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

[Fishhead]

At 5-on-5 on the team for individual rate stats, Fiala has the second fewest shots per 60, the second lowest expected goals per 60 (i.e., not getting quality chances himself), has the second lowest shot attempts per 60, 5th lowest scoring chances per 60 (behind such offensive luminaries as Matt Roy and Mikey Anderson), and the lowest high-danger scoring chances per 60 (0, tied with Edler). Other than the Minnesota game, he has been underwhelming to say the least.

It's not just Fiala, it's that whole line. They are at the bottom of all those categories. There is still variation in a lot of the stat sites (HR has him tied for 2nd for SA on the team), but that's one thing that's consistent - that line isn't dangerous right now. He's still producing, which is good.

I know we make fun of Roy's offense but he's the best at getting his shot through among defensemen and has the highest expected production. Durzi must be rubbing off on him

That first line reminds me a lot of Muzzin-Martinez. Great in theory, poor in practice.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'ts nothing we didnt' expect, though. Fiala and Kempe aren't defensive stalwarts, and at least some of us have been concerned about Koptiar's matchup game since last year...

When they have their A game i'm sure they're rough, but their "B" game sucks ass, and Kopitar is a legend but Father Time is on his back.

 

[King'sPawn]

I'd say the same. But how spoiled are we when a guy on pace for 70p and 46g is underwhelming? How many times have we said that we'd love to have offensive guys who just scored goals even if they weren't top all around players? That's Kempe so far this year, and for a 5.5 cap hit.

What has Arty done that is better than any of those guys though? I don't see it this year so far.

I don't care about point production, especially when Kempe's pretty much been letting Fiala and Kopitar doing all the work. Especially since half his points came from one game.

 

[Rick Knickleback]

Seems self-evident Kopitar needs to be skating with guys like Grundstrom, Kupari, Moore, Iafallo, etc. Kempe and Fiala need to be skating with QB and Villardi etc. It's not only about "passing the torch"; it just makes sense based upon how they play.

 

[kingsfan28]

Petersen stole that money and for anyone else they could have acquired.

But at the time, he was the legit replacement for Quick, we all saw it. When he signed that deal as an RFA , everyone thought he'd be the number one guy now. Sometime around Covid, the wheels fell off. Nobody could've predicted that.

 

[apadilla]

No thanks, he's dropped off a bit.

Did you see his tilt with xfsktsoyhfh?

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HockeyFights - Zack Kassian vs. Arber Xhekaj, October 20, 2022 - Arizona Coyotes vs. Montreal Canadiens

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Yes, he sure got borked, but he answered so i'll give him a mulligan. He'll have to wait till mid-december for a rematch.

 

[SherVaughn30]

But at the time, he was the legit replacement for Quick, we all saw it. When he signed that deal as an RFA , everyone thought he'd be the number one guy now. Sometime around Covid, the wheels fell off. Nobody could've predicted that.

His good numbers were a small sample size. Very poor judgement on Blake's part to give him starter money. The lesson learned, you give the goalie a bridge deal at a lower amount(somewhere between $1.5 - 2.5 million). Petersen would have took it. Giving Petersen that $5 million per year put expectations on him too high and too soon, as shown he is not ready to be a starter.

Look at Samsonov when he was with the Caps. He was believed to be their future #1, but the Caps were smart as they gave him bridge deals after his entry level contract expired. He was given no more than $3 million and just couldn't become a #1 just like Petersen. Caps were able to get out and not be stuck with a $5 million goalie that wasn't playing up to the teams expectations.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I don't care about point production, especially when Kempe's pretty much been letting Fiala and Kopitar doing all the work. Especially since half his points came from one game.

The majority of McDavid's points this year have come in a whole 2 games. And shut out in 2 straight. That guy is slippin'.

 

[KingsFan7824]

His good numbers were a small sample size. Very poor judgement on Blake's part to give him starter money. The lesson learned, you give the goalie a bridge deal at a lower amount(somewhere between $1.5 - 2.5 million). Petersen would have took it. Giving Petersen that $5 million per year put expectations on him too high and too soon, as shown he is not ready to be a starter.

Look at Samsonov when he was with the Caps. He was believed to be their future #1, but the Caps were smart as they gave him bridge deals after his entry level contract expired. He was given no more than $3 million and just couldn't become a #1 just like Petersen. Caps were able to get out and not be stuck with a $5 million goalie that wasn't playing up to the teams expectations.

.
This is another good example of details don't matter.

Samsonov is currently 25 years old. Petersen is 28. Petersen signed a 2 year ELC in 2017, a few months shy of his 23rd birthday. The 2nd contract he signed, was a very cheap 3 year bridge deal in 2019, which took him to the age of 27. That's the year most players hit UFA status, and Petersen was no different. Petersen thus could've walked away on his own. To stop that from happening, the Kings had to pay for UFA years. And they did so, in desperation. In part due to the dumb 10 year contract Quick got, which drove every other goalie away in subsequent years. Washington didn't even have a Quick there. They lucked out that after Holtby won the Cup, but before he needed an extension, he went into the toilet as a Cap. Before his Van and Dal adventures. DL gave Quick a 10 year deal after 1 Cup, before he needed to.

The Samsonov and Petersen situations are fairly different, but again, details don't matter. Player A is the same as player B, situation Y is the same as situation Z, context is irrelevant. The Kings are just simply stupid.

 

[Kudelski37]

His good numbers were a small sample size. Very poor judgement on Blake's part to give him starter money. The lesson learned, you give the goalie a bridge deal at a lower amount(somewhere between $1.5 - 2.5 million). Petersen would have took it. Giving Petersen that $5 million per year put expectations on him too high and too soon, as shown he is not ready to be a starter.

Look at Samsonov when he was with the Caps. He was believed to be their future #1, but the Caps were smart as they gave him bridge deals after his entry level contract expired. He was given no more than $3 million and just couldn't become a #1 just like Petersen. Caps were able to get out and not be stuck with a $5 million goalie that wasn't playing up to the teams expectations.

Petersen's closest comparable (age, games played, sv %) was Shesterkin. They got similar contracts a month apart, with Petersen getting one year less since he is one year older.

The Caps had two young goalies on short contracts compete for one long term contract. In the end, neither did well so the Caps had to sign a 32 year old goalie to a 5 year contract. That isn't good either.

 

[Mats26]

As a fan that would buy tickets to see this. Can we not ask for a Fiala - Vilardi line. I would love to see Fiala elevate Vilardi like he did with Boldy on the Wild.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

.
This is another good example of details don't matter.

Samsonov is currently 25 years old. Petersen is 28. Petersen signed a 2 year ELC in 2017, a few months shy of his 23rd birthday. The 2nd contract he signed, was a very cheap 3 year bridge deal in 2019, which took him to the age of 27. That's the year most players hit UFA status, and Petersen was no different. Petersen thus could've walked away on his own. To stop that from happening, the Kings had to pay for UFA years. And they did so, in desperation. In part due to the dumb 10 year contract Quick got, which drove every other goalie away in subsequent years. Washington didn't even have a Quick there. They lucked out that after Holtby won the Cup, but before he needed an extension, he went into the toilet as a Cap. Before his Van and Dal adventures. DL gave Quick a 10 year deal after 1 Cup, before he needed to.

The Samsonov and Petersen situations are fairly different, but again, details don't matter. Player A is the same as player B, situation Y is the same as situation Z, context is irrelevant. The Kings are just simply stupid.

Not stupid, but this is one of the risks of marinating everyone so long, running out the clock on waivers and RFA/UFA status.

As you point out it's more unique because of the Quick situation but Cal is otherwise pretty unusual in this org.

But as it relates to goalies yeah I'm with you and Cal got the deal his comparables got--it's just unfortunate his game has blown up so much. I can't think of another 3-year contract anywhere that people are so upset about.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Not stupid, but this is one of the risks of marinating everyone so long, running out the clock on waivers and RFA/UFA status.

As you point out it's more unique because of the Quick situation but Cal is otherwise pretty unusual in this org.

But as it relates to goalies yeah I'm with you and Cal got the deal his comparables got--it's just unfortunate his game has blown up so much. I can't think of another 3-year contract anywhere that people are so upset about.

Kovalchuk!?!?! lol just guessing

 

[King'sPawn]

The majority of McDavid's points this year have come in a whole 2 games. And shut out in 2 straight. That guy is slippin'.

For a guy who's smugly saying everyone is ignoring details, you conveniently ignore where I said Kempe has mostly been letting Fiala and Kopitar do all the work.

I don't know if you enjoy being called out for stupidity, hypocrisy, or if you really are that unaware.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Not stupid, but this is one of the risks of marinating everyone so long, running out the clock on waivers and RFA/UFA status.

As you point out it's more unique because of the Quick situation but Cal is otherwise pretty unusual in this org.

But as it relates to goalies yeah I'm with you and Cal got the deal his comparables got--it's just unfortunate his game has blown up so much. I can't think of another 3-year contract anywhere that people are so upset about.

Yeah, Petersen was signed at basically 23 years old. Not long after Bartosak, who I think people were at least somewhat hopeful about, did what he did. If he's still here, do they bother with Petersen at all? Probably not, but who knows.

When he first got here, Petersen was the polar opposite of Quick. Calm, cool, collected. In his first 54 games, prior to his current deal, he wasn't horrible on some bad teams. So much that usually, he and Campbell were seen as bright spots post-2018.

Whatever it's been, the coaching, his brain, who knows what else, has not worked. Made worse by the risk taken in paying for some UFA years. Just like Jones and Kuemper, Campbell likely wasn't going to re-sign here thanks to Quick.

 

[KingsFan7824]

For a guy who's smugly saying everyone is ignoring details, you conveniently ignore where I said Kempe has mostly been letting Fiala and Kopitar do all the work.

I don't know if you enjoy being called out for stupidity, hypocrisy, or if you really are that unaware.

I'm just saying you can cherry pick whatever stat you want to make an argument. Even bad ones.

To say you don't care about point production, when that's what pretty much every contract is based on, is ridiculous. If Kempe scores 46 this year, in 30 of the 82 games, but Fiala does all the work, that'll be a bad year for Kempe?

 

[King'sPawn]

I'm just saying you can cherry pick whatever stat you want to make an argument. Even bad ones.

To say you don't care about point production, when that's what pretty much every contract is based on, is ridiculous. If Kempe scores 46 this year, in 30 of the 82 games, but Fiala does all the work, that'll be a bad year for Kempe?

46 points in 82 games is second-line production. For the opportunities and ice time he gets, that's bad.

Especially since, relative to his production last year, that's a decrease.

Details and bad arguments. Stones and glass houses.

 

[BringTheReign]

Eric Duhatschek wrote an outstanding article on Blake's career for The Athletic's NHL99 series. Highly recommend. I also think I've said the quote below word-for-word about a hundred times in my life.

NHL99: Rob Blake found balance in life, from farmland to the ice to the ocean

“When we surf, it’s probably when I come up with my best ideas,” Blake said. “Nelson always says, ‘If you get a surf in, in the morning, there’s no issue in here that’s going to bother you the rest of the day.’

 

[KingsFan7824]

46 points in 82 games is second-line production. For the opportunities and ice time he gets, that's bad.

Especially since, relative to his production last year, that's a decrease.

Details and bad arguments. Stones and glass houses.

Scores 46. That's goals my man. I know you knew that thought. Because we're talking Kempe, and his big stat last year were the goals he scored. If he gets 50, and the only pts he gets are the 50g he scores, he's still a 50g scorer, even if he's just a 50pt player.

 

[YP44]

Eric Duhatschek wrote an outstanding article on Blake's career for The Athletic's NHL99 series. Highly recommend. I also think I've said the quote below word-for-word about a hundred times in my life.

NHL99: Rob Blake found balance in life, from farmland to the ice to the ocean

wonder if he went for a surf the morning he decided to vacate the captaincy?

 

[Steve Zissou]

Well look at that.

 

[Sol]

Was at the game yesterday. I think byfield was ok but man he really needs to step it up. He can’t look so pedestrian out there for where he was drafted. Seeing him not get a shot off when I was sitting next to the ice was so frustrating. He gives me vintage Trevor StoneHands Lewis vibes. I think the best part of his game is his passing and the rare moment when he tries to cycle. He certainly doesn’t look fast either.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Was at the game yesterday. I think byfield was ok but man he really needs to step it up. He can’t look so pedestrian out there for where he was drafted. Seeing him not get a shot off when I was sitting next to the ice was so frustrating. He gives me vintage Trevor StoneHands Lewis vibes. I think the best part of his game is his passing and the rare moment when he tries to cycle. He certainly doesn’t look fast either.

You should like go crazy and tell us something you liked about the Kings.

 

[Lt Dan]

Well look at that.

There would have been riots if he were sent back to the O

 

[Kudelski37]

There would have been riots if he were sent back to the O

Riots? Maybe a single riot.

There are dozens of us. Dozens!