great, for sure. Full marks to Blake there. Could potentially be one of the best trades in Kings history if Grundstrom and Durzi AND Bjornfot reach peak potential.

My issue with Blake is moreso my issue with Luc. They're both one and the same in this regard: they came in to all this bullshitting the fanbase about how the Kings had a winning core. It was insulting and ridiculous to anyone who had been remotely paying attention to this team post-2014. So they were automatically fighting uphill with me personally after that.

First impressions do matter. Lombardi didn't come onboard talking about the 05/06 team having a contending core. At least he was honest about the entire franchise needing a rebuild top to bottom, how the franchise had a losing culture, and how he was going to change it. And he made some similar mistakes as Blake (I'll put Blake signing Kovalchuk on the same tier as Lombardi signing Cloutier and Crawford). But ultimately, Lombardi's rebuild was even more difficult. He had to do a deep dive into every system of operation in this rudderless franchise to start rebuilding the culture itself. Blake doesn't have to do that. Blake gets to operate the machine that Lombardi primarily built. Blake still has the same scouting staffs, the same training and development guys, the same everything. That doesn't mean Lombardi didn't crash the machine into a brick wall during his last few years, but it also doesn't mean that Lombardi suddenly gets zero credit for everything he did from day one in every department of this franchise top to bottom.

Anyway, Blake has a long way to go before I start signing his praises. He's a first time GM with an abysmal NHL record so far, and he's already bullshitted the fanbase once. That doesn't mean he has done a terrible job through and through. But he has a ways to go before I start building a statue in his honor.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I actually think Blake had the tougher job starting off with an older and established team that was already bound to big contracts as opposed to having some good young players to start with in Kopitar, Brown, Cammalleri, Quick, Frolov, etc. You can’t compare the two situations.

Look at how terrible the prospect pool was when Blake stepped in, and he inherited one of the oldest and most expensive teams in the league. Now they’re slowly getting younger and have quite a bit more cap flexibility. The team’s future is a lot brighter today as opposed to what it looked like a few years ago.

 

[Lt Dan]

I actually think Blake had the tougher job starting off with an older and established team that was already bound to big contracts as opposed to having some good young players to start with in Kopitar, Brown, Cammalleri, Quick, Frolov, etc. You can’t compare the two situations.

Look at how terrible the prospect pool was when Blake stepped in, and he inherited one of the oldest and most expensive teams in the league. Now they’re slowly getting younger and have quite a bit more cap flexibility. The team’s future is a lot brighter today as opposed to what it looked like a few years ago.

We are furthur ahead than i thought