LA KINGS 2023/4 Regular season discussion

[deaderhead28]

Both of these things are true: Dubois is a great player and we potentially gave up more than we should have to acquire him. I’d love to know who we were outbidding since the entire hockey world knew he was leaving Winnipeg.

The Kings gave up what they did to make cap room.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

The Kings gave up what they did to make cap room.

Exactly. Blake jettisoned Vilardi, Iafallo, Kupari, Walker, Durzi, and had to pay someone to take Peterson just to create cap room.

Getting back a talented but known malcontent like PLD was making lemonade out of lemons. I know Herby and others think PLD was a conscious target to shore up the C position, but I’m not so sure. I think Blake was feeling the cap crunch with Vilardi’s raise and just got desperate to clear space. PLD sort of accidentally fell into his lap in the process because Vilardi and Iafallo happened to be equitable assets.

If Blake had plenty of cap space, I have no doubt that he re-signs Vilardi and rolls into 23/24 trying to make Byfield a top six C.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Inside PL Dubois' decisions, ambitions and how he landed in Los Angeles

Dubois knows that forcing his way out of two NHL organizations has upset some people but he has no regrets.

theathletic.com

 

[Trash Panda]

Inside PL Dubois' decisions, ambitions and how he landed in Los Angeles

Dubois knows that forcing his way out of two NHL organizations has upset some people but he has no regrets.

theathletic.com

He should have exactly zero regrets.

He has won nothing, floated by on physical talent alone, and has turned a few 60pt seasons into a long term 8.5M/yr deal, while moving from Columbus/Winnipeg to Manhattan Beach.

Great for him. Remains to be seen how that type of beach culture move works out for the Kings.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

He should have exactly zero regrets.

He has won nothing, floated by on physical talent alone, and has turned a few 60pt seasons into a long term 8.5M/yr deal, while moving from Columbus/Winnipeg to Manhattan Beach.

Great for him. Remains to be seen how that type of beach culture move works out for the Kings.

Judging from the comments section, the fans who know him best aren't impressed with the story. Bold move my Blake...which seems to be what everyone around here is clamoring for until it actually happens.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

He should have exactly zero regrets.

He has won nothing, floated by on physical talent alone, and has turned a few 60pt seasons into a long term 8.5M/yr deal, while moving from Columbus/Winnipeg to Manhattan Beach.

Great for him. Remains to be seen how that type of beach culture move works out for the Kings.

Considering that only 20ish players per year out of 900 or so to play during the season actually win "anything" each season, lots of players have been paid handsomely before winning. Citation to "floated by on physical talent alone"?

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Do you think that Kopitar and Doughty were Rick dipietro? This concept and mind numbing belief that no one would take them on is so stupid to me.

Oh that wasn't what I was saying.

I was more so saying even when they had good trade value, it would've been very hard to trade them because you still would've needed sign off from ownership and sign off from the players themselves given NMC's. Both of which would've been super unlikely / difficult to make happen.

So it's easy to say "they should've canned those guys years ago" but likely wasn't even possible to begin with given the reasons mentioned above.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Oh that wasn't what I was saying.

I was more so saying even when they had good trade value, it would've been very hard to trade them because you still would've needed sign off from ownership and sign off from the players themselves given NMC's. Both of which would've been super unlikely / difficult to make happen.

So it's easy to say "they should've canned those guys years ago" but likely wasn't even possible to begin with give the reasons mentioned above.

Exactly, and the Xbox heroes around here forget that this if first and foremost a business. VERY unlikely that ownership is going to entertain the idea of moving TWO productive HOFers/fan-favorites who they have locked up. But yah, the org is stupid....

 

[Schrute farms]

Judging from the comments section, the fans who know him best aren't impressed with the story. Bold move my Blake...which seems to be what everyone around here is clamoring for until it actually happens.

I think you are confusing "smart moves" for "bold moves".
Just like Blake seems to be confusing "dumb moves" for "bold moves".

 

[bmr]

He should have exactly zero regrets.

He has won nothing, floated by on physical talent alone, and has turned a few 60pt seasons into a long term 8.5M/yr deal, while moving from Columbus/Winnipeg to Manhattan Beach.

Great for him. Remains to be seen how that type of beach culture move works out for the Kings.

Too early to tell how this plays out. Vilardi took awhile to gel with the Kings and i'm going to give PLD time to see how this unfolds. The best surprises to me at this point in the season are how Byfield is playing and what we actually have in Laferriere. The biggest source of disappointment to this point has been the defensive gaffes and goaltending, but it's still early.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

I think you are confusing "smart moves" for "bold moves".
Just like Blake seems to be confusing "dumb moves" for "bold moves".

Well since you speak for the entire fanbase on determining what a ‘dumb’ move equates to, maybe you can email him your phone # so he can consult with you prior.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Too early to tell how this plays out. Vilardi took awhile to gel with the Kings and i'm going to give PLD time to see how this unfolds. The best surprises to me at this point in the season are how Byfield is playing and what we actually have in Laferriere. The biggest source of disappointment to this point has been the defensive gaffes and goaltending, but it's still early.

This.

It's hard not to hit the panic button (especially watching our goaltending and sloppy play) but I think we need to give it a solid month.

See how our goalies are playing. See how our lines are looking. Determine how long Arvidsson is going to be out. See how Turcotte and others continue to play in the AHL (that's been another pleasant surprise - Turcotte looks great). Etc etc.

Also need to see what position other teams/players around the league are in. Does Nashville continue to struggle, potentially making a guy like Saros available to further accelerate their re-tool/rebuild?? Does a guy like Blackwood continue to play excellently and become a legit option for the Kings to target??

Lots of unknowns/uncertainty right now. Gotta let it ride for a bit.

 

[funky]

Okay. My attempt at sunshine in a somewhat dreary place.

PP getting hot, everything from a hot mess to lethal looking.

Byfield looks like a new man

Laf is looking like the better Laf.

Arvy opened up cap space to help fill positions of need

Turcotte 15 lbs heavier, healthy and producing. Back in the radar.

Spence is the new Voynov (on ice reference only)

PL and Fiala starting to mesh.

Still have a blue chipper in Clarke

Still have our 1st round pick.

Coach acknowledges the work of the youth.

Kaliyev back asap.

Moore looks like he did pre injury.

Yes there is some negatives I could focus on, but not today.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Spence is the new Voynov (on ice reference only)

His ability to keep the puck in the zone at the tail end of Sat's game was pretty fun to watch.

 

[King'sPawn]

I was calling for this last season (and maybe even the season before). Moore and Danault elevate everyone they play with. And they're defensively responsible. They would have been able to insulate Kaliyev's shortcomings and help improve some deficiencies in his game.

 

[tigermask48]

Exactly. Blake jettisoned Vilardi, Iafallo, Kupari, Walker, Durzi, and had to pay someone to take Peterson just to create cap room.

Getting back a talented but known malcontent like PLD was making lemonade out of lemons. I know Herby and others think PLD was a conscious target to shore up the C position, but I’m not so sure. I think Blake was feeling the cap crunch with Vilardi’s raise and just got desperate to clear space. PLD sort of accidentally fell into his lap in the process because Vilardi and Iafallo happened to be equitable assets.

If Blake had plenty of cap space, I have no doubt that he re-signs Vilardi and rolls into 23/24 trying to make Byfield a top six C.

The problem with this logic is that it doesn't fit the sequence of events that happened.
I may be incorrect on this but weren't the PLD rumors already circulating at the time of both the Petersen and Durzi trades?
The Kings also supposedly never started negotiations with Vilardi on a new contract.
It certainly felt like the cap space was cleared with Gavrikov and PLD in mind and that's why the specific players involved were moved.
So while the bolded is a nice thought it doesn't really fit the narrative of what happened during the summer.

 

[bland]

Considering that only 20ish players per year out of 900 or so to play during the season actually win "anything" each season, lots of players have been paid handsomely before winning. Citation to "floated by on physical talent alone"?

Have you seen him play? That's his entire deal. 50 games of grade A effort, 30 at a lower level. He has yet to figure it out.

He creates smart traffic, meaning he draws in defenders, slows up to keep them engaged, before a quick step into space for a shot or pass. He has a very good shot, plays mean occasionally, but generally experiences stretches of every season where he just checks out.

He should have exactly zero regrets.

He has won nothing, floated by on physical talent alone, and has turned a few 60pt seasons into a long term 8.5M/yr deal, while moving from Columbus/Winnipeg to Manhattan Beach.

Great for him. Remains to be seen how that type of beach culture move works out for the Kings.

It remains to be seen if he is one of those players who does well with less pressure, but it has to be said that it is not an endearing quality.

Its nice to have him, just not at that cost and definitely not a maxed out deal.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I disagree we need to wait a quarter season to assess. Because the issues are STILL the issues three years later. These aren’t things that are like “welllll they’ll gel it just takes time.” No amount of waiting is turning three30+ journeyman goalies into starters. No amount of withholding waivers is going to englund a thing. Turcotte and Clarke will both be on litr by game 20 in the AHL the way plugs keep headhunting them. Oh, and yet again, Turcotte isn’t even on the top line or PP. it’s literally all the same things we have been complaining about except now we are bleeding assets and depth on top of being capped into oblivion.

I am not even on the “yeah this team will be fun this year” bandwagon anymore. I’m firmly on the fire the f*** out of this front office bandwagon at this point before they cause irreparable damage.

 

[johnjm22]

 

[tigermask48]

Have you seen him play? That's his entire deal. 50 games of grade A effort, 30 at a lower level. He has yet to figure it out.

He creates smart traffic, meaning he draws in defenders, slows up to keep them engaged, before a quick step into space for a shot or pass. He has a very good shot, plays mean occasionally, but generally experiences stretches of every season where he just checks out.

Sounds like a perfect fit for the Kings to be honest, specifically for captain Kopitar and his rudderless ship.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Have you seen him play? That's his entire deal. 50 games of grade A effort, 30 at a lower level. He has yet to figure it out.

He creates smart traffic, meaning he draws in defenders, slows up to keep them engaged, before a quick step into space for a shot or pass. He has a very good shot, plays mean occasionally, but generally experiences stretches of every season where he just checks out.


It remains to be seen if he is one of those players who does well with less pressure, but it has to be said that it is not an endearing quality.

Its nice to have him, just not at that cost and definitely not a maxed out deal.

Yes, I have seen him play. He is not someone who churns his legs consistently like Lizotte, which I think gets him unfairly labeled as a “floater” or as “lazy” (colored extensively by the notorious shift in Columbus). I also think people don’t fully credit how much effort and strength is required to engage in the puck protection battles he does. And you even describe his game well, but I’m not sure how you can intuit his mental state for any number of games per season.

 

[tigermask48]

Oh, and yet again, Turcotte isn’t even on the top line or PP. it’s literally all the same things we have been complaining about except now we are bleeding assets and depth on top of being capped into oblivion.

I tuned in for that free game on AHLtv the other night, saw the Reign go on the PP and it was Hudon-Tynan-Ward sent out and I was just done. No reason more than one of those 3 should be on the top PP line with the talent that team has.

 

[King'sPawn]

I tuned in for that free game on AHLtv the other night, saw the Reign go on the PP and it was Hudon-Tynan-Ward sent out and I was just done. No reason more than one of those 3 should be on the top PP line with the talent that team has.

Not to mention Portillo not starting a game yet - when the org has virtually zero goalie depth. They aren't even putting their top goalie prospect in to get minutes yet.

 

[johnjm22]

Yes, I have seen him play. He is not someone who churns his legs consistently like Lizotte, which I think gets him unfairly labeled as a “floater” or as “lazy” (colored extensively by the notorious shift in Columbus). I also think people don’t fully credit how much effort and strength is required to engage in the puck protection battles he does. And you even describe his game well, but I’m not sure how you can intuit his mental state for any number of games per season.

Big guys often look slow and lumbering compared to smaller players.

There is some validity to Bland's criticism of PL though. There has been multiple times in his career when he seemed to "give up" and just go through the motions.

In his defense, over the course of an 82 game season, almost all players go through lulls of some kind.

 

[johnjm22]

Not to mention Portillo not starting a game yet - when the org has virtually zero goalie depth. They aren't even putting their top goalie prospect in to get minutes yet.

Yeah I don't get it either.

I also don't understand why the org likes Tynan so much.