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

[All The Kings Men]

The reason why Edler plays is because he’s big and plays physical. The Kings gave Edler 750k to play that role because they couldn’t afford to pay another UFA because of the Anderson and Durzi contracts last summer OR Blake didn’t want to give up the assets. Now the Kings know what they have in some of these prospects and a bit more money to play with. The issue now is that goaltending is an issue, which Blake didn’t expect. And filling that will cost $$$.

They also took on $7.875M of cap hit when they acquired Fiala on July 5th

Edler signed on July 12th

Andersom and Durzi signed in like mid-September



I can't remember who but recently someone was trying to laud Blake for his meticulous plan while also complimenting his acquisition of Fiala.

Without weighing in on the wisdom of the Fiala trade and subsequent contract extension... there's no way that acquiring a $7.875M cap hit winger was part of the "meticulous plan" the franchise was working off of.

In fact....

"there aren’t a lot of times players like that come available. We were fortunate enough to be able to get in, get a deal done and get Kevin with us.”
- rob blake

 

[Trash Panda]

They also took on $7.875M of cap hit when they acquired Fiala on July 5th

Edler signed on July 12th

Andersom and Durzi signed in like mid-September



I can't remember who but recently someone was trying to laud Blake for his meticulous plan while also complimenting his acquisition of Fiala.

Without weighing in on the wisdom of the Fiala trade and subsequent contract extension... there's no way that acquiring a $7.875M cap hit winger was part of the "meticulous plan" the franchise was working off of.

In fact....

"there aren’t a lot of times players like that come available. We were fortunate enough to be able to get in, get a deal done and get Kevin with us.”
- rob blake

Just furthers the narrative floating around here that Blake tends to make moves in a vacuum, with little consideration to a larger “plan”.

I say this as a huge fan of the Fiala acquisition, FWIW.

 

[kilowatt]

The Kings don't have an obligation to have Quick finish the season on the roster! I have seen great goalies like Brodeur, Lundqvist, etc not finish with their original team and their respective team were not even a playoff team. This is about the team and what is best for making the playoffs this season and creating a good path for the future.

They don’t, I agree. But that should have been a decision before the season, not with 30 games to go. Unless Quick gets hurt down the stretch, I just don’t see us doing Quick like that. He has what, ten games left as a King? I’d be pretty upset as a fan of Quick and the team. And I think if you look at who is in charge — Rob and Luc — it makes that outcome extremely unlikely.

Like I said elsewhere, if he wants to continue his career elsewhere then he should seek another team in free agency. But it’s too late to move him or waive him right now.

 

[robitaillefan]

They don’t, I agree. But that should have been a decision before the season, not with 30 games to go. Unless Quick gets hurt down the stretch, I just don’t see us doing Quick like that. He has what, ten games left as a King? I’d be pretty upset as a fan of Quick and the team. And I think if you look at who is in charge — Rob and Luc — it makes that outcome extremely unlikely.

Like I said elsewhere, if he wants to continue his career elsewhere then he should seek another team in free agency. But it’s too late to move him or waive him right now.

 

[robitaillefan]

Fiala is an elite player.

This the price you pay for a player of his skill. There’s waaaaaay worse contracts out there for less dynamic players than this deal…I for one am stoked to have this guy …it’s been a long time that I’ve gotten excited every time a player picks the puck up and rushes it ….almost back to the ziggy days ….

 

[KingsHockey24]

People speculating Semyon Varlamov to LA.

 

[Trash Panda]

People speculating Semyon Varlamov to LA.

If he is cheap, I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t work out as a stop gap this year.

Gotta be bargain bin, though.

 

[deaderhead28]

 

[deaderhead28]

I have a feeling there's going to be lots of disappointment this trade deadline for many on this board. Kings are not a serious contender and I agree nothing spectacular other than a depth LHD this trade deadline. With Copley,Quick and Petersen on the books, I can't see Blake rolling with another goaltender this season with nearly 15 mil in goaltenders. If the deadline prices are real, I don't blame Blake waiting til this offseason to fill holes. Enjoy the development and future success from this group of kids coming up.

 

[kingsboy11]

I have a feeling there's going to be lots of disappointment this trade deadline for many on this board. Kings are not a serious contender and I agree nothing spectacular other than a depth LHD this trade deadline. With Copley,Quick and Petersen on the books, I can't see Blake rolling with another goaltender this season with nearly 15 mil in goaltenders. If the deadline prices are real, I don't blame Blake waiting til this offseason to fill holes. Enjoy the development and future success from this group of kids coming up.

Agreed I just don't see a major deal to be had until the offseason. I don't know how patient Blake wants to be. The acquisitions of Danault, Arvidsson and Fiala seem to indicate they want to expedite this a little bit quicker, but does Blake seriously want to jeopardize it on this season? I don't think he will. I think he'll look for small depth deals.

If the goaltending wasn't bad as it was I could see him being a bit more aggressive. I just don't see him trading for a goalie without giving up Petersen and I don't see how anybody could be tempted by him without us dumping our 1st round pick to take him which I think would be a terrible mistake.

 

[Statto]

The reason why Edler plays is because he’s big and plays physical. The Kings gave Edler 750k to play that role because they couldn’t afford to pay another UFA because of the Anderson and Durzi contracts last summer OR Blake didn’t want to give up the assets. Now the Kings know what they have in some of these prospects and a bit more money to play with. The issue now is that goaltending is an issue, which Blake didn’t expect. And filling that will cost $$$.

I think that’s Edlers base salary. He has a bunch of bonuses that will hit this years cap if there is space and if not they get deferred to next season. I’m sure that’s the case, but stand to be corrected.

 

[Statto]

Just furthers the narrative floating around here that Blake tends to make moves in a vacuum, with little consideration to a larger “plan”.

I say this as a huge fan of the Fiala acquisition, FWIW.

That implies to me that moving Fiala without it being part of the plan talks to Blake not doing the process correctly. If so, I disagree.

When a player of that calibre comes available at a great price he has show flexibility, strategic agility and thats exactly what he needs to do. A plan is just that, a plan (Which is exactly what a budget is) and plans can and should change as the conditions around them evolve. No successful business runs to the exact plan/budget they set a year earlier (let alone over several years). It just doesn’t happen, there has to be strategic and tactical agility. IF anything we will probably end up saying he wasn’t dynamic enough in that regard, although that remains to be seen.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

That implies to me that moving Fiala without it being part of the plan talks to Blake not doing the process correctly. If so, I disagree.

When a player of that calibre comes available at a great price he has show flexibility, strategic agility and thats exactly what he needs to do. A plan is just that, a plan (Which is exactly what a budget is) and plans can and should change as the conditions around them evolve. No successful business runs to the exact plan/budget they set a year earlier (let along several years). It just doesn’t happen, there has to be strategic and tactical agility. IF anything we will probably end up saying he wasn’t dynamic enough in that regard, although that remains to be seen.

Beat me to it, this is exactly the same take I had.........even up to the idiotic notion that plans are rigid and inflexible...

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I have a feeling there's going to be lots of disappointment this trade deadline for many on this board. Kings are not a serious contender and I agree nothing spectacular other than a depth LHD this trade deadline. With Copley,Quick and Petersen on the books, I can't see Blake rolling with another goaltender this season with nearly 15 mil in goaltenders. If the deadline prices are real, I don't blame Blake waiting til this offseason to fill holes. Enjoy the development and future success from this group of kids coming up.

Agreed I just don't see a major deal to be had until the offseason. I don't know how patient Blake wants to be. The acquisitions of Danault, Arvidsson and Fiala seem to indicate they want to expedite this a little bit quicker, but does Blake seriously want to jeopardize it on this season? I don't think he will. I think he'll look for small depth deals.

If the goaltending wasn't bad as it was I could see him being a bit more aggressive. I just don't see him trading for a goalie without giving up Petersen and I don't see how anybody could be tempted by him without us dumping our 1st round pick to take him which I think would be a terrible mistake.

Then I would consider this season an absolute failure if they stay on pace to fall back of last year and Blake does nothing to address it.

I don't necessarily blaming Blake for not wanting to pay premium prices to fill holes--but these aren't sudden holes. These were forseen by anyone that's been paying attention and thus "what is Blake supposed to do?!?" isn't an excuse, it's literally his job to be on top of this and plenty of people around him get paid millions with vastly more tools than we have to have some foresight.

Us dumb message board idiots with no/little professional hockey experience saw the LHD and goaltending pipeline issues two years ago.

 

[YP44]

Laferriere's not going to sign in LA. He wants to be a Devil.

Source: he's not signed yet and he's from New Jersey.

except there was more smoke with Faber

 

[Trash Panda]

except there was more smoke with Faber

You’re going to kick the hornets nest of “that’s only speculation”, but I absolutely agree.

The speculation (read: evidence) that he was at the least leaning more towards him headed back east is overwhelming. It’s the only reason I could see anyone parting ways with a prospect of Brocks caliber.

It may be nothing but guys with no connections to the situation flinging poop at the wall, but that’s what message boards are for.

 

[SmytheKing]

The Kings don't have an obligation to have Quick finish the season on the roster! I have seen great goalies like Brodeur, Lundqvist, etc not finish with their original team and their respective team were not even a playoff team. This is about the team and what is best for making the playoffs this season and creating a good path for the future.

You didn't see the Devils or Rangers send either of them down to the minors or trade them either. Both signed with other teams in the offseason after playing as backups in their last year. Also, both teams were fighting for the playoffs those years and finished just outside of them.

 

[King'sPawn]

except there was more smoke with Faber

And I pointed out several other times that smoke meant nothing.

Nobody who keeps pushing this has yet to provide a similar instance of when a prospect refuses to sign with every team except one without having the player, agent, or an executive confirm it, but that 'everyone knew'. Especially when Faber could have tried to go pro after the trade and play for his "dream team" immediately.

Faber's not the only prospect who had a favorite team growing up with a special needs family member.

This need to rationalize the trade further is myopic.

 

[YP44]

And I pointed out several other times that smoke meant nothing.

Nobody who keeps pushing this has yet to provide a similar instance of when a prospect refuses to sign with every team except one without having the player, agent, or an executive confirm it, but that 'everyone knew'. Especially when Faber could have tried to go pro after the trade and play for his "dream team" immediately.

Faber's not the only prospect who had a favorite team growing up with a special needs family member.

This need to rationalize the trade further is myopic.

Is the example everyone uses Adam Fox? Justin Schultz was the same.

To back you up there was a fair bit of concern (not sure if it was Smoke or just worry) that Johnny G would not sign here in Calgary, and that he would go UFA route to be closer to home.

That sabers Goalie is (Portilo?) is currently going through it. I do not remember if there was a concern a year ago though.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Just furthers the narrative floating around here that Blake tends to make moves in a vacuum, with little consideration to a larger “plan”.

I say this as a huge fan of the Fiala acquisition, FWIW.

I don’t think anyone here dislikes Fiala as a player. It’s just that, as you pointed out, Blake doesn’t have a larger plan. Unless the plan was, “get Fiala to outscore the problems I failed to address at RHD and goaltending.”

 

[kilowatt]

And I pointed out several other times that smoke meant nothing.

Nobody who keeps pushing this has yet to provide a similar instance of when a prospect refuses to sign with every team except one without having the player, agent, or an executive confirm it, but that 'everyone knew'. Especially when Faber could have tried to go pro after the trade and play for his "dream team" immediately.

Faber's not the only prospect who had a favorite team growing up with a special needs family member.

This need to rationalize the trade further is myopic.

You don’t know that the smoke meant nothing, just like I don’t know that the smoke meant something.

But I would do the Fiala/Faber trade one hundred times out of one hundred, so who really cares whether or not Faber wanted to play here or Minnesota. Fiala is a top 32 player in the league.

 

[LAKings88]

Today seems like a good day to make a trade. Next game isn't for five days.

Just saying is all.

 

[King'sPawn]

Is the example everyone uses Adam Fox? Justin Schultz was the same.

To back you up there was a fair bit of concern (not sure if it was Smoke or just worry) that Johnny G would not sign here in Calgary, and that he would go UFA route to be closer to home.

That sabers Goalie is (Portilo?) is currently going through it. I do not remember if there was a concern a year ago though.

Justin Schultz was in his final year, he stopped communicating with Anaheim, he wanted to play in Canada (not just Alberta), and once again, there's documentation/reports of a player not wanting to play for Anaheim.

Gaudreau is a UFA. Plenty go home to play after spending years playing professionally for other teams.

Portillo's issues of signing with Buffalo are tied to the goalie depth in Buffalo's organization. Not wanting to play for only one team.

Faber met with Blake. Declined signing a contract because he wanted to spend another year in college, got traded, and proceeded to spend another year in college. After the trade, there's no quotes of "I told Blake I wanted to stay closer to home long-term" or "I asked for a trade". Nobody has picked up any mentions of him telling Blake "I'll never sign with you." Blake hasn't even hinted the motivation behind trading Faber was related to his refusal to play anywhere but LA.

Don't you think if there was any truth to that, one of the many journalists, podcasters, blabbermouth family/friends would have found something amidst all this smoke?

It's very possible this is all true, and Faber would have signed only with Minnesota and forced the issue. But the fervor in which this gets pushed as fact doesn't make sense.

I'm sure Faber's a great kid who's over the moon at his situation. It couldn't work out better for him. And I'm happy his family also has him near by. Heck, maybe Blake just included Faber to do the kid a solid, knowing his family situation and he wanted Fiala anyway. But those are all speculative. There's just no further facts or evidence supporting your claims.

You don’t know that the smoke meant nothing, just like I don’t know that the smoke meant something.

But I would do the Fiala/Faber trade one hundred times out of one hundred, so who really cares whether or not Faber wanted to play here or Minnesota. Fiala is a top 32 player in the league.

And that's fine. I still think the trade needs time to marinate before jumping to a conclusion.

It's cool to like/love the trade. Fiala's a fantastic player. Just don't confuse fact with speculation to justify or rationalize it further.

 

[YP44]

Justin Schultz was in his final year, he stopped communicating with Anaheim, he wanted to play in Canada (not just Alberta), and once again, there's documentation/reports of a player not wanting to play for Anaheim.

Gaudreau is a UFA. Plenty go home to play after spending years playing professionally for other teams.

Portillo's issues of signing with Buffalo are tied to the goalie depth in Buffalo's organization. Not wanting to play for only one team.

Faber met with Blake. Declined signing a contract because he wanted to spend another year in college, got traded, and proceeded to spend another year in college. After the trade, there's no quotes of "I told Blake I wanted to stay closer to home long-term" or "I asked for a trade". Nobody has picked up any mentions of him telling Blake "I'll never sign with you." Blake hasn't even hinted the motivation behind trading Faber was related to his refusal to play anywhere but LA.

Don't you think if there was any truth to that, one of the many journalists, podcasters, blabbermouth family/friends would have found something amidst all this smoke?

It's very possible this is all true, and Faber would have signed only with Minnesota and forced the issue. But the fervor in which this gets pushed as fact doesn't make sense.

I'm sure Faber's a great kid who's over the moon at his situation. It couldn't work out better for him. And I'm happy his family also has him near by. Heck, maybe Blake just included Faber to do the kid a solid, knowing his family situation and he wanted Fiala anyway. But those are all speculative. There's just no further facts or evidence supporting your claims.


And that's fine. I still think the trade needs time to marinate before jumping to a conclusion.

It's cool to like/love the trade. Fiala's a fantastic player. Just don't confuse fact with speculation to justify or rationalize it further.

I was talking about before Gaudreau signed with Calgary. He was close to going back to his final yar of school and there were concerns the flames would lose out on him.

The issue is it is all speculation till it actually happens. These are big decision for kids, teams and families. I am not saying 100% sure Faber was not signing in LA, but if there was a better than 50% chance of losing for nothing than it is better to have got something for him.

To your point on Schultz breaking off communication in his final year, who knows how Faber in his final year still under kings control would have turned out. Either way, Faber + 1st for Fiala is a good deal for LA IMO, and could only be better when thinking about potential of Faber using his right to become UFA.

 

[bmr]

I don’t think anyone here dislikes Fiala as a player. It’s just that, as you pointed out, Blake doesn’t have a larger plan. Unless the plan was, “get Fiala to outscore the problems I failed to address at RHD and goaltending.”

Don't you mean LHD?

I still don't understand all the criticism of Blake making moves in a vacuum or not being part of a larger plan. Is he the best GM in the league? Probably not - but we could do a lot worse. He and his staff has looked at the deficiencies of the team and have addressed them. These moves may not come at the pace that the fans expect or want, but i'm glad that he hasn't made any snap/rush decisions or try to implement quick fixes that might not have a lasting impact.

Positive moves during Blake's tenure:

1. L.A.'s prospect pool has grown to be one of the best in the league.
2. Additions of Arvidsson, Danault and Fiala who have been impact players.
3. His patience in letting prospects develop without making premature trades (i.e. Vilardi/others for Chychrun).
4. Some solid contractual/salary cap moves (Anderson, Durzi, others).
5. Hire of Jim Hiller to address powerplay issues.
6. Sending Petersen down when performance was suffering (i.e. making a necessary/difficult move).

There are some negatives as well. Kovalchuk/Petersen.. I am not a big McClellan guy and i'm not sure if Blake is going to make a big splash there if he can't get us over the hump. Culture/plan question marks.

I don't think anyone would be questioning Blake at all right now if we had a stud LHD and a bonafide #1 goaltender. No one expected Quick/Petersen to be as bad as they have been this year, least of all Blake. I also think they probably underestimated the loss of Maatta and the impact of not having the true LHD we all covet. You guys think Blake isn't aware of these deficiencies? I think it just comes down to how far you wanna go to mortgage the future of this team.

Bottom line for me: with a stud LHD and goaltender, we would definitely be a top tier team that is capable of making a deep playoff run.

I'm not a Rob Blake apologist - I just think we still owe him another year or two to see how the next moves shake out. Some of you would probably never give him any credit even if we were to win the Cup.