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

[Trash Panda]

To be completely frank, neither RV or Kempe should be in the long term plans for this organization.

Ideal candidates to clear out some of the log jam at forward, and to help address glaring holes in the LHD and goaltending lineup.

 

[Fishhead]

To be completely frank, neither RV or Kempe should be in the long term plans for this organization.

Ideal candidates to clear out some of the log jam at forward, and to help address glaring holes in the LHD and goaltending lineup.

Now all we need are some young players that are as good as they are.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Now all we need are some young players that are as good as they are.

Kaliyev continues to crush both in scoring on a per-minute basis.

 

[Fishhead]

Kaliyev continues to crush both in scoring on a per-minute basis.

He is, but every time he gets moved up his numbers suffer. He's getting ultra soft competition and he's tearing it up, along with solid PP time, so I don't see him moved away from Lizotte for the time being. I do see him as RV or Moore's replacement, probably next season.

I don't want to take him off the 4th because that line is a threat. When's the last time the Kings had someone with a wicked shot on all 4 lines? Maybe a long time ago. I think we can address the D problems by trading some of the D we have along with prospects and bringing up Toby and Spence. Shore up the back and keep the offense.

 

[Mats26]

18 games in and we allowed 63 goals.
Plenty of blame going around to the goalies, pairings, coaching etc. But my question is; we have a GM who was an NHL D man. How in the hell did he think playing Defensemen on their off wing will help. Any heavy pressure in our zone and they will be forced to try to clear the puck up the boards on their backhand. How many times were we held deep because of this when we turned the puck over?

The D needs an overhaul. We are not mobile, not big, no hitters, questionable IQ, low % pass completion.
Its sad that 2 recent expansion teams figured out what you need on D in today's NHL, and we're still trying to figure this out. This whole mess gets worse when we are on the PK.

 

[BringTheReign]

18 games in and we allowed 63 goals.
Plenty of blame going around to the goalies, pairings, coaching etc. But my question is; we have a GM who was an NHL D man. How in the hell did he think playing Defensemen on their off wing will help. Any heavy pressure in our zone and they will be forced to try to clear the puck up the boards on their backhand. How many times were we held deep because of this when we turned the puck over?

The D needs an overhaul. We are not mobile, not big, no hitters, questionable IQ, low % pass completion.
Its sad that 2 recent expansion teams figured out what you need on D in today's NHL, and we're still trying to figure this out. This whole mess gets worse when we are on the PK.

I agree in principle, but one thing I'll mention is that Mike Babcock is the one who ushered in the L/R handedness deployment for defensemen. It wasn't nearly as prevalent to focus on that when Blake played. I'll also add that again, I agree with you that we need an overhaul, but I don't understand the year-to-year swing. This roster minus Doughty but with Maatta had sterling defensive results the back half of last season. I don't get it. Doughty has been excellent this year as well; if had a clone of him and Mikey we could go 4 defenseman and have better results than we do now.

 

[Mats26]

I agree in principle, but one thing I'll mention is that Mike Babcock is the one who ushered in the L/R handedness deployment for defensemen. It wasn't nearly as prevalent to focus on that when Blake played. I'll also add that again, I agree with you that we need an overhaul, but I don't understand the year-to-year swing. This roster minus Doughty but with Maatta had sterling defensive results the back half of last season. I don't get it. Doughty has been excellent this year as well; if had a clone of him and Mikey we could go 4 defenseman and have better results than we do now.

The speed of the forecheck is not the same back then as it is now. 3F are coming in the zone unmarked and unchecked, you better be ready to move the puck out. You have way less time now and every mistake will cause a turn over with 3F and a trailing D already in your zone.

After all the injuries at some point last year we had:
Anderson Roy
Maatta Stecher
Edler Durzi

Maybe they over achieved but they had guys in the right positions.

 

[AbsentMojo]

We're trying to keep our talent while adding the necessary pieces.

I agree - but you need a mix of cheaper contracts with talent on your roster to get under the cap.. this is a case where the Kings need to swap some salary to fill a hole on LD since there are no prospects for that role (I dont consider Bjornfot viable for heavy stay at home)... since adding Fiala, there is a lot of money already committed to wings Iafallo, Kempe, Fiala, Arvidsson.. id like to swap one of those for a solid LD.. there are plenty of wings in the pipeline.. Then you look at the Fiala trade as an upgrade on Kempe.

 

[Statto]

To be completely frank, neither RV or Kempe should be in the long term plans for this organization.

Ideal candidates to clear out some of the log jam at forward, and to help address glaring holes in the LHD and goaltending lineup.

I don’t think we are in a position to trade away a 30 goal scorer. He’s had a slow start but that’s not unusual and Kopi hasn’t been at his best either. So they are impacting each other.

There is a case for Arviddson being moved to free up a roster spot (at some point) in the forward ranks but only if packaged to get a LHD. The young guys haven’t quite forced the issue yet although the extra offensive depth is looking promising (defensive issues apart). It starts becoming a more pressing discussion once QB is ready for a recall as long as Kupari is continuing to build on things.

Theres no rush because it’s still about getting young players ready to take over. No matter what happens this year we aren’t a contender. Getting to the 2nd round would be a major step right now but development still has to be the focus.

So as long as the holes are fixed before next year I’m ok with that because that’s when this team needs to start making some proper noise.

 

[King'sPawn]

He is, but every time he gets moved up his numbers suffer. He's getting ultra soft competition and he's tearing it up, along with solid PP time, so I don't see him moved away from Lizotte for the time being. I do see him as RV or Moore's replacement, probably next season.

I don't want to take him off the 4th because that line is a threat. When's the last time the Kings had someone with a wicked shot on all 4 lines? Maybe a long time ago. I think we can address the D problems by trading some of the D we have along with prospects and bringing up Toby and Spence. Shore up the back and keep the offense.

We're saying he suffers being moved up as he has spent a whole 56ish minutes at even strength with players who are not Lizotte or Lemieux?

Maybe Kempe should be put on Lizotte's line to get him going. And the Kings can have that lethal shot on all four lines still.

 

[Telos]

To be completely frank, neither RV or Kempe should be in the long term plans for this organization.

Ideal candidates to clear out some of the log jam at forward, and to help address glaring holes in the LHD and goaltending lineup.

Not gonna lie, it took me a couple of seconds to piece together who RV was But, I would expect he goes first. I would be surprised if they kept him long-term. He isn't bad, but I question his mental toughness and decision-making sometimes. Although, I don't think they part with him until next season around the deadline.

As for Kempe, I doubt they do anything with him over the next two seasons at least. Sure, if you had a crystal ball and could foresee his offense drying up, now would be a perfect time to get maximum value from him, but even though he has been iffy, he is producing and is still one of the best scorers on the team, the locker room loves him, and they just re-signed him.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Id say to at least move him up to the 3rd line give him more minutes. I think most coaches would do that.

 

[Cianide]

I agree - but you need a mix of cheaper contracts with talent on your roster to get under the cap.. this is a case where the Kings need to swap some salary to fill a hole on LD since there are no prospects for that role (I dont consider Bjornfot viable for heavy stay at home)... since adding Fiala, there is a lot of money already committed to wings Iafallo, Kempe, Fiala, Arvidsson.. id like to swap one of those for a solid LD.. there are plenty of wings in the pipeline.. Then you look at the Fiala trade as an upgrade on Kempe.

If anything, we should trade one of Iafallo or Arvy, maybe both. We can bring up Fagemo, Thomas, Madden or one of our many other wing prospects.

Not gonna lie, it took me a couple of seconds to piece together who RV was But, I would expect he goes first. I would be surprised if they kept him long-term. He isn't bad, but I question his mental toughness and decision-making sometimes. Although, I don't think they part with him until next season around the deadline.

As for Kempe, I doubt they do anything with him over the next two seasons at least. Sure, if you had a crystal ball and could foresee his offense drying up, now would be a perfect time to get maximum value from him, but even though he has been iffy, he is producing and is still one of the best scorers on the team, the locker room loves him, and they just re-signed him.

The chemistry on that first line has changed since Gabe has been up. Kopitar is now the go-to guy for Gabe. Kempe is no longer "that guy".

 

[Fishhead]

We're saying he suffers being moved up as he has spent a whole 56ish minutes at even strength with players who are not Lizotte or Lemieux?

Maybe Kempe should be put on Lizotte's line to get him going. And the Kings can have that lethal shot on all four lines still.

I would be fine with that, actually, I look at things less as lines 1,2,3, and 4 and more combinations. I think eventually Arty will put it all together and find someone to mesh with, but he's just not there yet. He just looks lost with others, but a lot of that is just being green.

The offense isn't broken right now, this is the first time they've hovered around top 10 in forever. Move things around, sure, but I would be really hesitant to make any major personnel changes like moving a Kempe. We have the prospects to swing a deal and aren't hurting for cap space, so I feel that is preferable. Last night sucked, but that's 4 wins and a 1 goal loss in the last 5. Something as simple as using prospect capital along with a body going back for a LD, and bringing up Bjornfot to start platooning with Edler would solve a lot of issues.

 

[YP44]

To be completely frank, neither RV or Kempe should be in the long term plans for this organization.

Ideal candidates to clear out some of the log jam at forward, and to help address glaring holes in the LHD and goaltending lineup.

I don't think we should be looking to move them, but also would not say they are untouchable depending on what is coming back.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

He is, but every time he gets moved up his numbers suffer. He's getting ultra soft competition and he's tearing it up, along with solid PP time, so I don't see him moved away from Lizotte for the time being. I do see him as RV or Moore's replacement, probably next season.

I don't want to take him off the 4th because that line is a threat. When's the last time the Kings had someone with a wicked shot on all 4 lines? Maybe a long time ago. I think we can address the D problems by trading some of the D we have along with prospects and bringing up Toby and Spence. Shore up the back and keep the offense.

When exactly has he been moved up to even be given a chance to have his numbers “suffer”?

To further the point, Kaliyev has played all of 12 minutes with Kopitar or Danault at even strength this season. In those 12 minutes, the Kings were 20 CF/5 CA and 11 SCF/3 SCA. Seems like things go just fine when Kaliyev is with Kopitar or Danault.

 

[bland]

We're trying to keep our talent while adding the necessary pieces.

If it allows you to pay Moore what he deserves, yeah, you move Kempe to keep Moore.

Kempe is streaky, it would be a big risk to trade him at his current deal. He's also a fantastic PK'er. There are zero reasons to trade an offensive player right now anyways because even if the first line isn't pouring it in right now they are a threat and cause matchup problems. The primary reason this team can score this year is because they aren't a two-line team, going back to that should be avoided at all costs.

Besides, we can get a hell of a LD without trading Kempe.

See above.

 

[Magicman]

I agree in principle, but one thing I'll mention is that Mike Babcock is the one who ushered in the L/R handedness deployment for defensemen. It wasn't nearly as prevalent to focus on that when Blake played. I'll also add that again, I agree with you that we need an overhaul, but I don't understand the year-to-year swing. This roster minus Doughty but with Maatta had sterling defensive results the back half of last season. I don't get it. Doughty has been excellent this year as well; if had a clone of him and Mikey we could go 4 defenseman and have better results than we do now.

Bowman did this with Montreal in the 70's. Robinson, Lapointe and Savard were all left handed and rotated between the left and right side and between them as well. And as the early 70's became the late 70's, Langway and Engblom began to emerge, before they were dealt, but again left handed defenseman.

I really can't think of a high minute/scoring right handed defenseman Montreal had in that era.

 

[Cianide]

If it allows you to pay Moore what he deserves, yeah, you move Kempe to keep Moore.

There are more Moores out there.

 

[Trash Panda]

I don’t think we are in a position to trade away a 30 goal scorer. He’s had a slow start but that’s not unusual Kopi hasn’t been at his best either. So they are impacting each other.

There is a case for Arviddson being moved to free up a roster spot (at some point) in the forward ranks but only if packaged to get a LHD. The young guys haven’t quite forced the issue yet although the extra offensive depth is looking promising (defensive issues apart). It starts becoming a more pressing discussion once QB is ready for a recall as long as Kupari is continuing to build on things.

Theres no rush because it’s still about getting young players ready to take over. No matter what happens this year we aren’t a contender. Getting to the 2nd round would be a major step right now but development still has to be the focus.

So as long as the holes are fixed before next year I’m ok with that because that’s when this team needs to start making some proper noise.

Kempe is as much a 30 goal scorer as much as William Karlsson is a 40 tuck kind of guy.

There are more Moores out there.

Moore is far more valuable to the success of this team than Kempe has ever shown.

Kempe is a passenger when he isn’t shooting the puck well, he does almost nothing else at a 5.5M dollar level. I gladly give the Kempe cap space to keep Trevor Moore ten times outta ten.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Kempe is as much a 30 goal scorer as much as William Karlsson is a 40 tuck kind of guy.

Moore is far more valuable to the success of this team than Kempe has ever shown.

Kempe is a passenger when he isn’t shooting the puck well, he does almost nothing else at a 5.5M dollar level. I gladly give the Kempe cap space to keep Trevor Moore ten times outta ten.

I agree. You need glue players - seems they are always named Trevor on the Kings. With the emergence of Vilardi it makes at least one of our scoring wingers superfluous..have to rule out Fiala.. that leaves Kempe or Arvidson. I would also look at moving Iafallo if necessary - but secondary to Kempe or Arvidson. Given cap room id hang on to Iafallo until Kopi retires.

 

[FSL KINGS]

Kempe: His issue is playing with Kopi & Vilardi. They do not play a speed game. What he needs is Iafallo to get back, Iafallo, Kopi, Vilardi. This allows Kempe to move to a line where his skills can be used instead of turning into the Iafallo puck digger.

Kaliyev: He is doing great where he is. Why drag down his number by putting him with Kopi? Let him get experience in the bottom 6. Bigger issue is not having a 3rd line for Kaliyev to play on.

3rd Line: Kupari is the best option at this point. He isn't terrible & has potential, but he's not quite there yet. King's need to sort this position out. Bring in a 3C or wait on someone else to take the spot eventually.

The offense is fine. King's didn't lose last night because they only scored 5 goals. They lost because they gave up a ton of clean chances from the slot & allowed 6 goals. Quick had an amazing game & gave up 6 goals.

Defense
?, Doughty
Mikey, Roy
Björnfot, Durzi

After Elders 1,000 game. Don't need to pull a Babcock. Get a top pair D. Drop Durzi that the 3rd pair where his mistakes won't be as costly.

I'd give the King's 50:50 on a wildcard with the current D. The other problem is if Quick misses any time they are screwed. Window opens as soon as Blake sorts the D & gets a legit Backup that can take over the starter role eventually.

 

[Cianide]

Kempe is as much a 30 goal scorer as much as William Karlsson is a 40 tuck kind of guy.

Moore is far more valuable to the success of this team than Kempe has ever shown.

Kempe is a passenger when he isn’t shooting the puck well, he does almost nothing else at a 5.5M dollar level. I gladly give the Kempe cap space to keep Trevor Moore ten times outta ten.

Yeah but Kempe can shoot the puck, setup for one timers and carry it into the zone.

 

[King'sPawn]

Kaliyev: He is doing great where he is. Why drag down his number by putting him with Kopi? Let him get experience in the bottom 6. Bigger issue is not having a 3rd line for Kaliyev to play on.

So Kaliyev plays on the fourth line until he proves he can handle it. Once he proves he can handle it, we should keep him there so other lines don't drag him down?

 

[FSL KINGS]

So Kaliyev plays on the fourth line until he proves he can handle it. Once he proves he can handle it, we should keep him there so other lines don't drag him down?

Fiala, Byfield, Kaliyev?
Grundström, Kupari, Kaliyev?

Would this be ok? Byfield & Kupari need to improve 1st. Dumping a bunch of extra defensive responsibility & harder quality of competition may not help Kaliyev. The problem seems to be bad linemates. Kaliyev needs other rookies to step up & take those spots. This takes time.