Kings who could be traded this summer

[KopitarGOAT420]

While I agree with you regarding Doughty I suggest that this is a forest/trees situation.

The Kings are simply not capable of winning a playoff series. Their "best" players like Kopitar and Doughty are still very good players, but they just flat out aren't as good as the best players on the teams competing with them. Kopitar had a good year but was still in the bottom third of the leagues first line centers.

So instead of developing players to take over those spots, our GM is filling the roster with average to better than average mid-range players who are flooding the cap space to play with the faded vets AND postponing the development of players who should be much further along towards the goal of replacing the older guys. There is just way too much talent being wasted here in supporting roles instead of being groomed to be the stars the team needs.

That takes patience, foresight and proactive thinking, none of which are the strengths of this management team. We are currently seeing the literal best that they can do and by the measuring stick of playoff success they are completely failing.

Yeahhhh, it's tough. I definitely agree with your overall point here...

Particularly the need for young talent to break out and take on significant roles / prove to be elite NHL talent in order to have a chance at the cup.

If the Kings are going to be a contender, they need that next wave to 'arrive'.

Impossible to come out of a rebuild successfully if virtually none of you picks 'hit' and while I still have faith there's a few young players/prospects that could pan out - It doesn't exactly seem incredibly likely for a lot of these guys.

Byfield (or someone else?) needs to become a 1st line center. Clarke needs to live up to the hype and become a dynamic #1 defenseman. Kaliyev, Vilardi, or someone else needs to evolve into an elite winger that can produce at a point/game pace and drive play.

For the Kings to have a legit shot at the cup (not a miracle run or anything flukey like that) they need Kopitar to be their 2C. They need Doughty to be anchoring their 2nd pair. (And yes, it's tough to imagine building a cap-compliant team with an $11 million 2nd pair d man so I get the frustration/doubts of many fans)

I feel like the Dallas Stars are a decent comparable. Guys like Benn and Seguin are forced down the lineup by the emergence of Hintz and Robertson.. And the entire team benefits from it, including Benn and Seguin themselves. But were Hintz and Robertson simply given those roles??? No. Hintz was like a 3rd line center when he started to break out. Robertson didn't just jump in on the first line. They outperformed other players and earned those top roles as a result of excellent play.

Teams clear room for young players AFTER those players prove they're elite/very good NHL players. Not the other way around. I mean you can even look at Cale Makar with the Avs... When he stepped in, he wasn't just handed top pair minutes.. He outplayed Barrie and forced them to amplify his role. So much so that by the end of that playoff run, Avs management knew they had a gem and could confidently ship Barrie away.

No one on the Kings has realllllly done that yet. And THAT is the real problem the Kings are facing. It's tough. Tough to say exactly what the problem is.. Is the problem that management/coaching isn't giving young talent enough opportunities?? Or is the problem that none of the talented young players have proven to be elite talent?? Does our development approach/staff suck?? Or were our picks just misses to begin with?? Or.. are we all just jumping the gun - and just need to be patient to allow guys like Byfield, Clarke, Kaliyev, etc to break out and force their ways up the lineup???

Hopefully we get some answers next season, but who knows.

As in any rebuild, it's fully dependent on that next wave. If that wave arrives for the Kings, this team is going to be ridiculously good and could absolutely win a cup. If not, it'll likely be rebuild/re-tool time once again, sadly

 

[funky]

This has nothing to do with delusional, this is what should be done.
Everyone is ware though that it won't happen.

The sitting of Doughty is not because he has a big contract, the purpose is to make him rethink his no trade clause. He would be better off somewhere else, where has a last shot at the cup.
Just sitting in the sun and cruising to retirement is neither helping his image or the Los Angeles Kings.

the dude just built a multi million dollar mansion on a double lot looking at the ocean. He now has young kids, has bled Kings colors his whole life (remember he was a Kings fan growing up), has brought 2 Stanley Cups to the organization and still plays at a high level on a team that had one of their greatest years point wise and he one of his best years point wise.

You think sitting him a game or 2 is gonna make him want to be traded? Not on your life.

Yes he makes too much, he is not an offensive dynamo and he can make the odd gaffe. He ate 25 minutes a night on a defense that feature plugs like Edler, Walker and Durzi. He is asked to do way to much do to a severe lack of backend talented assets. Take him out and who covers those top assignment minutes.

If you want to shed fat start with Walker, Durzi, and the freshly signed Moore. Peterson is an Anchor.

If you want to place blame start with Peterson and Quick last year. Are they a by product of shitty defence, hell ya. Goodbye Edler, goodbye Durzi, goodbye Walker.

Hell pick on the PK coach, did he even show up for work?

You seem very content to bash a guy that gives 110% every night and yes his mind is probably writing cheques his body can no longer cash but I would love to see what the dude could give us playing 3 less minutes a night. He was worn out by playoffs. Just like our other warrior Kopitar.

 

[FSL KINGS]

I'm sure you are.....just as I'm sure you never really thought that out to the logical end....

The logical end of moving on from Doughty?

Byfield, Kopitar, Kempe
Moore, Danault, Nylander
Fiala, Lizotte , Kaliyev

Gavrikov, Clarke
Mikey, Spence
Durzi, Roy

Doughty for Nylander
Iafallo & Arvidsson for picks

Better forward group,
D will have a learning curve & be better in the future.
Saves cap so Lizotte or goal can be addressed
Doughty replaced by Gavrikov & Clarke

The other option is to burn next year to get to where Cal can be bought out & enough cap maybe frees up to do something at which point Doughty is in his mid 30's & has 3 years left on his contract.

Logically, keep Doughty, feel good & be irrelevant or find another solution.

 

[Ghetty Green]

Crazy how Kaliyev has escaped all criticism. The golden child of LA Kings HF. His playoff performance was pathetic and embarrassing.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Crazy how Kaliyev has escaped all criticism. The golden child of LA Kings HF. His playoff performance was pathetic and embarrassing.

It's TM's fault -- he didn't give him top line minutes.

 

[tny760]

Crazy how Kaliyev has escaped all criticism. The golden child of LA Kings HF. His playoff performance was pathetic and embarrassing.

"pathetic and embarrassing"

he played 2 games, one of which was only 8 minutes and lo and behold, the 4th line did nothing for the rest of the series without him too

noone besides the top 6 and the gavrikov/roy pairing could do a f***in thing in that series

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

The logical end of moving on from Doughty?

Byfield, Kopitar, Kempe
Moore, Danault, Nylander
Fiala, Lizotte , Kaliyev

Gavrikov, Clarke
Mikey, Spence
Durzi, Roy

Doughty for Nylander
Iafallo & Arvidsson for picks

Better forward group,
D will have a learning curve & be better in the future.
Saves cap so Lizotte or goal can be addressed
Doughty replaced by Gavrikov & Clarke

The other option is to burn next year to get to where Cal can be bought out & enough cap maybe frees up to do something at which point Doughty is in his mid 30's & has 3 years left on his contract.

Logically, keep Doughty, feel good & be irrelevant or find another solution.

No, of benching him, the whole argument was about putting Doughty in the press box....not trading him.

 

[Schmooley]

Crazy how Kaliyev has escaped all criticism. The golden child of LA Kings HF. His playoff performance was pathetic and embarrassing.

He didnt really play. Only a couple games. Prime Gretzky coulda played and he wouldnt have scored much sitting back at his own blueline waiting for one of McDavid or Draisaitl (or both) to come at him every shift.

 

[Moses Doughty]

He didnt really play. Only a couple games. Prime Gretzky coulda played and he wouldnt have scored much sitting back at his own blueline waiting for one of McDavid or Draisaitl (or both) to come at him every shift.

He needs that vet bias from Todd. Not that he wasn't making a ton of mistakes, but older player stays in despite it

 

[JJDrums]

Really need to clear the deck of dead wood. Bring in a different coach and let some of the younger players push each other for positions. TM won’t play them and let them develop so he needs to go. Being a mediocre team with an aging core does nothing

 

[Buddy The Elf]

To be fair, when you've little to no cap, it's hard to attract FA's. It makes it even harder to put together a Stanley Cup contender.

I think the problem has more with the fact that the Kings don't' have more younger productive players on cheap contracts like other teams. That's kind of been the bread and butter of most Cup winning teams post 2005 lockout and even more relevant now. That's been the beef with Blake signing and trading for more established players rather than developing our own. If you dump Kopitar and Doughty now they are definitely not closer to being a contender.

I think some fat needs to be trimmed from the middle six. Get rid of one of Arvidsson, Iafallo or Moore in that order. Moore still has a some offensive upside while Iafallo actually is one of the few middle six players that is physical and has decent board play and puck retrieval. I love Arvidsson but he's somewhat redundant on this team at this point.

The coach and GM really need to get more out of players like Kupari, Grunstrom and Byfield. All of them still have plenty of potential and they all have size. Kupari and Grunstrom play physical too. Clear some room so they can get more ice time. I think we're getting enough offense out of the top 9 to jettison a bigger contract.

Lastly, whoever is recommending getting rid of Roy is out to lunch. He's essentially what the team needs on the left side and Gavrikov fits that. They need to do everything possible to keep him.

 

[Kurrilino]

While I agree with you regarding Doughty I suggest that this is a forest/trees situation.

The Kings are simply not capable of winning a playoff series. Their "best" players like Kopitar and Doughty are still very good players, but they just flat out aren't as good as the best players on the teams competing with them. Kopitar had a good year but was still in the bottom third of the leagues first line centers.

So instead of developing players to take over those spots, our GM is filling the roster with average to better than average mid-range players who are flooding the cap space to play with the faded vets AND postponing the development of players who should be much further along towards the goal of replacing the older guys. There is just way too much talent being wasted here in supporting roles instead of being groomed to be the stars the team needs.

That takes patience, foresight and proactive thinking, none of which are the strengths of this management team. We are currently seeing the literal best that they can do and by the measuring stick of playoff success they are completely failing.

Thank you very much kind Sir.
You said it way better than i ever did

 

[Johnny Utah]

Kings need some swagger and attitude. Whether they add that player via trade or UFA.

 

[FSL KINGS]

No, of benching him, the whole argument was about putting Doughty in the press box....not trading him.

"Holding accountable". Guess I went a bit extreme.

Since 2014 Doughty has had 9 years to lead this team. Benching doesn't go far enough. It's time to move on. Send him to a team that is a RD away from contending.

The PP is going to be a bigger issue than benching very soon. Does Doughty still get PP time over Durzi, Clarke, Spence? That will bruise his ego too if the coach actually put the best lineup out there.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

"Holding accountable". Guess I went a bit extreme.

Since 2014 Doughty has had 9 years to lead this team. Benching doesn't go far enough. It's time to move on. Send him to a team that is a RD away from contending.

The PP is going to be a bigger issue than benching very soon. Does Doughty still get PP time over Durzi, Clarke, Spence? That will bruise his ego too if the coach actually put the best lineup out there.

Yes, this is basketball, where one player can impact an entire season..... are you done yet?

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Kings need some swagger and attitude. Whether they add that player via trade or UFA.

Clarke

 

[AbsentMojo]

Nothing will change by following this philosophy. Its just another year of Gilligans Island reruns where they almost get into the second round again.

Rob Blake and his skipper Todd will do their very best, to create the illusion of relevancy in an increasingly competitive West. No LD, No G, no 3C, no size or grit in sight, lets pretend we can win a playoff round with a roster that has no bite

Edit: note: should be sung to this part of the theme song

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Rob Blake and his skipper Todd will do their very best, to create the illusion of relevancy in an increasingly competitive West. No LD, No G, no 3C, no size or grit in sight, lets pretend we can win a playoff round with a roster that has no bite

Blake needs to be taking a hard look at VGK and FLA and asking himself if he's ready to build a team the right way.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Blake needs to be taking a hard look at VGK and FLA and asking himself if he's ready to build a team the right way.

Whats up Axl.. why did u get banned? (serious question). You'd think they'd be nicer to someone that has the teams back at all times.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Whats up Axl.. why did u get banned? (serious question). You'd think they'd be nicer to someone that has the teams back at all times.

PM me.

 

[Lt Dan]

PM me.

PM me
If you want to know
Why Axl got banned
He'll tell you limericks

 

[chris kontos]

WGAF

 

[Bandit]

Kings who could be traded this summer?

All of them.

 

[Sol]

PM me
If you want to know
Why Axl got banned
He'll tell you limericks

He got banned for doxxing himself as the bastard child of Todd Mclellan lol

 

[FSL KINGS]

Yes, this is basketball, where one player can impact an entire season..... are you done yet?

Doughty, parts of his game are annoying. That's not the issue. King's are at the cap, they are not a contender & can't get out of the first round.

Gavrikov: cut Walker & one of Iafallo, Moore, Arvidsson to fit him.

Lizotte, huge heart & determination to get up & fight back after getting knocked on his butt multiple times a shift. He isn't a 3C & isn't capable of going out against other teams top 6 as we all saw in the playoffs. That fix is 5-10M.

If the King's have a center breakout, it's unlikely they'll be able to defend at a high level right away & they'll still need a shutdown guy for the playoffs.

Cal, doesn't matter because he'll be bought out in a year & that money will be spent on a new goalie. So no change in cap.

After moving Walker & one of Iafallo, Moore, Arvidsson the King's need to cut another 5+ million to get the center depth to compete. Durzi makes 1.7, not enough. Mikey & Roy are 3-4M & losing them weakens their ability to defend.

Forwards,
Byfield, Kopi, Kempe
Moore, Danault, Arvidsson
These lines were working fine. No point in breaking them up, but Arvidsson might be lost anyways.

3rd line, Fiala, Not Lizotte, Vilardi
4th line doesn't matter for cap, just fill with cheap players.

Kopi could be moved to cut cap, but already need to add at center. Kempe, Danault, Fiala nope.

Arvidsson or Moore could be moved in addition to Iafallo & free up enough to bring in a JT Compher type. A PLD, Horvat, Scheifele level center would be a much better fit for Fiala & Vilardi. With Kopi aging, investing now in a top 6 center is a good move.

There's only one piece left. Gavrikov can replace Doughty's shutdown minutes. King's have young puck movers that need ice time. Transition & movement on the PP probably improve.

Doughty is annoying & hasn't done much in the last 9 years. That's not the issue. Doughty can be replaced internally by committee & has a big enough hit to restructure the team.

Blake's other option is to stay the course, keep getting bounced in the first round because he can't fill out the roster while watching Doughty's contract shrink from 4 years as he continues to age. This is the most probable outcome.

Just numbers.
Need a top 9, Top 6 center would be better.
Need Gavrikov or similar D
After cutting two of Arvidsson, Iafallo, Moore, there's only one place left.

That should about cover it.

Edit: Doughty has had 9 years to do something. At this point it's unlikely given the team composition that he is going to be part of another cup run in LA. Might as well face the end of an era & start building for the future.

Yup, now I'm done.