Speculation: LA Kings News, Rumors, Roster Thread 2022-23 Season

[BigKing]

I will say that a big part of my Durzi stance is the guy we saw last year with the balls and the moxie. Not seeing a ton of that this season and I need that from him to offset the deficiencies.

 

[Fishhead]

I will say that a big part of my Durzi stance is the guy we saw last year with the balls and the moxie. Not seeing a ton of that this season and I need that from him to offset the deficiencies.

I think with the added responsibility he's having to think a lot more. Plus, he's made some terrible mistakes that seemed to really bother him. If he pulls things together and smarter plays become second nature, he'll get that swagger back.

 

[unicornpig]

Chychrun has looked much better this year, really solid on the ice. That said, he's getting creampuff deployments and lots of Ozone starts. Having a positive Ozone start percentage on Arizona is really saying something, they constantly start in their own zone. Moser, who gets the tougher jobs, has 39 offensive to 111 defensive starts. Craziness.

Still not sure if he's worth that ask.

its an overpay for sure, but the kings have a log gam and wing and rhd. somethings gotta give.

 

[YP44]

Chychrun has looked much better this year, really solid on the ice. That said, he's getting creampuff deployments and lots of Ozone starts. Having a positive Ozone start percentage on Arizona is really saying something, they constantly start in their own zone. Moser, who gets the tougher jobs, has 39 offensive to 111 defensive starts. Craziness.

Still not sure if he's worth that ask.

he always looks good IMO. His injury issues are my main concern.

 

[johnjm22]

This is true, but could be misleading.

At ES, Durzi does have more dzone starts than ozone, but so does every King except Spence, Clarke, and Walker. The Kings aren't really deploying anyone defensively, among the regulars Ozone start % is pretty consistent sans Walker and Clarke.

His PP time is 2:35 per game, Doughty's is 3:16. No other defenseman is even close. There are only 29 defensmen in the league who average over 3 minutes per game. Durzi is 38th overall in PP ice time per game in the NHL, that's major opportunity.

I just don't see how he gets 50 points if he's deployed on the 3rd line. He gets a lot of points on the PP, but he also has the highest points per 60 on the team at ES. Based on his pace 4 minutes less per game means 8 points less per season at ES. Other factors will play into that obviously, but everything points to him being between 38-42 points if deployed in a 3rd line role.

One thing will improve if he moves down, and that's goals against. He has the worst GF% on the team, even worse than Walker.

Sifting through that data did tell me one thing for certain, that's unrelated, but Mikey Anderson is a f***ing stud.

Yeah, but you're comparing him to other Kings. Most defensemen who score at a 50 point pace are in a more advantageous situation.

 

[LeftKinger]

I think Durzi would be able to score more if he was utilized correctly and sheltered. I think his confidence takes a nit (naturally) when he commits a defensive zone error. If his deployment was optimized, I really think he may become one of the best offensive defenseman in the league. I’d utilize him as a rover.

 

[Fishhead]

Yeah, but you're comparing him to other Kings. Most defensemen who score at a 50 point pace are in a more advantageous situation.

I would agree in the past, but in the past two years the offense has really produced. They are pretty close to a top-10 offense this year, they are right there with Vegas, Toronto, and so on - teams who traditionally are high scoring. Durzi's numbers are benefitting from that.

Stats don't tell everything, Durzi has intangibles which make him desirable, and his effort can never be doubted. There is a lot to like about him, but a lot to dislike. He's used incorrectly, but that incorrect usage is why he produces so much. His deployment is great for Durzi, but poor for the team. I think deployed correctly he's around a 40 point specialist defenseman. The big questions are how much does that help the team as a whole and does it work during the playoffs? And are the alternatives a better option?

 

[Fishhead]

I think Durzi would be able to score more if he was utilized correctly and sheltered. I think his confidence takes a nit (naturally) when he commits a defensive zone error. If his deployment was optimized, I really think he may become one of the best offensive defenseman in the league. I’d utilize him as a rover.

Well, correct utilization means fewer minutes, so to keep his same scoring he would need to score at similar rates to Makar and Ekblad, and better than guys like Hedman, DeAngelo, and Reilly. I don't see that kind of offensive talent in his game. I think correct utilization would be better for the team overall, but not for Durzi's personal statistics.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Isn’t Karlsson his idol?

I didn't know this but would explain a LOT

This is true, but could be misleading.

At ES, Durzi does have more dzone starts than ozone, but so does every King except Spence, Clarke, and Walker. The Kings aren't really deploying anyone defensively, among the regulars Ozone start % is pretty consistent sans Walker and Clarke.

His PP time is 2:35 per game, Doughty's is 3:16. No other defenseman is even close. There are only 29 defensmen in the league who average over 3 minutes per game. Durzi is 38th overall in PP ice time per game in the NHL, that's major opportunity.

I just don't see how he gets 50 points if he's deployed on the 3rd line. He gets a lot of points on the PP, but he also has the highest points per 60 on the team at ES. Based on his pace 4 minutes less per game means 8 points less per season at ES. Other factors will play into that obviously, but everything points to him being between 38-42 points if deployed in a 3rd line role.

One thing will improve if he moves down, and that's goals against. He has the worst GF% on the team, even worse than Walker.

Sifting through that data did tell me one thing for certain, that's unrelated, but Mikey Anderson is a f***ing stud.

Ok--but literally no one would complain about 40 points from the 3rd pairing, and willing to bet his focus/defense would be a bit stronger on the correct side with more sheltered minutes.

For me it's not really about underrating Durzi but more about the future design of this team's D-corps.

Would you rather have Doughty/Clarke/Spence or Doughty/Clarke/Durzi? Spence is 21, came in to Ontario as a rookie and basically put up a PPG, while maintaining a very good +/-. He also played 24 games with the Kings in 21-22 and didn't look out of place. Durzi didn't achieve that until year 3. I'm okay with pairing a stay-at-home guy with Durzi to try and mask his mistakes, but if we are making choices for our defensemen in the future, there is going to be an odd man out.

I'm willing to bet you that if Spence is given the opportunity for top PP time he will put up very similar numbers to Durzi. Spence > Durzi all the way for me.

And to be clear I 100% agree with that. I think eventually Durzi is the odd man out. I'm just not in a hurry to open the car door on the freeway just to make a spot.

Now if we're talking Walker? OPEN IT

 

[dman3474]

Everyone knows that you can't get any better after the age of 24, we should probably take him out back and old yeller him.

Especially because we are going to make a cup run this season, it would be terrible if a young 2nd year D got extra d-zone time to see if he can round out his game. /s


I am not saying he wouldn't be a great trade piece, but he isn't useless to this team.

 

[mysterman2]

Play Durzi on his proper side and give him sheltered minutes...should only play on the tail end of a PK and by no means matched up against high caliber talent. That said- you simply got better RHD in the pipeline and I dont think its particularly close even with Spence/Clarke. If there was a similar LHD available for trade straight up- I jump on it. If there is a clear LHD upgrade for a big NHL proven LHD with a good contract- Id trade Durzi and Bjornfot. Note im a huge Bjornfot fan...but seems that he hasnt gotten a fair shake and still a good bargaining chip for some NHL team.

 

[bmr]

Chychrun has looked much better this year, really solid on the ice. That said, he's getting creampuff deployments and lots of Ozone starts. Having a positive Ozone start percentage on Arizona is really saying something, they constantly start in their own zone. Moser, who gets the tougher jobs, has 39 offensive to 111 defensive starts. Craziness.

Still not sure if he's worth that ask.

I would totally pull the trigger if he wasn't so injury prone. This could be a thing of the past, but it's so difficult to ignore a pattern. I know Justin Williams was injured a lot earlier in his career, but not so much in the end. Are Chychrun's injuries flukey or more than that?

I also think that Spence is better overall, but should Durzi be traded or kept around? If he's kept on as a #7 or injury insurance, what do you pay him? If you trade him, what do you expect back for him?

Tough questions. I honestly never expected Spence to do what he has been doing, and it's really thrown a wrench (pleasantly) into the defensive prospect pool.

I don't think I noticed Durzi's defensive gaffes as much last year. They are much more glaring now. It all started with that game earlier in the season when he made that stupid pass and it led to a goal in the final seconds.

Let me ask you guys this: when Spence has the puck, do you worry about what's going to happen with the play? When Clarke has the puck? Durzi (as great as he is on the PP) makes me feel uneasy when it's a higher pressure moment.

Honestly, if we could package Durzi, a 1st or 2nd and another prospect to get a coveted LHD, I would be all for it. I think maybe the only reason Blake hasn't done that yet is because he knows there are going to be several UFAs at the end of the year that can fit that bill. Who knows how much they are going to cost, though.

 

[mysterman2]

Let me ask you guys this: when Spence has the puck, do you worry about what's going to happen with the play? When Clarke has the puck? Durzi (as great as he is on the PP) makes me feel uneasy when it's a higher pressure moment.

This for sure- the gaffe in game 1 totally magnifies his tendency to make ill advised plays and sometimes just looks to throw to a random area to relieve pressure. I havent seen less of that as the season has gone either.
Like a veteran QB who knows where the check down pass is going when pressure is on- the vet knows where to throw it where as the rookie or bad QB throws into pressure typically with bad results.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I would totally pull the trigger if he wasn't so injury prone. This could be a thing of the past, but it's so difficult to ignore a pattern. I know Justin Williams was injured a lot earlier in his career, but not so much in the end. Are Chychrun's injuries flukey or more than that?



I don't think I noticed Durzi's defensive gaffes as much last year. They are much more glaring now. It all started with that game earlier in the season when he made that stupid pass and it led to a goal in the final seconds.

Let me ask you guys this: when Spence has the puck, do you worry about what's going to happen with the play? When Clarke has the puck? Durzi (as great as he is on the PP) makes me feel uneasy when it's a higher pressure moment.

Honestly, if we could package Durzi, a 1st or 2nd and another prospect to get a coveted LHD, I would be all for it. I think maybe the only reason Blake hasn't done that yet is because he knows there are going to be several UFAs at the end of the year that can fit that bill. Who knows how much they are going to cost, though.

Did you notice that when Clarke was getting jammed onto the left side that his game suffered too?

Because he was noticably a less effective player there too.

So yes, when used improperly, I have worries about those guys, too, not just Durzi. And that goes for Roy who is suffering the effects as well.

Some dmen can play both sides effortlessly, some can do it with chemistry, some can't at all. It appears we have a set of guys who cannot make it work and that's ok, it just means the GM has to get off his ass OR the coach needs to play his LHD in Bjornfot and Moverare before OR waiving Walker before simply moving Durzi for pennies on the dollar because everyone systematically f***ed up.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Actually, it should. The stat lines are ALWAYS a smokescreen. Look at what's happening here:

Durzi contributes a terrific amount of offense and a terrible amount of defense. Its indicative of the major issue this year's team is facing. The theme of this years team is "do the Kings think they can score their way out of the trouble?" In general terms it works against lousy teams, fails against better ones, which most certainly points to an early exit as the most likely option.

That's Durzi is a nutshell. High event hockey. I invite folks to give examples of successful teams that feature high event defensemen. There is a reason why Marc Andre Bergereon types have a limited shelf life, team's enjoy the offense they create but in short order learn that this particular juice isn't worth the squeeze.

The Kings have multiple E-ticket defensemen ready for that exact same spot right now, they can avoid that issue with Durzi entirely AND move forward. Weight it up and its a no brainer, you go with Spence or Clarke.

I'll agree it would be unreasonable to expect either to hit more than 30 points, so even if one is stat obsessed, you are talking about just one more goal for every 4 games, but how many goals against are you preventing in that same time frame?

Controlled hockey is winning hockey, chaotic hockey makes for better entertainment but worse results.

I don’t know what you’re going on about here or who you’re trying to convince of what.

I’m fine with moving Durzi if and when he’s supplanted on the right side by one or both of Clarke/Spence, and we have a good offer for him. Every team has high risk offensive defensemen. Comparing Durzi to Marc Andre Bergeron makes absolutely no sense. MAB was a journeyman PMD who never once cracked 50 points in his career. Ridiculous comparison.

Durzi is not the problem on the right side. Walker and Roy are the players in Spence/Clarke’s way right now, not Durzi.

 

[King'sPawn]

Durzi is not the problem on the right side. Walker and Roy are the players in Spence/Clarke’s way right now, not Durzi.

I disagree on Roy - he was never intended to be a point-producing defenseman. I'd say his role is more geared towards something like Scuderi. Be a buoying player on defense, pinch in the offense to fit the Kings system, but try to minimize high events in the defensive zone. He's had an up-and-down year for sure, but he's not taking up a spot from Spence or Clarke.

Durzi and Walker are both the ones expected to be more contributive offensively. So far, Durzi has done his part in contributing offense, but for all intents and purposes, he's playing a role that both Spence and Clarke are more apt to fill. Walker, 100% agree. He's supposed to be more offensively productive but he's on a similar scoring rate with Edler.

 

[kings11]

Chychrun has looked much better this year, really solid on the ice. That said, he's getting creampuff deployments and lots of Ozone starts. Having a positive Ozone start percentage on Arizona is really saying something, they constantly start in their own zone. Moser, who gets the tougher jobs, has 39 offensive to 111 defensive starts. Craziness.

Still not sure if he's worth that ask.

Exactly, I think he’s above 60% O-zone starts.. What we need is a defensive LHD with size

 

[Statto]

Chychrun has looked much better this year, really solid on the ice. That said, he's getting creampuff deployments and lots of Ozone starts. Having a positive Ozone start percentage on Arizona is really saying something, they constantly start in their own zone. Moser, who gets the tougher jobs, has 39 offensive to 111 defensive starts. Craziness.

Still not sure if he's worth that ask.

He’s not the type of player we need either.

If we had 4 Mikey Anderson types fighting to get in the lineup, as our talent surplus, then getting him might begin to make sense. Our problem is the closest we have to a gritty stay at home guy is Edler, Roy or Anderson; none of whom properly fit the bill. Anderson is the only reliable defensive guy that’s going to be here past this season. Roy is sinking right now, Edler should be a #7 at this point.

We have offensive guys we cannot get in the lineup regularly as it is. I’d like to know what hole he fills other than shooting left?

 

[AbsentMojo]

He’s not the type of player we need either.

If we had 4 Mikey Anderson types fighting to get in the lineup, as our talent surplus, then getting him might begin to make sense. Our problem is the closest we have to a gritty stay at home guy is Edler, Roy or Anderson; none of whom properly fit the bill. Anderson is the only reliable defensive guy that’s going to be here past this season. Roy is sinking right now, Edler should be a #7 at this point.

We have offensive guys we cannot get in the lineup regularly as it is. I’d like to know what hole he fills other than shooting left?

I could make the case he's LD1 paired with DD playing a mostly stay at home role - Mikey moves down to the sorely needed LD2 paired w Spence - and Edler and Durzi round out the pairings. Each pair has puck move/offense and a stay at home.

 

[Surf Nutz]

Durzi, iafallo/kempe, 1st for chycrun

Why do you hate the Kings?

 

[unicornpig]

Why do you hate the Kings?

says the guy who wants to re-sign quick LOL

 

[Surf Nutz]

says the guy who wants to re-sign quick LOL

It ended up being a bad idea, and I own it Piggy.

 

[FSL KINGS]

In a couple of years, I'd be fine with Clarke, Spence, Durzi down the right side.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Durzi, iafallo/kempe, 1st for chycrun

In a heartbeat.. have to clear salary to make it happen. Too many wings taking up cap space esp after signing Moore.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I disagree on Roy - he was never intended to be a point-producing defenseman. I'd say his role is more geared towards something like Scuderi. Be a buoying player on defense, pinch in the offense to fit the Kings system, but try to minimize high events in the defensive zone. He's had an up-and-down year for sure, but he's not taking up a spot from Spence or Clarke.

Durzi and Walker are both the ones expected to be more contributive offensively. So far, Durzi has done his part in contributing offense, but for all intents and purposes, he's playing a role that both Spence and Clarke are more apt to fill. Walker, 100% agree. He's supposed to be more offensively productive but he's on a similar scoring rate with Edler.

Roy IS in the way by virtue of his handedness. There is no room for a player like Roy if our three RHD are Doughty, Spence, and Clarke.

Neither Clarke nor Spence have played half an NHL season at this point. Durzi is on track to be one of the better offensive defensemen in the league this year.

I understand Spence and Clarke are exciting offensive prospects that will very likely make Durzi obsolete. But people need to check into reality every once in a while.