LA KINGS 2023/4 Regular season discussion

[Telos]

Hindsight?

I defintely believe the trade was garbage at the moment but what I mean by hindsight is that PLD is currently still exactly the player they traded for, which makes the trade even dumber that they thought he would be any different. He has been this identical player throughout his entire career and had all the red flags and still Blake and Luc thought he was the guy to put their chips on. It was stupid during, but in hindsight it looks incomprehensible.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I defintely believe the trade was garbage at the moment but what I mean by hindsight is that PLD is currently still exactly the player they traded for, which makes the trade even dumber that they thought he would be any different. He has been this identical player throughout his entire career and had all the red flags and still Blake and Luc thought he was the guy to put their chips on. It was stupid during, but in hindsight it looks incomprehensible.

right, like 'this sucks but maybe they know something we don't' was a pretty common sentiment, and hope.

But man it was even worse than thought.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

right, like 'this sucks but maybe they know something we don't' was a pretty common sentiment, and hope.

But man it was even worse than thought.

Blake thought he could wave his magic wand and bring out what he wants him to be. Turn out he was just flinging shit around the locker room on the office toilet brush!

 

[Johnny Utah]

Kings could have signed ROR, Bjugstad, Duchene, or traded for Monahan if they needed a 3C and kept Vilard and Kupari.

They had to move AI and Durzi.

 

[Nasti]

Kings could have signed ROR, Bjugstad, Duchene, or traded for Monahan if they needed a 3C and kept Vilard and Kupari.

They had to move AI and Durzi.

That would have been fine had they received something of value back.

 

[unicornpig]

damn definitely seller prices. dont be a fool blake sell!!!

 

[GameNight]

Ouch. One of the comments on that article pretty much sums up my thoughts:


Feels a lot like McLellan. What can you do to motivate a player that doesn't want to be motivated? Dubois is the primary issue with this team. Perhaps Fiala should be playing with Lizotte like last season, but Dubois shouldn't be playing at all.

He's not just any coach killer. He's a serial coach killer

 

[Nasti]

I defintely believe the trade was garbage at the moment but what I mean by hindsight is that PLD is currently still exactly the player they traded for, which makes the trade even dumber that they thought he would be any different. He has been this identical player throughout his entire career and had all the red flags and still Blake and Luc thought he was the guy to put their chips on. It was stupid during, but in hindsight it looks incomprehensible.

Agreed that it looks even worse today than on trade day. I just don’t want to give credit to the decision makers by making it seem like it was a reasonable idea that nobody could have seen going south. I get that’s not what you’re saying.

 

[chris kontos]

Wow, would love to hear any further detail about this alleged Lombardi quip about Blake. Anyone else heard about that?

the tweet was from a twitter account that like 300 followers that was canceled sometime after that as i checked back on it later -trying to figure out if it was real or b.s. not being experienced in internet forensics, i eventually yeilded to ignorance and jus t assumed it was bs. whoever wrote it was pretty accurate.
personally i was/am not a subscriber or even a frequent reader of twitter or x or any of the instant message board cesspools.

 

[Nasti]

Wow, would love to hear any further detail about this alleged Lombardi quip about Blake. Anyone else heard about that?

There is a LOT of BS on Twitter/X so who knows if it’s true.

Monahan for a 1st and conditional pick. Oh man, Blake’s gonna get even less value for our 1st.

 

[YP44]

Kings could have signed ROR, Bjugstad, Duchene, or traded for Monahan if they needed a 3C and kept Vilard and Kupari.

They had to move AI and Durzi.

THey had to move a winger not necessarily Iafallo. My order of preference in the offseason was Moore, Arvidsson than Iafallo. Moore has me eating crow and I am loving it.

 

[Schmooley]

damn definitely seller prices. dont be a fool blake sell!!!

Yea if they realize its not their year they can get a good return for Roy.
Lizotte, Arvidsson, and Grundstrom could return some mid round picks to recoup for the ones they have dealt this draft. Or to pickup some grit that need a change of scenery like Duhaime or Greenway.
They could still make the playoffs after dealing these players also.

 

[FSL KINGS]

The only thing that makes me sad about trading Vilardi is not having a picture of his face when he touched down in Winnipeg.

So much talent. It's crazy he couldn't carve out a spot on the team in 5 years.

 

[Telos]

right, like 'this sucks but maybe they know something we don't' was a pretty common sentiment, and hope.

But man it was even worse than thought.

Exactly my feelings. I am an avid hockey fan, but I don't watch most of the league throughout the season and am not 100% familiar with some of these players. When we traded for PLD, you knew the stigma surrounding him and the questions of his attitude and effort, we likely had all seen "The shift" video which is the absolute opposite of Mike Richards' , but I also saw him against Tampa Bay and his stat lines were decent so you just hope for the best and are like, let's wait and see.

But holy f***, it is so much worse knowing what we know now. I've now seen a lot more of his play before LA, and obviously I've seen every second he's been on the ice in a Kings sweater and they are identical. He is the same guy. He can put up 40-60 points a season depending on his linemates, but that's it and he is going to watch the puck go in his own net without a thought or care in the world. If his linemates don't carry him, he gets 40 points, if they anchor him to a star to drag him, he gets 60, but he can't do it by himself and it was obvious to most in the NHL and those familiar with him and his game. It begs the question what the f*** was Blake and Luc looking at? What sort of intelligence does the organization have and are getting from their scouts? Their judgment is in dire question after pulling the trigger on this one.

There were just so many options available that would have worked better and it just seems like they latched onto - he has pedigree, his age, and "centers like these at this age just don't become available that often" - gee, I wonder why.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Yea if they realize its not their year they can get a good return for Roy.
Lizotte, Arvidsson, and Grundstrom could return some mid round picks to recoup for the ones they have dealt this draft. Or to pickup some grit that need a change of scenery like Duhaime or Greenway.
They could still make the playoffs after dealing these players also.

Definitely agree.

If this team has a middling February, they should deal Roy for a 1st round pick +. If Monahan returns a first, Roy should ABSOLUTELY return a 1st +. Teams around the league know how good he is at this point.

Then you could sell a few other guys and #playthekids for the rest of the year. Even if they just secure mid-round picks for guys like Lizotte and Grundstrom, that's still solid. And we've seen the Kings have success drafting in the later rounds. I'd trust Yanetti and co to find a player or two with an extra 3rd or 4th rounder.

 

[unicornpig]

The only thing that makes me sad about trading Vilardi is not having a picture of his face when he touched down in Winnipeg.

So much talent. It's crazy he couldn't carve out a spot on the team in 5 years.

its not crazy. who has been the coach the past 5 years.....

 

[Fat Elvis]

Their drafting philosophy the last couple drafts has been horrid. Not sure I want these same decision makers in charge of recouping draft picks just to use them on ehh talent.

 

[FSL KINGS]

its not crazy. who has been the coach the past 5 years.....

Koala got one thing right!

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

Their drafting philosophy the last couple drafts has been horrid. Not sure I want these same decision makers in charge of recouping draft picks just to use them on ehh talent.

Has it??

Byfield is a stud. Clarke looks legit. Turcotte looking really solid as a player, just needs to stay healthy. Kaliyev was a good pick even if he doesn't work out with the Kings. Spence was a phenomenal pick. Laferriere is looking like a phenomenal pick. Mikey Anderson was a great pick.

Faber was an amazing pick (unfortunately traded). Vilardi turned out to be a great pick (unfortunately traded).

And there's a number of other really solid picks as well over the years - Guys that might not be game breakers or anything but are still solid especially given where they were drafted: Kupari, Grans, JAD, Fagemo, Pinelli, Salin, Helenius, Chromiak... Plus Ziemmer, Dvorak, and Slukynsky from the 2023 draft could all end up being really good picks.

Drafting isn't really the issue - even with the Turcotte pick being what it is. I trust Yanetti tbh.

 

[Fat Elvis]

Has it??

Byfield is a stud. Clarke looks legit. Turcotte looking really solid as a player, just needs to stay healthy. Kaliyev was a good pick even if he doesn't work out with the Kings. Spence was a phenomenal pick. Laferriere is looking like a phenomenal pick. Mikey Anderson was a great pick.

Faber was an amazing pick (unfortunately traded). Vilardi turned out to be a great pick (unfortunately traded).

And there's a number of other really solid picks as well over the years - Guys that might not be game breakers or anything but are still solid especially given where they were drafted: Kupari, Grans, JAD, Fagemo, Pinelli, Salin, Helenius, Chromiak... Plus Ziemmer, Dvorak, and Slukynsky from the 2023 draft could all end up being really good picks.

Drafting isn't really the issue - even with the Turcotte pick being what it is. I trust Yanetti tbh.

So, you don't know what a "Couple" means? Means 2
I mostly blame myself for not being crystal clear.....

The bolded players are just guys with the exception of the goalie who may or may not pan out.
Their two highest picks from THE LAST 2 DRAFTS are trash. Dvorak may or may not be a bottom pair D eventually, but I'd bet he's back in Europe in 2 seasons.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

So, you don't know what a "Couple" means? Means 2
I mostly blame myself for not being crystal clear.....

The bolded players are just guys with the exception of the goalie who may or may not pan out.
Their two highest picks from THE LAST 2 DRAFTS are trash. Dvorak may or may not be a bottom pair D eventually, but I'd bet he's back in Europe in 2 seasons.

Alright buddy lol. If you want to just look at 2022 and 2023 we can do that.

2023 - I'd say Ziemmer is a good/great pick and Slukynsky is looking like a great pick given what he's shown. Dvorak might be more of a wildcard but I don't really mind the Kings taking a swing on a big 6'4 left handed defenseman. Ryan Conmy is also looking like a pretty good pick - he's having over a point per game season as a freshman in the NCAA (that's actually insane, kid might be a steal). Not sure on Mathew Mania but he was a 5th rounder anyways.

2022 - I'll give you this draft looks like it may not be the best for the Kings but it's hard to really fault them on that when they had 1 pick (51st overall) in the first 100 picks of the draft. It's essentially a bunch of 4th, 5th, and 6th rounders who were always going to be long shots to hit.

So my point still stands - I don't think drafting is the problem and trust Yanetti and co.

 

[kinghock]

Yea if they realize its not their year they can get a good return for Roy.
Lizotte, Arvidsson, and Grundstrom could return some mid round picks to recoup for the ones they have dealt this draft. Or to pickup some grit that need a change of scenery like Duhaime or Greenway.
They could still make the playoffs after dealing these players also.

I think good return for Roy, Lizotte, Arvidsson, and Grundstrom should include good young goalie and good young physical player.

This should be done without spending additional assets.

 

[tbrown33]

2023 draft was pretty good all things considered. Dvorak I have no idea, but Slukynsky, Ziemmer, Conmy, and Mania are all picks that have had really promising D+1 seasons so far.

2022 was a f***ing trash fire tho, esp taking Hughes over Hutson.

 

[kilowatt]

I said it before and I’ll say it again, we need Byfield and Dubois to switch places. Dubois has to get going if we want to make the playoffs and it’s high time Kopitar and Kempe stepped up and made it happen.

Dubois - Kopitar - Kempe
Moore - Danault - Kaliyev
Turcotte - Byfield - Arvidsson
Fiala - Lizotte - Laferriere

If we can roll four even lines I think this gives us our best shot at winning hockey games right now.

 

[Statto]

Has it??

Byfield is a stud. Clarke looks legit. Turcotte looking really solid as a player, just needs to stay healthy. Kaliyev was a good pick even if he doesn't work out with the Kings. Spence was a phenomenal pick. Laferriere is looking like a phenomenal pick. Mikey Anderson was a great pick.

Faber was an amazing pick (unfortunately traded). Vilardi turned out to be a great pick (unfortunately traded).

And there's a number of other really solid picks as well over the years - Guys that might not be game breakers or anything but are still solid especially given where they were drafted: Kupari, Grans, JAD, Fagemo, Pinelli, Salin, Helenius, Chromiak... Plus Ziemmer, Dvorak, and Slukynsky from the 2023 draft could all end up being really good picks.

Drafting isn't really the issue - even with the Turcotte pick being what it is. I trust Yanetti tbh.

Agreed. The issue is what happens after the draft at time…