LA KINGS 2023/4 Regular season discussion

[Little Psycho]

Man, I miss Dean.

 

[Sol]

Kopitar and Doughty aren’t leaders. Especially doughty. Doughty was and still a little kid. You’d think he’d smooth out a bit

 

[Telos]

I dont read anything there re the systems they use (not that I would expect self-reflection) - that what was effective early isnt effective now. Did anyone ask something like that?

Yeah, I accidentally submitted my post while I was editing and listening Blake was asked many questions about what was going on with the team and certain players. He mostly pivoted to saying that they need to clean up their defense and get back to adhering to their system and structure as well as executing on the offensive side and converting the quality chances the system yields.

He pretty much says the problem is that they aren't adhering to the system enough which is why he is sticking with Todd because he feels that he has the system he wants in place and the players have bought in with him to play that system so they are just going to get the players to step up and adhere to it more. That is my take from his responses.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

Ha.

 

[Nasti]

Honesty couldn’t get through the conference. Not interested in bullshit.

 

[tny760]

Yeah, I accidentally submitted my post while I was editing and listening Blake was asked many questions about what was going on with the team and certain players. He mostly pivoted to saying that they need to clean up their defense and get back to adhering to their system and structure as well as executing on the offensive side and converting the quality chances the system yields.

He pretty much says the problem is that they aren't adhering to the system enough which is why he is sticking with Todd because he feels that he has the system he wants in place and the players have bought in with him to play that system so they are just going to get the players to step up and adhere to it more. That is my take from his responses.

such a classic management problem

"why don't you just follow the rules"
"cause the rules suck"
"but your job is to follow the rules"
"but the rules suck"

it's cool if you can fire the players at will, but guess what you're stuck with them so you gotta concede something

 

[Nasti]

LA Kings: "This is our group," GM Rob Blake addresses the media

LA Kings general manager Rob Blake meets with the media to talk trade deadline, the current slide, Pierre-Luc Dubois, injuries, and more.

hockeyroyalty.com

"When asked about Dubois’ low point total on the season, Blake said he’d like to see more there but pointed to his 5v5 numbers being similar to his past seasons. Dubois is producing 1.97 points per 60 minutes during 5v5 which would be the second-highest rate of his career, according to evolving-hockey.com."

Are you serious? This garbage is what we're supposed to expect?

This answer actually makes him look worse. He knew he played like this and still acquired him.

 

[BigBrown]

Glad some media is starting to take notice.

 

[FrozenKing18]

Glad some media is starting to take notice.

I hope more takes notice of his play.

 

[PanniniClaus]

Kings waltzed into Toronto and smoked them badly... I saw a Cup contender that night. Packed bodies in the NZ, forced dumps or turnovers, retrieved quickly on dumps and got the puck right back out..repeat.

Players might not love it... I don't like to coach it either, but if they get back to it... they can do damage.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

We are so unbelievably f***ed.

I didn't think it was possible but that conference inspired LESS confidence.

 

[Omni Owl]

I had low the bar set low, wasn't expecting an announcement that Todd was getting canned, cuz that would've made too much f***ing sense. I didn't even listen to the presser, not worth it. I imagine if we go 0-8-2 in the next 10 games Todd would somehow still be here.

I also think the boys are just running out of steam, they can't match that early season pace they had. It is a long f***ing season.

 

[bmr]

I had low the bar set low, wasn't expecting an announcement that Todd was getting canned, cuz that would've made too much f***ing sense. I didn't even listen to the presser, not worth it. I imagine if we go 0-8-2 in the next 10 games Todd would somehow still be here.

I also think the boys are just running out of steam, they can't match that early season pace they had. It is a long f***ing season.

It sure looks like the team was riding on the coattails of that hot away from home start and emptied the tank. The Gavrikov injury coupled with the guys running out of steam just emphasized the fact that we are really no better than last year, all things considered. We do have a better defense and better overall goaltending, but Dubois < Vilardi/Iafallo. Byfield is still probably getting accustomed to the rigors of an 82 game season and keeping that pace up.

 

[AbsentMojo]

I hope more takes notice of his play.

Good the Ferraro called him out...Maybe the TNT guys will use that for their research for the next game.. since they dont do their own.

 

[King'sPawn]

So should we start a 2024 draft thread?

 

[BaileyFan]

So should we start a 2024 draft thread?

Kings won’t be picking until the 4th round at the earliest so why bother?

 

[Johnny Utah]

Not so bothered with PLD anymore.

My concerns:

-A defense next year of Doughty, Anderson, Clarke, Gavrikov, Englund and Spence - small and soft. Basically, a D core without Roy. But, even if they re-signed him, where does BOTH Spence and Clarke fit in.

-The 4th line - TERRIBLE. Grundstrom, inconsistent. Lewis almost 40, Lizotte oft-injured and too small.

-The goaltending in LA. Goaltending in Ontario is fine - two stud young players.

-Playing JAD over Fagemo.

 

[AbsentMojo]

So should we start a 2024 draft thread?

Sure start one.. then when Waste Mgt trades away this years 1st, you can just lock the thread for futher updates

 

[bland]

Amazing how other teams are able to find roles for their great young players but here it's "What is Blake supposed to do"

Their hands aren't tied guys, it was their choice to have him in the AHL. The Kings could have traded Roy to a contender and opened up a spot for Clarke (and maybe have addressed the massive goaltending hole). They could have traded Spence to open up a spot. They could just have 4 RH defenders (it's not against the rules).

The organizational philosophy is to have players play more in the AHL than they would in any other organization. They could have kept Bjornfot, Kupari and Helenius in Europe, they could have kept Turcotte in Wisconsin, they could have had Byfield in the NHL at 18. Most organizations probably would have handled all of these decisions differently than the Kings did. But the Kings are obsessed with some mythical "paying the dues" and "learning the system" nonsense for everyone other than depth guys with 3+ years of NCAA experience.

Luke Hughes is on pace for 16 goals and 48 points and will likely be a Calder finalist, if he were in LA he'd be in the same spot Clarke is in. Stop excusing the flawed philosophy of these clowns.

Oh and, boy it's amazing how in September it was "We think we can win a Stanley Cup" and here in the middle of January it's "We are just trying to get better"

When this finally ends and we can take a bigger picture look at this and the gutting that will have to occur to get this team back on the right path, we will see that Blake did more damage to this franchise than even McMaster did.

You could create an NCAA style bracket tournament with all the poor moves, would just be tough to decide on the #1 seeds.

Herby, Blake solidified his position as the worst GM in team's history two years ago. This is just the bearing of rotten fruit.

I am taking great pleasure in reading the posts today that are echoing the things that were warned about years ago now. All it takes is a rational frame of mind that separates the game to game monotony from the organizational path. All the warning signs were there in Blake's first year. The Phaneuf/Gaborik deal eerily set the tone for the entire model and people just wanted to explain that away like it was minor. Blake added a redundant player everybody knew was spent at a higher cost than the player he moved without any sort of due diligence.

The Kovalchuk debacle, the constant mishandling of prized assets, over-paying on nearly every contract except Kempe, who is ironically the team's best player. Over reliance on spent vets, a conference room full of yes men/buddies.

I don't think ANYONE could have done a worse job bungling a franchise.

 

[AbsentMojo]

He pretty much says the problem is that they aren't adhering to the system enough which is why he is sticking with Todd because he feels that he has the system he wants in place and the players have bought in with him to play that system so they are just going to get the players to step up and adhere to it more. That is my take from his responses.

If this isnt just some shit he's blowing out for deflection then Blake is dumber than Ive always thought. It doesnt occur to him the structure is most likely the problem. The players are playing the same system all season, and suddenly it stops working.. hmmmm

 

[tny760]

Kings waltzed into Toronto and smoked them badly... I saw a Cup contender that night. Packed bodies in the NZ, forced dumps or turnovers, retrieved quickly on dumps and got the puck right back out..repeat.

Players might not love it... I don't like to coach it either, but if they get back to it... they can do damage.

we all did i think, the problem is that they were completely mentally broken by anders lee playing a touch over the line about a month later

he literally took this team's soul home with him that night and they've never been the same since

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

If this isnt just some shit he's blowing out for deflection then Blake is dumber than Ive always thought. It doesnt occur to him the structure is most likely the problem. The players are playing the same system all season, and suddenly it stops working.. hmmmm

They aren't though, that's the problem, yes it's the same system, but I said this 2 weeks ago, at least it feels that way, they aren't paying enough attention to detail, they are letting men go, fixating on the puck instead of head on a swivel, they aren't focused, when they are, you get solid games, when they aren't, you get games that lack focus and you can easily tell the difference.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Kings are on this inverse heater with basically a healthy roster.. compare to VGK. This team will be a bottom 3rd if anything happens to a goalie or top point producer. There is no depth... just another facet of this debacle.

 

[AbsentMojo]

They aren't though, that's the problem, yes it's the same system, but I said this 2 weeks ago, at least it feels that way, they aren't paying enough attention to detail, they are letting men go, fixating on the puck instead of head on a swivel, they aren't focused, when they are, you get solid games, when they aren't, you get games that lack focus and you can easily tell the difference.

If the players arent playing the system that means they arent bought in... ie its a leadership problem. Either way to me it screams of coach that has grown stale and the team isnt responding.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

If the players arent playing the system that means they arent bought in... ie its a leadership problem. Either way to me it screams of coach that has grown stale and the team isnt responding.

I might have phrased that wrong....it's not that they aren't playing the system, they are, the issue is they are being lazy within the system and losing that attention to detail, coasting when an extra stride is needed, head on a swivel instead of watching the puck, hard on the stick in the corners/boards etc,

It's something coaches absolutely 100% have to clamp down on, but it's also a fine line, if you harp it on day after day after day after day, it will get tuned out, it's gotta be a message of, let's get back to the fundamentals of our system, fresh start, pay attention to the little things, and then work towards a players pride of perfection, pride of play etc, at least that's how I would be doing it....