Yeah… he’s just not gonna make it in this sport. That did not look good for him.
LA KINGS 2023/4 Regular season discussion
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Yeah… he’s just not gonna make it in this sport. That did not look good for him.
AbsentMojo
F-ing get up and hunt! Cmon Todd!
- Apr 18, 2018
- 10,717
- 11,072
again his head was down in a high traffic/danger area (corner boards) like the last one that took him out..he was playing well just getting to be routine to see him out for 30 games at a time
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Lt Dan
F*** your ice cream!
Yeah whether it’s awareness or his size or the hockey gods just hate him, it’s not looking good. Dudes gotta start thinking about his long term health.
Like in the good ol Smythe division days. 13-12 final.
Turcotte just doesn’t have the awareness required to play pro hockey against men. He’s not some special magnet for cheap shots. He’s not being targeted for headshots by the other team. It’s not because he’s in the AHL. He simply isn’t aware of the dangerous areas on the ice. He should know that the corners in the O-zone are high danger. He should know that when he’s carrying the puck across the blue line there’s likely to be a dman or a back checking winger moving laterally towards him to cut him off and hit him. He’s not able to learn to keep his head up. Are the other prospects being concussed constantly by “all the cheap shot goons in the AHL”? Why just him?
I know right?! We need to get Clarke to the NHL where the corners are safe and young prospects that keep their heads down aren’t targeted!
Raccoon Jesus
We were right there
Akil literally got elbowed in the dome minutes later. And Clarke certainly has been MULTIPLE times.
Sorry he's not more concussion prone?
I don't know why people constantly lean on the blame the victim thing re: the AHL like they need to defend the league, it's pretty commonly accepted pretty much everywhere else but on this forum that that's just how it is.
Yeah I’m not trying to start a whole thing. In my opinion the problem is Turcotte’s tunnel vision and failure (so far) to adapt his game to the more physical pro level. Lots of guys trying to prove themselves at the NHL level too. I don’t think he survives anywhere until he adapts.
King'sPawn
Enjoy the chaos
- Jul 1, 2003
- 23,232
- 24,210
I legit think it's just a combination of Turcotte not developing the skill of taking a hit while also being in an environment with dudes who don't know how to hit (or make a bad hit to try to earn a promotion).
It's just not a good mix. Him getting injured more than the average player seems to be a byproduct of these circumstances.
It's just not a good mix. Him getting injured more than the average player seems to be a byproduct of these circumstances.
Herby
How could Blake have known?
This is why I continue to not have much of an issue with this trade even as PLD really struggles this season.
Iafallo is what he is, he's a wildly inconsistent 3rd line winger who will end up with about 40-45 points (assuming health) while having stretches where he's just not much of a factor. People went crazy over the fast start but history tells us he wasn't going to be able to keep it going and has evened out. It's just tough to count on players who have these types of stretches so frequently.
Vilardi was a great job by Blake in refurbishing what was a collapsing asset, getting him to the wing and then flipping him at what was going to be his max value. Last year, 19% shooting percentage, playing with a 1st line point-per-game talent while drawing pretty soft matchups was probably the best type of season you are going to get out of him. Blake was (fairly I think) criticized a lot here for not moving assets when they had maximum value, but in this instance he did move an asset when it was at maximum value.
The contract with PLD is the more troubling issue for the Kings than any of the players they gave up to get him.
It's the same issues that have prevented him from being a scoring player, he is a constant go-go-go ball of energy who just isn't able to let the game slow down enough for him. It's for sure one of the major reasons why his offensive game is limited and probably the biggest reason why he can't stay healthy.
Guys who play like this, an energy sandpaper role on a teams bottom lines can be valuable assets, Lizotte does similar things and he's been great for the Kings the last two seasons, and Turcotte probably has a slightly higher offensive ceiling while being a bigger body, so the NHL upside to be a Lizotte+ is certainly there. But it's not going to be possible for him to play that role if he keeps getting concussed this often. How many would this be for him since he turned pro?
And while I have wanted him up all-season, and a lot of that is because of the cheap shots he's taken in the AHL during his career, this really wasn't a blatant cheap shot. It was the type of hit that he is going to have to be able to occasionally take at the NHL level.
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I think its time to swap Fagemo for Laferriere. Laf needs some seasoning in the A and Fagemo is more than deserving of an opportunity. Also I'd like to see Grundy back with Lizzo, that line was dominant prior to the Lizotte injury.
mysterman2
Registered User
what kills me about PLD- with the amount of assets given up they could have landed so many better, proven players. Probably could have gotten Brayden Schenn or Ryan OReilly. Guys with proven track records with bonafide game. Hope we are proven and eat crow- but moving a ton of assets and giving a max contract to a guy whose work ethic was questioned from the get go and never cracked 30 goals seems risky and unnecessary.
I think he is saying you could have paid less and been locked in shorter term.
This was always a long game deal though.
True enough, but typically you pay less, you get less, 25 games of PLD and people are crying, patience is a virtue.......people around here seem to forget that
O'Reilly was a free agent. He didn't cost any assets to acquire. He is younger than Kopitar and Doughty. If the Kings are trying to win with Kopitar and Doughty, then any player younger Kopitar and Doughty fits the window.
It was dumb to make the biggest trade/signing when teams were literally selling suitable centers at max retention for expiring contracts (Ryan Johansen for Galchenyuk's expiring contract).
Both Johansen and O'Reilly are good at faceoffs too.
The Kings could have gotten a center to play between Vilardi and Fiala at half the AAV of PL. They could have traded Arvidsson and Kupari for picks or recent draftees to restock the system.
The Kings have to hope someone will trade anything for PLD before his no movement clause starts in July. Simply clearing the cap space would be benefit to the team.
Imagine defending a guy getting paid 8.5 that has 11 points in 25 games. Dude has fewer points than a guy making league minimum stapled to the fourth line that's played fewer games to boot (Kaliyev)
You think O'Reilly would have signed here? I am optimistic most of the time, but even that's a big freaking sell....
Yes, they could have grabbed a C.....who? Johansson? You think PLD's contract is bad?
lumbergh
It was an idea. I didn't say it was a good idea.
Kings return home to face the Jets (16-8-2) next, but after that they have a stretch of 5 games against the Sharks (8-17-3) twice, the Kraken (8-14-7) twice, and the Flames (11-13-3). Good teams pick up points against these teams.
Imagine having the intestinal fortitude to not sit and bitch about every thing, 25 f***ing games into the season......imagine understanding there are more than points to measure a player....imagine...just understanding the game.
Yep, and a weakened Jets team with Connor more than likely out......good time to get home, reset, and get back to work
Raccoon Jesus
We were right there
The books been out since the Oilers series but Caps and NYs both just put it on display
kick the kings in the teeth, play borderline/completely dirty, and protect your slot/goalie, you will win a 2-1 game.
The only question is how many of those divisional opponents do it. I bet we drop at least 1 game vs the Sharks if not both. I've lost a LOT of faith and the general trend of 'oh well that's good enough' to scrape out wins vs. lottery opponents is not a good mindset.
kick the kings in the teeth, play borderline/completely dirty, and protect your slot/goalie, you will win a 2-1 game.
The only question is how many of those divisional opponents do it. I bet we drop at least 1 game vs the Sharks if not both. I've lost a LOT of faith and the general trend of 'oh well that's good enough' to scrape out wins vs. lottery opponents is not a good mindset.
bland
Registered User
- Jul 1, 2004
- 8,282
- 12,689
I don't see anyone saying that, so it doesn't surprise me that the usual suspects are more interested in being contrarians than contributing anything worth reading.
Piston
Fire Luc and Blake
Jim Fox talks a lot about 'game management'. There is also the subject of 'schedule management' and TM blew it yesterday. The NHL schedule is a brutal grind of 82 games. It is impossible to win every one. Some losses are less painful than others. Losing to the Rangers, a top 5 team coming off a shut out loss, an out of the conference opponent, and after a tough game the day before against the Islanders is one of those losses you chalk up to the schedule. Given that, why was Vlad Gavrikov in the lineup? You give him a day off and he has three days before the next game to recover. By putting him the lineup in a game that was going to be tough to win under the best of circumstances, you risk aggravating his injury and then playing shorthanded when he couldn't go anymore. This was baffling. Kudos to Danault for coming back, but losing a few teeth is different than a knee injury. Gavrikov should have been scratched.
