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

[FSL KINGS]

View attachment 621429

Pravda in damage control.

The meeting yesterday mentioned cap may only be going up 1M for next year. If Cal isn't dumped the King's can move Roy, Walker out & have about 5M to spend on a LD. Then promote Clarke & Spence. Anything much over 5M, like Provorov would likely require a forward to move.

Signing Moore & Vilardi will overload the King's with wings. They need a center. The easy fix is moving one of the wings to the 3C. Kempe at 3C doesn't require a trade & is cheaper than trying to sign Horvat or Larkin as a UFA. This is not ideal, but without the cap significantly increasing, looks the most probable.

 

[Rick Knickleback]

View attachment 621429

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Pravda in damage control.

The meeting yesterday mentioned cap may only be going up 1M for next year. If Cal isn't dumped the King's can move Roy, Walker out & have about 5M to spend on a LD. Then promote Clarke & Spence. Anything much over 5M, like Provorov would likely require a forward to move.

Signing Moore & Vilardi will overload the King's with wings. They need a center. The easy fix is moving one of the wings to the 3C. Kempe at 3C doesn't require a trade & is cheaper than trying to sign Horvat or Larkin as a UFA. This is not ideal, but without the cap significantly increasing, looks the most probable.

Unless you are moving Kopitar or Danault, last thing LA needs is a C.....as you mentioned, Kempe, but then, where are you playing Byfield, ok, slot him into Kopitars slot, then where you playing Kopitar?

Small changes are the best....

 

[FSL KINGS]

Unless you are moving Kopitar or Danault, last thing LA needs is a C.....as you mentioned, Kempe, but then, where are you playing Byfield, ok, slot him into Kopitars slot, then where you playing Kopitar?

Small changes are the best....

Kopitar, Danault, Kempe, Byfield. Byfield gets as much time as he can handle. Also Kings 4th line isn't a normal 4th with unskilled grinders.

Kopitar, Danault, Byfield, Lizotte is not an option because you can't have 2 lines that need to be sheltered & be competitive. Same as Kopitar, Danault, Lizotte, JAD.

 

[YP44]

ok, time to call up QB and Spence. Don't care if you have to waive Walker to do it.

Need to make a move for a LHD with Roy or Durzi going the other way.

Need to deal for Vejmelka.

Still will be hard fought to get in, but I think the team would be better.

Kopitar, Danault, Kempe, Byfield. Byfield gets as much time as he can handle. Also Kings 4th line isn't a normal 4th with unskilled grinders.

Kopitar, Danault, Byfield, Lizotte is not an option because you can't have 2 lines that need to be sheltered & be competitive. Same as Kopitar, Danault, Lizotte, JAD.

I don't like Kempe at center though. The third line if Iafallo-Byfeild-Vilardi looked really good till Iafallo went down.

I am not a Lemieux fan but the team could use his emotion right now. Hell I would give Wagner a look just to stir shit up.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Kopitar, Danault, Kempe, Byfield. Byfield gets as much time as he can handle. Also Kings 4th line isn't a normal 4th with unskilled grinders.

Kopitar, Danault, Byfield, Lizotte is not an option because you can't have 2 lines that need to be sheltered & be competitive. Same as Kopitar, Danault, Lizotte, JAD.

Kopitar, Danault, Byfield Lizzote is a fine option, Byfield plays on the PP...

I am also perfectly fine with keeping Byfield in the AHL and let him figure out what works for him best in the pro game down there......while dominating and building his confidence.....

 

[Rick Knickleback]

I don't like Kempe at center though. The third line if Iafallo-Byfeild-Vilardi looked really good till Iafallo went down.

Agreed. That line looked solid. Good use of AI's toolbox for sure.

 

[kinghock]

Pravda in damage control.

The meeting yesterday mentioned cap may only be going up 1M for next year. If Cal isn't dumped the King's can move Roy, Walker out & have about 5M to spend on a LD. Then promote Clarke & Spence. Anything much over 5M, like Provorov would likely require a forward to move.

Signing Moore & Vilardi will overload the King's with wings. They need a center. The easy fix is moving one of the wings to the 3C. Kempe at 3C doesn't require a trade & is cheaper than trying to sign Horvat or Larkin as a UFA. This is not ideal, but without the cap significantly increasing, looks the most probable.

I believe Vilardi was playing 3C yesterday.

He was looking good doing it.

 

[YP44]

Agreed. That line looked solid. Good use of AI's toolbox for sure.

Iafallo is good defensively and takes the pressure off of QB for sure.

 

[cyclones22]

Same pace lol. Talk about lies, damn lies and statistics in regard to pace. Horrendous defensive coverage, worst goaltending in the league, terrible PK. There is no relief in sight for goaltending. Zero. The Kings were competitive last season because of defense and Quick having a bit of renaissance.

Edler/Walker need to be off the roster completely. Roy is being weighed down by Durzi being forced to play left. Durzi is hampered by playing on the left. Last season, Durzi/Tobi was decent as a 3rd pairing. It wasn't until they were forced to be first pairing because of injuries did they start failing as a pairing. Quick looks cooked. Cal is in the minors. The Kings have no #1 goaltender. No turnaround in sight without one.

 

[bland]

Kopitar, Danault, Kempe, Byfield. Byfield gets as much time as he can handle. Also Kings 4th line isn't a normal 4th with unskilled grinders.

Kopitar, Danault, Byfield, Lizotte is not an option because you can't have 2 lines that need to be sheltered & be competitive. Same as Kopitar, Danault, Lizotte, JAD.

Agreed. You can only shelter Kopitar's line so much, FSL.

Lizotte, pound for pound, is the team's best performer. He is a better 4th line center than any other player on the roster is at playing their position.

 

[mysterman2]

Walker should have been waived weeks ago.

 

[Kurrilino]

Blake f***ed up an entire rebuild. Trade Toffoli and immediately spend as many assets plus more on Arvidsson and Fiala. Keeping legacy players as the core. Not playing any of the 3 top 10 picks in the lineup.
Doubling down on mediocre players like Walker Roy Edler.
Just a completely mishandled rebuild. All because Doughty cried to the media about not wanting to go through it?

Yep, don't forget Iafallo's $4 mill contract because of Doughty's crying.
It's really interesting to think about what would have happened if we would have the Vegas management

 

[Reaper45]

Who will figure what out?

This IS who they are. They got speedbagged plenty of times last year too. They can't do any better than mediocre.

Why would you trust Blake? His teams have spent to the cap in free agency yet have only won 4 playoff games in 7 years. He has made poor decisions left and right. Never wanted to rebuild despite it being the only way to go, then has made a series of dubious developmental choices.

This isn't an organization, its a fraternity.

I never want to hear Dewey or Kopi on tv again. They’re not your teammate, call them by their name, prime example of the surfer culture in full effect!

 

[Kurrilino]

Pravda in damage control.

The meeting yesterday mentioned cap may only be going up 1M for next year. If Cal isn't dumped the King's can move Roy, Walker out & have about 5M to spend on a LD. Then promote Clarke & Spence. Anything much over 5M, like Provorov would likely require a forward to move.

Signing Moore & Vilardi will overload the King's with wings. They need a center. The easy fix is moving one of the wings to the 3C. Kempe at 3C doesn't require a trade & is cheaper than trying to sign Horvat or Larkin as a UFA. This is not ideal, but without the cap significantly increasing, looks the most probable.

I highly advise against moving a 30+ goal scoring winger to 3C while young, capable center prospects sit in the AHL.

The real problem is that Kopitar turns every skilled winger into a disaster because of his defense only play.
Kempe scored most of his goals when being moved down to the 2nd line and Arvidson up.

If we find a playmaking center, who can match the speed of Kempe and Fiala we have a complete different game.
I would seriously give Kupari a try. This guys can fly, has playmaking skills and while still growing into his body, has the size to succeed.

Why this has not been tried over Kopitar is far beyond me.

 

[Piston]

Hard to believe it, but the defense was better with Maata and Spence.
Edler was better last year.

Clarke never looked bad and had poise and made some great plays....was never lost in the D zone.
Moved the puck well and never got much of a chance on the PP. His only thing, was not quite strong enough;
but was not necessarily weak.

They need to move 2 of: Walker, Roy, Durzi, Edler by January 1 and Clarke be on the team, PLAYING
after WJC....and acquire a true top 4 LHD. Give the #1 pick and 2 prospects for Gavrikov or a top 4 LHD.
No, may not propel the Kings to a 100 point team, but they must do something...especially with the D
AND lack of toughness. It's not cool to waive Edler, but they should not have resigned him. He's not a true
problem, but Spence is better than half the D on the roster. Smart, quick, decisive, skates and moves the puck well...and you never see him make a WTF? play ever, anywhere on the ice.

With all due respect, I would not trade either our first or second round pick under ANY circumstances. Investing a large part of our future to rescue this season would be a huge mistake. This team has not proven they can be true contenders. Reinforcements are not going to help unless the exiting core proves they are better than they have shown. And, even if they do, goaltending is an Achilles Heel that will sink them. That doesn't mean we need to tank, let's see what we have and give some prospects an opportunity. But, with a very strong draft coming up, we would be insane to mortgage the future on this team. Kopitar and Doughty notwithstanding.

 

[Fishhead]

I believe Vilardi was playing 3C yesterday.

He was looking good doing it.

Vilardi was taking faceoffs on the strong side but Kempe was always the one dropping back in position, so Kempe was definitely the center when they were on the ice together.

 

[kilowatt]

Edler is a fine veteran 7th defenseman who checks in once every week or two... except that he's played the 12th-most minutes in a Kings sweater this year.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Same pace lol. Talk about lies, damn lies and statistics in regard to pace. Horrendous defensive coverage, worst goaltending in the league, terrible PK. There is no relief in sight for goaltending. Zero. The Kings were competitive last season because of defense and Quick having a bit of renaissance.

Edler/Walker need to be off the roster completely. Roy is being weighed down by Durzi being forced to play left. Durzi is hampered by playing on the left. Last season, Durzi/Tobi was decent as a 3rd pairing. It wasn't until they were forced to be first pairing because of injuries did they start failing as a pairing. Quick looks cooked. Cal is in the minors. The Kings have no #1 goaltender. No turnaround in sight without one.

Did someone seriously say the Kings are on the “same pace” as last year? The Kings are currently on pace for 89 points. 89 is a lot less than 99 last I checked!

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Did someone seriously say the Kings are on the “same pace” as last year? The Kings are currently on pace for 89 points. 89 is a lot less than 99 last I checked!

They're going by where the team was in the standings on the same date both years.

Which is about the only way you can make this team look good as they fall out of a playoff spot in the worst division in the league since the old Canucks Northwest runaways

 

[YP44]

Edler is a fine veteran 7th defenseman who checks in once every week or two... except that he's played the 12th-most minutes in a Kings sweater this year.

I agree, but I thought that Moverare would have made a good 7th for LA this year.

Did someone seriously say the Kings are on the “same pace” as last year? The Kings are currently on pace for 89 points. 89 is a lot less than 99 last I checked!

I think they meant LA had similar point totals at this many games played last year.
Very different teams and loses for me though

 

[kilowatt]

I agree, but I thought that Moverare would have made a good 7th for LA this year.

Moverare should be on the roster. On a great team he probably doesn't have a spot, but we aren't even really a good team.

Anderson - Doughty
Bjornfot - Roy
Moverare - Durzi
Edler

Something like this is probably the best we can do right now. You can swap in Spence for anyone on that right side, but that probably requires trading of one of them (which I'm fine with).

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

They're going by where the team was in the standings on the same date both years.

Which is about the only way you can make this team look good as they fall out of a playoff spot in the worst division in the league since the old Canucks Northwest runaways

I figured that was the case and was being a bit flippant. It’s such a silly talking point considering it is founded on an underlying assumption that the Kings will play at a 105-point pace for the next 50 games since they did last year.

 

[YP44]

Moverare should be on the roster. On a great team he probably doesn't have a spot, but we aren't even really a good team.

Anderson - Doughty
Bjornfot - Roy
Moverare - Durzi
Edler

Something like this is probably the best we can do right now. You can swap in Spence for anyone on that right side, but that probably requires trading of one of them (which I'm fine with).

I agree this is a lot better than what we ae currently going out with. If we are playing Durzi then we need to have him set up to succeed, having him play his off wing does not.
I have a massive Spence bias but have no issue with him in the AHL this year. Next year I will be pissed though.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I figured that was the case and was being a bit flippant. It’s such a silly talking point considering it is founded on an underlying assumption that the Kings will play at a 105-point pace for the next 50 games since they did last year.

And even so, the expectations were completely different.