Kings Article: LA Kings Need Supporting Cast to Pull Their Share of the Weight

[GoldenBearHockey]

This is all spot on.

The player retention thing is so amazing to me, here is a team that is about to go five straight years without contending and the roster has been turned over less than any other NHL team in that same timeframe. I mean just let that sink in. And it's shared by both management teams, Dean started this mess but Blake has done nothing over two offseasons to address it

I dunno, look at Chicago,

Toews, Kane, Saad, Keith, Seabrook, Animisov, Crawford

Compared to LA

Kopitar, Brown, Carter, Doughty, Muzzin, Martinez, Quick

Pretty much dead on the same....

I get it, the team is in a bad spot, but the hyperbole coming from people is amazing....

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

As almost always, we are in complete agreement. I still think the failure to buy out Richards was the beginning of the end, but I know you think it was the Quick signing.

I am sick of the organizational nepotism. The entire management team needs to go, and they should start from scratch.

My only problem with that is, it's everywhere, be it good, bad or indifferent, the belief that the Kings are the ONLY team that has this, is wrong. Take a look at the front office staff of the Blackhawks, Penguins, Capitals, it's all littered with former players etc.

 

[Herby]

I dunno, look at Chicago,

Toews, Kane, Saad, Keith, Seabrook, Animisov, Crawford

Compared to LA

Kopitar, Brown, Carter, Doughty, Muzzin, Martinez, Quick

Pretty much dead on the same....

I get it, the team is in a bad spot, but the hyperbole coming from people is amazing....

It's not hyperbole, it's a fact that the Kings have had an insanely small amount of roster turnover for a team with 1 playoff win in what is going on 5 seasons now.

You reference Chicago, well the Kings beat Chicago in Game 7 of 2014 Western Finals. That is going on 5 years of time, and in that time the Kings have sucked. The Hawks won in 2015 but have not been much better than the Kings since then.

From those 2014 rosters the Hawks have five players Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook and Crawford who have been continuously on the roster since that series, the Kings have ten players Kopitar , Doughty, Brown, Muzzin, Martinez, Quick, Pearson, Toffoli, Lewis and Clifford who have been continuously on the roster.

I get it, you are never critical of anything to do with the Kings, and you can say that you think the criticism on lack of roster turnover is invalid, but don't try and say that it's the same with other teams because it's not.

Pittsburgh has four
Washington has four
Nashville has five
San Jose has seven

But what do these other teams know, clearly the way to build a winner is returning the same guys year after year after missing the playoffs or getting dominated in the 1st round.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

It's not hyperbole, it's a fact that the Kings have had an insanely small amount of roster turnover for a team with 1 playoff win in what is going on 5 seasons now.

You reference Chicago, well the Kings beat Chicago in Game 7 of 2014 Western Finals. That is going on 5 years of time, and in that time the Kings have sucked. The Hawks won in 2015 but have not been much better than the Kings since then.

From those 2014 rosters the Hawks have five players Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook and Crawford who have been continuously on the roster since that series, the Kings have ten players Kopitar , Doughty, Brown, Muzzin, Martinez, Quick, Pearson, Toffoli, Lewis and Clifford who have been continuously on the roster.

I get it, you are never critical of anything to do with the Kings, and you can say that you think the criticism on lack of roster turnover is invalid, but don't try and say that it's the same with other teams because it's not.

Pittsburgh has four
Washington has four
Nashville has five
San Jose has seven

But what do these other teams know, clearly the way to build a winner is returning the same guys year after year after missing the playoffs or getting dominated in the 1st round.

You say continuously as the Hawks didn't make a mistake in bringing back Saad, you forget to mention Anisimov etc.

You bring up San Jose...like the have won something, at least Pittsburgh and Washington you can have a valid argument.

Lets bring up Boston, Chara, Rask, Bergeron, Marchand, Krejc, Krug, Pastarnak, Millar, that's 8 right there, so where exactly is the sweet spot for turnover ratio? You honestly think LA keeping Lewis, Clifford and Pearson, which is 3 less than what you brought up, is their downfall?

 

[FrozenRoyalty]

This shouldn't be so difficult to understand...

If the supporting cast isn't scoring, all opposing teams have to do is focus all their efforts on stopping the top line, which is, in fact, what other teams have been doing, which also includes double-teaming Kopitar along the left and right wing boards quite often.

 

[KINGS17]

This shouldn't be so difficult to understand...

If the supporting cast isn't scoring, all opposing teams have to do is focus all their efforts on stopping the top line, which is, in fact, what other teams have been doing, which also includes double-teaming Kopitar along the left and right wing boards quite often.

Don't come in here and be a condescending ass. Kopitar's problems are largely due to Kopitar not getting the job done.

 

[Herby]

You say continuously as the Hawks didn't make a mistake in bringing back Saad, you forget to mention Anisimov etc.

You bring up San Jose...like the have won something, at least Pittsburgh and Washington you can have a valid argument.

Lets bring up Boston, Chara, Rask, Bergeron, Marchand, Krejc, Krug, Pastarnak, Millar, that's 8 right there, so where exactly is the sweet spot for turnover ratio? You honestly think LA keeping Lewis, Clifford and Pearson, which is 3 less than what you brought up, is their downfall?

I just named a bunch of teams and their roster turnover. Still haven't found a team with as little as the Kings, and 1 playoff win in the time frame.

Anisimov was not on the 2014 Chicago team, or the 2015 Chicago team. He arrived in Chicago for the 2016 season, so why would I include him?
Pastranak debuted in the NHL the next season, as a 19 year old.

And bringing back Saad was a huge mistake by Chicago, I don't know how you can think otherwise, it was done to appease certain players, which was very likely the case with some of the moves made or lack thereof by the Kings in that time frame.

This group has NEVER had a wake-up call or a room shake-up despite all the crap that has gone on the last four years, yeah a few guys got old and left when their contracts were up, but no one who would be considered a core player has been moved on from since 2014, that is pathetic.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I just named a bunch of teams and their roster turnover. Still haven't found a team with as little as the Kings, and 1 playoff win in the time frame.

Anisimov was not on the 2014 Chicago team, or the 2015 Chicago team. He arrived in Chicago for the 2016 season, so why would I include him?
Pastranak debuted in the NHL the next season, as a 19 year old.

And bringing back Saad was a huge mistake by Chicago, I don't know how you can think otherwise, it was done to appease certain players, which was very likely the case with some of the moves made or lack thereof by the Kings in that time frame.

This group has NEVER had a wake-up call or a room shake-up despite all the crap that has gone on the last four years, yeah a few guys got old and left when their contracts were up, but no one who would be considered a core player has been moved on from since 2014, that is pathetic.

Anisimov was there for 2015-2016, not sure where you are seeing he wasn't,

I'm not disagreeing with you that the team needs a shakeup, but saying that they suck because the roster isn't turned over is not true either....

 

[Herby]

My reference for team turnover was the Kings second cup which was 2014. I said it as much in my post. When the Kings beat Chicago in 2014 he wasn't on the roster, nor was he on the roster in Chicago the next season. Saad for Anisimov trade happened in the summer of 2015, after the Hawks won the cup. This is Anisimov's 4th season in Chicago, all the players listed for the Kings have been in LA for atleast six years, and most of them for way longer. Five years of zero success should bring about changes, just amazed that you think otherwise.

Edit: I guess I see where you are misunderstanding me, when I say 2016 season I mean 2015-2016, just as I would say something that happened in Nov. 2013 would be part of the 2014 season.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

My reference for team turnover was the Kings second cup which was 2014. I said it as much in my post. When the Kings beat Chicago in 2014 he wasn't on the roster, nor was he on the roster in Chicago the next season. Saad for Anisimov trade happened in the summer of 2015, after the Hawks won the cup. This is Anisimov's 4th season in Chicago, all the players listed for the Kings have been in LA for atleast six years, and most of them for way longer. Five years of zero success should bring about changes, just amazed that you think otherwise.

Edit: I guess I see where you are misunderstanding me, when I say 2016 season I mean 2015-2016, just as I would say something that happened in Nov. 2013 would be part of the 2014 season.

Did you not see where I said I agree with you that the team needs a shakeup, I just dont blame their lack of success or failures, on the fact that 10 players are left over from the cup....

 

[Fishhead]

This shouldn't be so difficult to understand...

If the supporting cast isn't scoring, all opposing teams have to do is focus all their efforts on stopping the top line, which is, in fact, what other teams have been doing, which also includes double-teaming Kopitar along the left and right wing boards quite often.

I'm more in the camp that your first line should be able to score no matter what. Kopitar is one of the best in the league, and a lot of those types of guys on other teams get double teamed. Other teams specifically game plan for them, focus on them with their best players, and still they put up points.

What Kopitar is doing this year is all on Kopitar, no one else.

 

[bland]

This shouldn't be so difficult to understand...

If the supporting cast isn't scoring, all opposing teams have to do is focus all their efforts on stopping the top line, which is, in fact, what other teams have been doing, which also includes double-teaming Kopitar along the left and right wing boards quite often.

Except that is not what's happening.

 

[DoktorJeep]

This shouldn't be so difficult to understand...

If the supporting cast isn't scoring, all opposing teams have to do is focus all their efforts on stopping the top line, which is, in fact, what other teams have been doing, which also includes double-teaming Kopitar along the left and right wing boards quite often.

Going into tonight’s game, LA has the worse goal differential in the league. Which would mean that the main issue is defense. Many others are saying the way the Kings try to work as 5 man units to break out the puck is out dated. If you include a lack of quality depth on D, it’s a better explanation for why the whole team has collapsed.

I feel like your article misses the macro by focusing on micro issues.

Wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see either Kempe or Pearson traded and start to score goals.

 

[Herby]

Going into tonight’s game, LA has the worse goal differential in the league. Which would mean that the main issue is defense. Many others are saying the way the Kings try to work as 5 man units to break out the puck is out dated. If you include a lack of quality depth on D, it’s a better explanation for why the whole team has collapsed.

I feel like your article misses the macro by focusing on micro issues.

Wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see either Kempe or Pearson traded and start to score goals.

The Kings offensive system and entire organizational philosophy is about on par with the Jeff Fisher lead Rams in the NFL.

They need to really hire someone in the offseason who is going to come in and completely change things from top to bottom. This incarnation of the Kings gave us some great memories 5-6 years ago, but it's just beyond rotten now, in every way imaginable.

 

[bland]

The Kings offensive system and entire organizational philosophy is about on par with the Jeff Fisher lead Rams in the NFL.

They need to really hire someone in the offseason who is going to come in and completely change things from top to bottom. This incarnation of the Kings gave us some great memories 5-6 years ago, but it's just beyond rotten now, in every way imaginable.

Kopitar is not a traditional play maker. He doesn't have an ounce of deception in his game. He doesn't think two passes ahead of the play, and doesn't do anything to use the players around him to their best effect.

What he is, and he is damn good at this, is using his giant frame and leg strength to hold off defenders and hold the puck long enough until a chance develops. He is kind of like an option quarterback which holds the ball as long as possible until he can either dish it or keep it himself.

But teams have learned that even if you give him space, he will still drift towards the wall instead of taking it to the net. He has so many opportunities to create his own shot and denies himself and his team more often than not. It's about his confidence. When he is aggressive, he can be unstoppable.

But he isn't being aggressive, and this is something the author is dead wrong about: he isn't being double teamed, he is skating straight to the boards and pulling up. Once the puck stops that high up, you are encouraging the defense to step up AND the forward covering the point to converge down. He is taking the puck directly to an area where he can be covered by two men and stopping instead of moving the puck. He does this a dozen times a game and it's his own damn fault that he isn't creating any offense.

Conversely, if your top players aren't performing, you are putting too much pressure on your middle six to over achieve, and this team doesn't have one single overachiever on the roster.

 

[damacles1156]

Kopitar is not a traditional play maker. He doesn't have an ounce of deception in his game. He doesn't think two passes ahead of the play, and doesn't do anything to use the players around him to their best effect.

What he is, and he is damn good at this, is using his giant frame and leg strength to hold off defenders and hold the puck long enough until a chance develops. He is kind of like an option quarterback which holds the ball as long as possible until he can either dish it or keep it himself.

But teams have learned that even if you give him space, he will still drift towards the wall instead of taking it to the net. He has so many opportunities to create his own shot and denies himself and his team more often than not. It's about his confidence. When he is aggressive, he can be unstoppable.

But he isn't being aggressive, and this is something the author is dead wrong about: he isn't being double teamed, he is skating straight to the boards and pulling up. Once the puck stops that high up, you are encouraging the defense to step up AND the forward covering the point to converge down. He is taking the puck directly to an area where he can be covered by two men and stopping instead of moving the puck. He does this a dozen times a game and it's his own damn fault that he isn't creating any offense.

Conversely, if your top players aren't performing, you are putting too much pressure on your middle six to over achieve, and this team doesn't have one single overachiever on the roster.

100% agree.