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

[Herby]

2013-14 - 100 points, cup win after 3 game 7 wins on the road
2014-15 - 95 points, Voynov suspended with pay, Richards drama, missed playoffs by one point
2015-16 - 102 points, lost to eventual Cup finalist
2016-17 - 86 points, Quick missed 60 games, Kopitar/Toffoli injured, defense fully committed to making you think Peter Budaj was an NHL goaltender


Sutter is about the closest thing there is in this league to guaranteed success as long as your measure for success isn't "Win the cup or you're a failure"

The Kings WERE an average middling team before he showed up and completely fell apart after he left

I listed 3 teams who combined to win 1 playoff game, never mentioned anything about cups or failures, so not sure why that is quoted?

There are many different ranges of success and failure the falls between missing the playoffs and winning the cup.

Sutter is a great coach, but a 15 point coach? Do you think the Kings would have won the division and the Flames finished 3rd had they swapped coaches?

 

[crassbonanza]

I listed 3 teams who combined to win 1 playoff game, never mentioned anything about cups or failures, so not sure why that is quoted?

There are many different ranges of success and failure the falls between missing the playoffs and winning the cup.

Sutter is a great coach, but a 15 point coach? Do you think the Kings would have won the division and the Flames finished 3rd had they swapped coaches?

I mean, the Flames finished 5th in an absolutely atrocious division last year and Sutter was able to turn that team into a division winner. With no significant roster changes he has the Flames on the verge of a conference finals appearance. I do think Sutter's aggressive gameplan is unique in this league and has shown consistent success throughout his career, but he needs the right players. Guys like Lindholm, Tkachuk, Coleman, and Mangiapane fit his system very well. I don't think the Kings would gain 15 points do to the lineup composition, but I do think the Flames would not be having anywhere near the success they are having without him.

 

[johnjm22]

2013-14 - 100 points, cup win after 3 game 7 wins on the road
2014-15 - 95 points, Voynov suspended with pay, Richards drama, missed playoffs by one point
2015-16 - 102 points, lost to eventual Cup finalist
2016-17 - 86 points, Quick missed 60 games, Kopitar/Toffoli injured, defense fully committed to making you think Peter Budaj was an NHL goaltender

Remember how in those days nearly every goaltender we threw in net had success?

Hasn't really been the same since.

Now Sutter is in Calgary and Markstrom is a Vezina candidate. Same thing with Kiprusoff. It's not a coincidence.

 

[Statto]

The Kings WERE an average middling team before he showed up and completely fell apart after he left

Kinda. We were playing like an average side but we’re very much underachieving because it should at a minimum have been a team that was a solid bet for the play-offs. Sutter without a doubt got the best out of them and Carter gave a much needed shot in the arm to the offence so that if we made the post season we should absolutely have been considered a contender. Our form heading into the play-offs was very good and our position of 8th seed was a technicality because nobody thought we were the 8th best team in the Conference at that point.

Also the falling apart after he left isn’t quite fair either, because the wheels most definitely had started to fall off.

Don’t get me wrong I’d put a statue of the man outside of the arena holding the cup, but it wasn’t all about his arrival and departure.

 

[JeanBlanc]

A year ago the Kings probably had one of the toughest organizations with Lemieux, MacDermid, Imama and Doty. Then they trade Imama and lose MacD in the expansion draft and Kassian basically runs the whole team over and no one does anything.

I'm not clear about the link between Imama and Doty in the minors and Kassian in the NHL playoffs. As for MacD, our roster couldn't cover for his lack of skill.

I agree that the Kings weren't ready to play a playoff brand off physical hockey. That's not solved by one player or carrying an enforcer (close to impossible in the modern NHL). I would take Kane without the baggage. Grundstrom is a step in the right direction. Kupari should be taking notes on what Carl did and make it a consistent part of his game. I still remember this counter hit, playing against Nashville. It's the type of play that could elevate him to a top six forward.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

What are you babbling about? If there was a site that showed TOI for the A, I would. This concept of the top prospects being buried on the 3rd/4th lines of ONT is bullshit. I watched enough of their games to stand my that statement, turbo.

IT's not, though. When fully healthy, those guys were 2nd/3rd liners, pushing even thomas et al down to the 4th, and on PP2 if they were on the PP at all.

Prove me wrong.

See how dumb that is?

But the general consensus will agree with me, the first few lines and PP1 were mostly loaded with Frk, Tynan, and other combos of vets. Hence why we were so annoyed, guys like Turcotte getting jammed onto the 3rd line in both the AHL and NHL with checking minutes and no PP time and going "why aren't they scoring"

 

[johnjm22]

IT's not, though. When fully healthy, those guys were 2nd/3rd liners, pushing even thomas et al down to the 4th, and on PP2 if they were on the PP at all.

Prove me wrong.

See how dumb that is?

But the general consensus will agree with me, the first few lines and PP1 were mostly loaded with Frk, Tynan, and other combos of vets. Hence why we were so annoyed, guys like Turcotte getting jammed onto the 3rd line in both the AHL and NHL with checking minutes and no PP time and going "why aren't they scoring"

View attachment 549644

Maybe my biggest criticism of Blake is having guys like Frk, Tynan, Tkachev and AA around this year.

I understand he wants there to be competition in camp, and create a winning environment in Ontario, but I think we'd be better off without these guys. They just take up TOI that could have been used on the kids.

 

[cyclones22]

It's just typical baffling decisions made by leadership. Why aren't you a chef yet, @johnjm22? When I've been making you wash dishes the entire time. But hey, it's good that you're around the chefs, though. You'll learn by watching and not actually doing.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

It's just typical baffling decisions made by leadership. Why aren't you a chef yet, johnjm22? When I've been making you wash dishes the entire time. But hey, it's good that you're around the chefs, though. You'll learn by watching and not actually doing.

Amazing how you guys think the industries are anything similar.....

Let me ask you this, Byfield has scored in minor hockey, scored in junior hockey, scored in pro hockey (AHL) kid is 19.....what do you think he has to work on, scoring...or learning the pro game at a faster level?

 

[Steve Zissou]

Worth a watch. One of the best signings in the entire league the past few years.

 

[redcard]

Maybe my biggest criticism of Blake is having guys like Frk, Tynan, Tkachev and AA around this year.

I understand he wants there to be competition in camp, and create a winning environment in Ontario, but I think we'd be better off without these guys. They just take up TOI that could have been used on the kids.

Last year Ontario had Byfield, Kaliyev, Kupari, and Durzi for the full season instead of Frk (only 14 games), Tynan, and Tkachev and finished 6th in the division. Ontario without any of those 7 players this season would have been abysmal. Who didn't get enough ice time in Ontario this year? Fagemo, JAD, and Spence all seemed to get plenty and their powerplay production seems pretty good. Turcotte, Madden, and Thomas were oft injured but didn't seem to me like their ice time was being limited when healthy. Having Frk, Tynan, and Tkachev around this year was great for the Reign in keeping the team competitive and in meaningful games while the kids were called up or injured and I don't feel the remaining prospects were inhibited at all.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Amazing how you guys think the industries are anything similar.....

Let me ask you this, Byfield has scored in minor hockey, scored in junior hockey, scored in pro hockey (AHL) kid is 19.....what do you think he has to work on, scoring...or learning the pro game at a faster level?

Just needs a longer stick…

 

[Surf Nutz]

Sign Husso for goal and trade Quick or Petersen

 

[goosh]

Sign Husso for goal and trade Quick or Petersen

Quick is untouchable but I think trading Petersen isn't too farfetched. A M-NTC kicks-in with his new contract starting next season. His value is basically zilch (if not negative) but I'd move a minor piece to shore up the G position. I absolutely don't want to go into next season with a 36-yo Quick and Petersen tandem.

Frankly, the Petersen contract is probably the single major move of Blake's that's left a really sour taste in my mouth. The sample size of Petersen's good play was just way too small to warrant a $15 million dollar contract.

 

[unicornpig]

Maybe my biggest criticism of Blake is having guys like Frk, Tynan, Tkachev and AA around this year.

I understand he wants there to be competition in camp, and create a winning environment in Ontario, but I think we'd be better off without these guys. They just take up TOI that could have been used on the kids.

Said it in the beginning of the season he didn't cut off enough fat

 

[RaymondReddington]

Turcotte, when healthy, was almost never on PP1 with Reign and often not even on PP2. This was often true of Byfield as well.
And Herby and others bemoan their lack of production.
What other organization would deny their 2OA & 5OA centers PP1 time in the AHL?
Absolutely befuddling and frustrating.

 

[Herby]

Turcotte, when healthy, was almost never on PP1 with Reign and often not even on PP2. This was often true of Byfield as well.
And Herby and others bemoan their lack of production.
What other organization would deny their 2OA & 5OA centers PP1 time in the AHL?
Absolutely befuddling and frustrating.

Well, the 5 on 5 production has not been stellar either.

And yes, the development decisions have been awful. But you cheered on the worst development decision made on this player, so it's kind of 20/20 is hindsight here. Hard to blame Blake when he just did what most people here wanted and pulled an undeveloped player (hockey and body) to professional hockey and expected him to play a sandpaper style. You know where he would have gotten a ton of PP time and a chance to develop his offensive game? What did people expect to happen to a small player who struggled for a lot of his freshman season?

The Kings have made a bunch of weird development decisions on a bunch of prospects, no one disputes that. But their development decisions did not turn Turcotte from Toews to whatever he is now. They just prevented him from likely reaching his 2C ceiling.

 

[Fishhead]

The big question is what do we want Ontario to be? Do we want it to be somewhere focused on exclusively getting prospects ready for the NHL? Playing them big minutes in key situations as opposed to giving that time to guys like Frk and Tynan? Or do we want that team to be successful? Because we aren't going to get both.

If it's the former, the youth would get a ton of time which always helps development. You basically throw meaningful games out the window, though, because they certainly wouldn't be competitive with the top teams. Poor records can also lead to poor attendance, which means less capital. You don't want your AHL affiliate to be a money pit.

It's a catch-22. If you want the young guys experiencing the playoffs, you gotta play AHL vets because all the other teams do. If your young guys are playing top roles in all situations, they may put up more points and gain experience, but they are also experiencing losing which isn't the best reward. Confidence problems and doubt can creep in. The Kings haven't had enough consistent high picks to build a powerhouse minor team, and I don't think anyone particularly wants that because it means years in the cellar. Everything has its trade off. I'm sure there is a happy medium to be had somewhere, but we can't have it both ways. At some point it's on the prospects themselves, because if they can't at least force the coach to put them in key situations over AHL lifers they might not be good enough to begin with.

 

[Johnny Utah]

If Blake goes full youth in Ontario, then he better bring in another Jacob Doty. Both Turcotte and Madden have been lit up in the past few seasons.

Might want to consider a Kurtis Gabriel. Someone they can rotate up to the show if they have to.

Between the NHL and AHL players were suspended for taking shots at Danault, Turcotte and Hickey. What does that say about how other teams view us?

 

[Gurglesons]

LA and Jason Zucker seem like a fit or am I way off? Cheap buy ala Arvidsson and seems to fit the Kings system plus he’s from the area. Probably would cost like a 4th.

 

[Johnny Utah]

I like Rakell better. Kopitar surrounded by those two Swedes.

Zucker is 30 and had 8 goals in 40 games.

 

[JTeller97]

LA and Jason Zucker seem like a fit or am I way off? Cheap buy ala Arvidsson and seems to fit the Kings system plus he’s from the area. Probably would cost like a 4th.

Need a different player profile up top. We should be looking at Marchment or calling the Caps about Wilson

 

[FSL KINGS]

LA and Jason Zucker seem like a fit or am I way off? Cheap buy ala Arvidsson and seems to fit the Kings system plus he’s from the area. Probably would cost like a 4th.

Cap should be too tight next year.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

I’d like to see the Kings get a deal with Nic Deslauriers - strong physical presence and can kill penalties. We need someone with his type of pushback against teams that try to run over us. Might be the end of Pepe with LA.

 

[kilowatt]

there was a time when people complained about this team having no skill and being essentially just defensive and physical, and now all we want to do is get back to the physicality