Speculation: LA Kings News, Rumors, Roster Thread part VII

[kingsfan28]

Horrible deadline.

Troy Stetcher? Wow.

Kings are soft. Blake didn't address it. Middleton was the guy and he went to Minny.

BTW, Blake better pray the Kings don't play Calgary, Minny, or Edmonton - all teams loaded with toughness.

You really think the Sharks would trade anything to us?

 

[Fat Elvis]

This guy is one of the main reasons we are a playoff team (at least right now) this season....and you want to characterize it as bad timing and depressing? Wow...

Good job Lizotte, well deserved. Just another example of what players can ultimately bring to the table when given a little patience to do so.

Actually, he's brought it since day 1. Doubt he'll ever be more than he is, which is fine for centering the 4th line.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Actually, he's brought it since day 1. Doubt he'll ever be more than he is, which is fine for centering the 4th line.

I meant that the Kings are a playoff team (right now) as in that could change.

 

[Piston]

I have to actually hand it to Blake. He did not let outside pressure force him into a bad decision that he would regret down the road. This team is not a Stanley Cup contender so making a big move now would have been a mistake. With the ease of the schedule and the weak division, the Kings will likely make the playoffs. Blake added some cheap defensive depth to fill the gaps in the lineup till Doughty, Roy, etc. return. If we play .500 hockey the rest of the way, that's 94 points and we're in unless Vancouver or the Knights go on a ridiculous run.

Now, we are really poised in the summer. We still have a full complement of draft picks save our 7th, all our prospects and cap space with Brown, Maata, Carter and AA coming off the books. Major decisions are going to need to be made regarding which prospects to keep and who to trade, but no team will be better positioned make a major move or two to upgrade the roster.

 

[tny760]

I have to actually hand it to Blake. He did not let outside pressure force him into a bad decision that he would regret down the road. This team is not a Stanley Cup contender so making a big move now would have been a mistake. With the ease of the schedule and the weak division, the Kings will likely make the playoffs. Blake added some cheap defensive depth to fill the gaps in the lineup till Doughty, Roy, etc. return. If we play .500 hockey the rest of the way, that's 94 points and we're in unless Vancouver or the Knights go on a ridiculous run.

Now, we are really poised in the summer. We still have a full complement of draft picks save our 7th, all our prospects and cap space with Brown, Maata, Carter and AA coming off the books. Major decisions are going to need to be made regarding which prospects to keep and who to trade, but no team will be better positioned make a major move or two to upgrade the roster.

it's interesting, imo a bit of a statement that the current status quo is enough.. it's a weird departure from the "best roster we've ever had" talk we got preseason though. i was genuinely afraid he was gonna go full send and try to win now which would be a fool's errand imo. i guess maybe if the roster was healthy he'd have been more of a seller, but you can't sell a broken product.. this offseason and next season is definitely more of a tipping point than this deadline, as it stands

 

[Herby]

Horrible deadline.

Troy Stetcher? Wow.

Kings are soft. Blake didn't address it. Middleton was the guy and he went to Minny.

BTW, Blake better pray the Kings don't play Calgary, Minny, or Edmonton - all teams loaded with toughness.

The rest of the west is trying to avoid Colorado and you are worried about Edmonton and Minnesota?

 

[KingPuckChoo]

i am back, my sons, from my longest ban ever !

just to say.... Bergy deals are alive and well lol

that is all

 

[KingsHockey24]

This team misses the playoffs.

 

[Reaper45]

This team misses the playoffs.

Looking probable.

 

[Herby]

I have to actually hand it to Blake. He did not let outside pressure force him into a bad decision that he would regret down the road. This team is not a Stanley Cup contender so making a big move now would have been a mistake. With the ease of the schedule and the weak division, the Kings will likely make the playoffs. Blake added some cheap defensive depth to fill the gaps in the lineup till Doughty, Roy, etc. return. If we play .500 hockey the rest of the way, that's 94 points and we're in unless Vancouver or the Knights go on a ridiculous run.

Now, we are really poised in the summer. We still have a full complement of draft picks save our 7th, all our prospects and cap space with Brown, Maata, Carter and AA coming off the books. Major decisions are going to need to be made regarding which prospects to keep and who to trade, but no team will be better positioned make a major move or two to upgrade the roster.

I'm disappointed, I think this deadline was going to be one of the last chances to cash in on depreciating assets before they are either lost for nothing or lose even more of their value. And the chance to maybe add a little something for this years playoffs.

Kopitar, Danault, Byfield and now Lizotte all signed for next season at center. Kempe, Moore, Kaliyev, Iafallo, Arvidsson, Lemieux at wing, probably guys like Grundstrom and Lias (or similar players) as healthy scratches. Brown is gone, that is fine, AA for all the shit he gets has produced goals better than almost anyone on the team, so he goes to be replaced by what, an unproven young player? With this teams inept offensive play I wouldn't even count on him not coming back.

You have four formerly highly rated centers who are all apparently wings now competing for 2 spots (maybe even 1), two of them hit waivers if they don't make the team, the other two start to enter into bust territory if they don't make the team. That doesn't even include Fagemo.

I don't know, maybe stuff happens by the time they break camp next year but that is the absolute latest something can be done to thin out the fringe players.

I just don't know with how bad the offense was this year and the likelihood that Kopitar gets worse, Kempe and Danault return to normal production and AA leaves (as most want) how we aren't completely terrified about how our forwards look next year. It could be even worse than this year. Mayne Blake is going to do something huge this summer and make his Richards or Palffy trade, if he does it's understandable. If we enter next year with

Kaliyev - Kopitar - Kempe
Moore - Danault - Arvy
Iafallo - Byfield - Vilardi
Lemieux - Lizotte - Kupari

we won't take another step.

 

[kingsfan]

This team misses the playoffs.

This team, once healthy, is the same team that's been playing as a top 10 squad all year after the first seven games. As long as Quick/Paterson don't implode, we'll be fine. No one behind us did such a huge upgrade that I'm suddenly worried we can't stay ahead of them.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

This team, once healthy, is the same team that's been playing as a top 10 squad all year after the first seven games. As long as Quick/Paterson don't implode, we'll be fine. No one behind us did such a huge upgrade that I'm suddenly worried we can't stay ahead of them.

with other teams having games in hand

and assuming VGK takes up on their momentum

the battle is between NSH LA WIN VAN for that final spot

 

[Schmooley]

I'm disappointed, I think this deadline was going to be one of the last chances to cash in on depreciating assets before they are either lost for nothing or lose even more of their value. And the chance to maybe add a little something for this years playoffs.

Kopitar, Danault, Byfield and now Lizotte all signed for next season at center. Kempe, Moore, Kaliyev, Iafallo, Arvidsson, Lemieux at wing, probably guys like Grundstrom and Lias (or similar players) as healthy scratches. Brown is gone, that is fine, AA for all the shit he gets has produced goals better than almost anyone on the team, so he goes to be replaced by what, an unproven young player? With this teams inept offensive play I wouldn't even count on him not coming back.

You have four formerly highly rated centers who are all apparently wings now competing for 2 spots (maybe even 1), two of them hit waivers if they don't make the team, the other two start to enter into bust territory if they don't make the team. That doesn't even include Fagemo.

I don't know, maybe stuff happens by the time they break camp next year but that is the absolute latest something can be done to thin out the fringe players.

The high end players you are thinking they should trade these assets for were not traded today. All depth stuff. They can revisit big trades in the offseason. Prices may be cheaper also.

 

[BigKing]

Prices are too high and this team making the playoffs is too much in question.

If Blake had something like the O'Sullivan/Williams deal where he could add a legit piece for now and the future via a prospect/young NHL'er then let's go but the Garlands and Chychruns were probably too expensive: especially in the same division or conference. Really, those guys shouldn't even be available save for an overpayment.

If the Kings do make the playoffs, it is going to be ugly: especially against Calgary or COL/MIN. Half the team might be injured after the 1st period of Game 1 in Minnesota. Those guys already knocked the Kings around and just got even tougher.

Blake wasn't going to be able to fix the softness problem at the deadline but he has put himself in a position with his drafts where there isn't much in the way of sandpaper coming up. I know I've been told it is easy to address that later on but those players are commanding 1st round picks at the TDL.

Much like with Byfield, we've got a big summer coming up for Blake. Tons of dry powder: some of these prospects must be moved out.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Horrible deadline.

Troy Stetcher? Wow.

Kings are soft. Blake didn't address it. Middleton was the guy and he went to Minny.

BTW, Blake better pray the Kings don't play Calgary, Minny, or Edmonton - all teams loaded with toughness.

If the Kings play only one single playoff minute, Blake has sealed himself an extension if he hasn't already done so. This team isn't going to compete well in the playoffs, nobody is expecting them to....kinda like nobody expected them to make it in anyways.

 

[lumbergh]

This team, once healthy, is the same team that's been playing as a top 10 squad all year after the first seven games. As long as Quick/Paterson don't implode, we'll be fine. No one behind us did such a huge upgrade that I'm suddenly worried we can't stay ahead of them.

The problem is the "once healthy". There's nothing that torpedoes a team's chances more than injuries. Almost every time you look at a team that underperformed and missed the playoffs, you can bet that it lost a bunch of person-games to injury. The playoffs depend on the Kings getting healthy as soon as possible.

 

[Herby]

Prices are too high and this team making the playoffs is too much in question.

If Blake had something like the O'Sullivan/Williams deal where he could add a legit piece for now and the future via a prospect/young NHL'er then let's go but the Garlands and Chychruns were probably too expensive: especially in the same division or conference. Really, those guys shouldn't even be available save for an overpayment.

If the Kings do make the playoffs, it is going to be ugly: especially against Calgary or COL/MIN. Half the team might be injured after the 1st period of Game 1 in Minnesota. Those guys already knocked the Kings around and just got even tougher.

Blake wasn't going to be able to fix the softness problem at the deadline but he has put himself in a position with his drafts where there isn't much in the way of sandpaper coming up. I know I've been told it is easy to address that later on but those players are commanding 1st round picks at the TDL.

Much like with Byfield, we've got a big summer coming up for Blake. Tons of dry powder: some of these prospects must be moved out.

The lack of sandpaper and grit wouldn't have been a problem if you hit on 1 or 2 of the 4 picks by now. If you are set with say Zegras and Suzuki or Boldy and Norris you just trade Kupari, Iafallo or this years first or something like that to get great character players. Blake can't do that because none of his skill players have shown squat and he has to hold all of them as well as his first rounder in the hopes that one of them shows something to the team by the end of next years camp. Nothing wrong with targeting skilled forwards in the draft, but you have to hit on them and hit relatively quickly or the whole thing will fall apart.

The lack of any type of tangible results from those picks is starting to hit now with the lack of complimentary scoring, and will get even worse next season if atleast 1 of them doesn't shine through and become a player.

 

[kingsfan]

with other teams having games in hand

and assuming VGK takes up on their momentum

the battle is between NSH LA WIN VAN for that final spot

It'd be between teams for both wild card spots, since Nashville is sitting in one right now. You can add in Dallas as well, though I'm not sure why you lump in Vancouver. They have no gams in hand and dumped their version of Blake Lizotte at the deadline, are on a three game slide and are four points out. We're eight points up on Vancouver, they should be no challenge to us. Pretty much the exact same for Winnipeg as well, though they have a game in hand and have some momentum, but apparently they dealt Copp to NYR according to Dreger (waiting to see if that got finalized in time though).

Really, there's six playoff spots up for grabs and there's nine teams with realistic chances of grabbing one, and we have some of the best odds to do so. If we can even tread water until some of the injured return, we should be fine.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Prices are too high and this team making the playoffs is too much in question.

If Blake had something like the O'Sullivan/Williams deal where he could add a legit piece for now and the future via a prospect/young NHL'er then let's go but the Garlands and Chychruns were probably too expensive: especially in the same division or conference. Really, those guys shouldn't even be available save for an overpayment.

If the Kings do make the playoffs, it is going to be ugly: especially against Calgary or COL/MIN. Half the team might be injured after the 1st period of Game 1 in Minnesota. Those guys already knocked the Kings around and just got even tougher.

Blake wasn't going to be able to fix the softness problem at the deadline but he has put himself in a position with his drafts where there isn't much in the way of sandpaper coming up. I know I've been told it is easy to address that later on but those players are commanding 1st round picks at the TDL.

Much like with Byfield, we've got a big summer coming up for Blake. Tons of dry powder: some of these prospects must be moved out.

we should have offloaded our UFAs then (any one of Brown, Quick, Athanasiou, Maatta, Edler @ 50% retained)

doing nothing today is like not acknowledging that the "core" is getting old, while also stating that the team isn't ready to compete.

This means, that making the playoffs could be a goal, a first round knockout and gain some experience along the way... yet also risk the possibility of slipping out of the playoffs

if that is the case, why not add ONE veteran to boost scoring and hope for a fun upset?

there's many ways to look at this, and everyone will have their opinion

Doing nothing is extremely conservative. BUT, with Luc, Rob, and Marc (possibly/definitely) chiming in, it's better that we did nothing to be honest.

 

[kingsfan]

The problem is the "once healthy". There's nothing that torpedoes a team's chances more than injuries. Almost every time you look at a team that underperformed and missed the playoffs, you can bet that it lost a bunch of person-games to injury. The playoffs depend on the Kings getting healthy as soon as possible.

Injuries can, yep. But we're not battling injuries and chasing a spot, we have a little margin for error here, plus other teams do have their own injuries to deal with. Add in the ease of schedule and we have a very realistic shot of making it in even if not everyone returns, and I would expect some to make it back in the next week or so.

 

[Fat Elvis]

Guessing there will be moves this offseason. As in something substantial.

 

[Scottkmlps]

Smart to stand pat. Fight to stay in a playoff spot and get these kids a taste of post season play. Make the moves in the off season if need be.

 

[Herby]

Guessing there will be moves this offseason. As in something substantial.

I hope so, this team needs to add an offensive difference maker to what they already have if next seasons team is going to take another step.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

It'd be between teams for both wild card spots, since Nashville is sitting in one right now. You can add in Dallas as well, though I'm not sure why you lump in Vancouver. They have no gams in hand and dumped their version of Blake Lizotte at the deadline, are on a three game slide and are four points out. We're eight points up on Vancouver, they should be no challenge to us. Pretty much the exact same for Winnipeg as well, though they have a game in hand and have some momentum, but apparently they dealt Copp to NYR according to Dreger (waiting to see if that got finalized in time though).

Really, there's six playoff spots up for grabs and there's nine teams with realistic chances of grabbing one, and we have some of the best odds to do so. If we can even tread water until some of the injured return, we should be fine.

you're right, and our schedule is favorable too, so we'll see!

but i have a hard time assessing our recent losses against BOS SJ VGK; they were major reality checks and we need our players back in the lineup in a hurry otherwise WIN / VAN can enter the playoff picture pretty quickly

 

[Jason Squirties]

i am back, my sons, from my longest ban ever !

just to say.... Bergy deals are alive and well lol

that is all

welcome back and enjoy the next one!

that is all