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

[Herby]

He is 19!! What do you mean isn’t based on what he could be anymore!?!? Do you really think he is done developing!?!?

He still has room to develop but we are talking about trade value here from other teams. How anxious would you be right now to take on Kirby Dach for example? Would you trade a really good veteran for him if the Kings were up against the cap? My guess is that you and others might be a bit skeptical about giving up said veteran for a player who has mostly struggled since being drafted, and rightfully so. I’d be right there with you.

Like BigKing always says and he is 100% right, prospects are like new cars, value depreciates quickly for players who aren’t established NHL talents. Even after 2 years. And that is especially true for higher picks.

The Kings would not get a top 2 pick for QB right now in a hypothetical trade. I am not sure I agree with him that he’d struggle to bring back a top 10. I think that is about where the cut off is.

 

[Herby]

QB and Turcotte in the minors next year because of JAD, Lizotte and Kopitar is criminal

Lizotte was great this past season in his role. I don’t know why you include him in that group, he is the least of the problems. Even as bad as Kopitar looked at times he was still considerably better than those two players at the NHL level. The ship has likely sailed on the Kings trio of 2017 forwards who are all waiver eligible and none of them showed anything other than pre-season. I doubt JAD has a future here.

 

[Schmooley]

Lizotte was great this past season in his role. I don’t know why you include him in that group, he is the least of the problems. Even as bad as Kopitar looked at times he was still considerably better than those two players at the NHL level. The ship has likely sailed on the Kings trio of 2017 forwards who are all waiver eligible and none of them showed anything other than pre-season. I doubt JAD has a future here.

Lizotte was great. Was not very effective in the playoffs when put in the same position as the rest of 3rd line center carousel. No goals, 1 assist, and a minus player as the third line center. Similar production to the rookies you love roasting. AA and Brown on the wings didnt do their centers any favors. If he is a long term staple on the roster over Turcotte without an extended look I think its a bad move.
I agree about JAD. I think hes on the outs along with Lias and Vilardi. Kopitar is the Kings best player, maybe of all time, but it needs to be transitioning into the next phase.

 

[YP44]

QB and Turcotte in the minors next year because of JAD, Lizotte and Kopitar is criminal

Turcotte should not be in the NHL till he can stay healthy and keep from being leveled.

 

[Schmooley]

Turcotte should not be in the NHL till he can stay healthy and keep from being leveled.

If he puts in some work this offseason theres no reason he shouldnt be ready to compete for a spot this coming season. Is he expected to be out long term?

 

[KingLB]

He still has room to develop but we are talking about trade value here from other teams. How anxious would you be right now to take on Kirby Dach for example? Would you trade a really good veteran for him if the Kings were up against the cap? My guess is that you and others might be a bit skeptical about giving up said veteran for a player who has mostly struggled since being drafted, and rightfully so. I’d be right there with you.

Like BigKing always says and he is 100% right, prospects are like new cars, value depreciates quickly for players who aren’t established NHL talents. Even after 2 years. And that is especially true for higher picks.

The Kings would not get a top 2 pick for QB right now in a hypothetical trade. I am not sure I agree with him that he’d struggle to bring back a top 10. I think that is about where the cut off is.

I absolutely would take Dach right now. Shit, I probably take him over Wally, just cause I am that hesitant to even touch highly touted goalie prospects.

But if I was Chicago I wouldn’t trade him for a mid first right now. Still way to much potential to take a significantly lesser talent/asset, just because he isn’t progressing on the linear scale everyone wants.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Turcotte should not be in the NHL till he can stay healthy and keep from being leveled.

If he puts in some work this offseason theres no reason he shouldnt be ready to compete for a spot this coming season. Is he expected to be out long term?

They were talking about him the same way the avs were about Byram for a while, doesn't seem like he's gonna be ready for a while.

Those hits were both gnarly.

 

[Peter James Bond III]

Hello Kings fans,
Trying to deal with the boredom of my team, the Wild, golfing right now and making up some fantasy rosters. I came upon the speculation of a possible Byfield trade. Has anyone heard of any truth around that even being a possibility or is this just another of those random speculations of a writer who just wants to stir the pot?

Hello.
Where and who was this speculation made by?
I cannot imagine the Kings dealing QB at this time. I can see the Kings interested in Fiala. Their 19th OA pick would not be enough and would take something significant added. Fiala turns 26 in July and coming off a monster year.
I could see the Kings interested in Boldy and Wallstedt, but don't think the Wild are dealing them.....all the Wild roster defensemen have NMC contracts. I don't see any roster forwards that fit. Possibly, Jordan Greenway could be a target, but not for QB.

If Blake has any inkling of Faber's possible intentions not to sign here, I could see him being dealt to the Wild.
The problem is, would not be able to get fair value for him...since he can just sign with anyone, in 2 years.
The only target that makes sense, would be Fiala, and I don't think they would deal QB as part of a package for him. What are you hearing about Fiala?

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

The last time checked, the Oilers are sold out every single game.

Los Angeles is a far cry from Edmonton, get real.

 

[Johnny Utah]

The Kupari-Byfield-Vilardi line started off hot but fizzled. It was nice finalizing seeing the Kings play the kids.

 

[Statto]

Hiring a terrible coach to facilitate a tank is a terrible strategy. And defending said terrible strategy is mind boggling.

What if TMac wasn't available when he was? Was Blake going to keep Desjardins as a placeholder? Was he going to hire a different terrible coach as a placeholder? Or was he going to hire a decent coach now that he tanked?

I wasn’t defending the choices in personnel just pointing out lack of appropriate contecat in the statement.

I don’t think it was to facilitate a tank as such and I doubt anyone expected him to be ’that bad’ but given that they were going to tank having a placeholder/interim coach (call it what you want) made sense If they knew who they wanted going forward. I’m not saying WDJ was a good choice for that placeholder BTW, that’s a separate discussion. However I don’t think anyone seriously thinks he was ever in the frame for the job beyond the end of that season, regardless of anything that was said suggesting he may have had a chance. I don’t recall either way what was said on that point but he was never getting the job from the day he walked in the door.

Although they’re technically not allowed to have a quiet word whilst under contract I’d be fairly confident Blake knew TMac was going to be up for the job given their relationship. If TMac wasn’t available when push came to shove I’m sure they’d have other options because mid season the choices are always more limited and he probably had a plan B or C. Whatever you want to say about Blake he rarely seems to make knee jerk decisions and I’m sure he had a plan for the eventualities.

 

[2-4 Slashin]

That's what he did all of this past season though, his development was to work on everything else other than his shot and by the end of the season he had near elite levels of board play, how much longer can he stay there? Hide the rookies all you want, they're gonna need to sink or swim sooner or later.
I agree, Kaliyev truly learned to round out his game this year. And he truly became a player who was the opposite of what the scouts had to say about him last year. I think we may see a sophomore slump with Kaliyev. But the kid truly grew by leaps and bounds. And in the long run, I believe he will be better for it.

 

[DeagleJenkins]

Hello.
Where and who was this speculation made by?
I cannot imagine the Kings dealing QB at this time. I can see the Kings interested in Fiala. Their 19th OA pick would not be enough and would take something significant added. Fiala turns 26 in July and coming off a monster year.
I could see the Kings interested in Boldy and Wallstedt, but don't think the Wild are dealing them.....all the Wild roster defensemen have NMC contracts. I don't see any roster forwards that fit. Possibly, Jordan Greenway could be a target, but not for QB.

If Blake has any inkling of Faber's possible intentions not to sign here, I could see him being dealt to the Wild.
The problem is, would not be able to get fair value for him...since he can just sign with anyone, in 2 years.
The only target that makes sense, would be Fiala, and I don't think they would deal QB as part of a package for him. What are you hearing about Fiala?

id have to go huntng for the story again, it seemed very click baity but it popped up several times during some trade rumor searches on google.

i believe it has been debated before on the main board that LA and MN are bad trade partners and i dont disagree. have roughly the same needs. Fiala there has been all speculation. i understand the speculation that Fiala is all but traded already and our beat writer thinks they decided last year already that no matter what he is being traded however we have gone over on our board several ways to keep him and dumba around for this year and possibly more going forward. the issue is Russo does not want to do the digging to figure out if Bill Geurin is hard pressed to trade Fiala or not so all we can do is speculate and cap crunch off capfriendly. most of us fans however would gladly trade Zuccarello over Fiala.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

with all the whining/moaning about how the Kings are rebuilding and lack of 'playing the kids', I found this interesting about the Avalanche who should be a prime example of how to build a contender:

>>Of the 23 to play at least one postseason game, 11 were acquired via trade, six were selected by Colorado in the NHL Draft, five were signed in free agency and one was acquired via waivers.<<

those draft picks are the following:

#1 in 2013 (MacKinnon)
#16 in 2019 (Newhook)
#10 in 2015 (Rantanen)
#4 in 2019 (Byram)
#4 in 2017 (Makar)
(not sure about the sixth, it wasn't listed)

So, there you have it, a team that looks to be the next cup winner and a perennial contender has less than 25% of their roster being homegrown.

 

[Rick Knickleback]

those draft picks are the following:

#1 in 2013 (MacKinnon)
#16 in 2019 (Newhook)
#10 in 2015 (Rantanen)
#4 in 2019 (Byram)
#4 in 2017 (Makar)
(not sure about the sixth, it wasn't listed)

Landeskog, their captain. #2 OA in 2011.

And that list undermines your panglossian take on things. Landeskog, Makar, Rantanten and MacKinnon: all high overall picks, all drafted and developed from within, three with letters on their jerseys (Makar will have one soon), all comprise their core: this is basically completely the opposite of where the Kings stand at the moment.

 

[Vino]

#1 in 2013 (MacKinnon)
#16 in 2019 (Newhook)
#10 in 2015 (Rantanen)
#4 in 2019 (Byram)
#4 in 2017 (Makar)
(not sure about the sixth, it wasn't listed)

#2 in 2011 Landeskog

edit. slowhand.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

three with letters on their jerseys (Makar will have one soon), all comprise their core: this is basically completely the opposite of where the Kings stand at the moment.

Yeah, three that were drafted before the year of 2015 -- that's seven years, bud. Last I checked, Kings were busy winning cups during the time that the Avs were drafting their core. BE PATIENT, give the 'kids' an actual chance to show what they can do.

 

[Kurrilino]

Los Angeles is a far cry from Edmonton, get real.

If you get exiting young players who play fun hockey and have a chance to bring home the cup, every arena will turn into a mad house, you don't need to be Edmonton.

 

[SmytheKing]

He still has room to develop but we are talking about trade value here from other teams. How anxious would you be right now to take on Kirby Dach for example? Would you trade a really good veteran for him if the Kings were up against the cap? My guess is that you and others might be a bit skeptical about giving up said veteran for a player who has mostly struggled since being drafted, and rightfully so. I’d be right there with you.

Like BigKing always says and he is 100% right, prospects are like new cars, value depreciates quickly for players who aren’t established NHL talents. Even after 2 years. And that is especially true for higher picks.

The Kings would not get a top 2 pick for QB right now in a hypothetical trade. I am not sure I agree with him that he’d struggle to bring back a top 10. I think that is about where the cut off is.

To be clear, I'm not saying they'd struggle to get a Top 10 pick. I'm saying it's not unreasonable that there are 10 teams that wouldn't trade the guy they picked in that draft for him. I think some teams would be overvaluing their guy...but it's not like it would be an outrageous thing for them to say.

 

[Steve Zissou]

id have to go huntng for the story again, it seemed very click baity but it popped up several times during some trade rumor searches on google.

 

[Schrute farms]

Yeah, three that were drafted before the year of 2015 -- that's seven years, bud. Last I checked, Kings were busy winning cups during the time that the Avs were drafting their core. BE PATIENT, give the 'kids' an actual chance to show what they can do.

Lot of negative Nancy's on this board talking big like they absolutely know better and the road to immediate/LT successful Cup runs is crystal clear and easy as A-B-C. Some seem to enjoy the complaining like a HS drama girl. I'll get a laugh at those same posters in 2-4+ years slobbering over these same Kings prospects & young players who are now successful and kicking ars for the Kings with the deepest team in the league.

Maybe they will still be complaining about our goalie situation or how we blew the 2022 series against Edm and a chance to be swept by the Avs.

 

[YP44]

The Kupari-Byfield-Vilardi line started off hot but fizzled. It was nice finalizing seeing the Kings play the kids.

Any prospect is going to have consistency issues. When you load a line of them it is bound to fizzle a bit.
I would like to see Byfield with Vilardi again. Maybe Iafallo on the left side.

If you get exiting young players who play fun hockey and have a chance to bring home the cup, every arena will turn into a mad house, you don't need to be Edmonton.

Look at the fans in Tampa.

Oiler fans forget the 90s when the rink was half full and the team almost moved. Same thing here in Calgary. I could go to any game in the cheap seat and move down after the 1st. 2004 changed all of that for Calgary.

Cup runs (even to the finals) birth new generations of fans. LA is 10 years from cup 1...won't be long before another run is needed to build up the base again.

 

[BringTheReign]

The Kupari-Byfield-Vilardi line started off hot but fizzled. It was nice finalizing seeing the Kings play the kids.

God what I'd give to see that line actually work. Fingers crossed they have another chance, even if it ends up being a different mix of kids.

 

[KINGS17]

Landeskog, their captain. #2 OA in 2011.

And that list undermines your panglossian take on things. Landeskog, Makar, Rantanten and MacKinnon: all high overall picks, all drafted and developed from within, three with letters on their jerseys (Makar will have one soon), all comprise their core: this is basically completely the opposite of where the Kings stand at the moment.

In honor of your username.

 

[Kurrilino]

Cup runs (even to the finals) birth new generations of fans. LA is 10 years from cup 1...won't be long before another run is needed to build up the base again.

I absolutely agree.

But i guess all of us will agree that Kopitar and old folks are not the right people anymore to pull that off
So why giving them top line minutes and duties while holding those people back who will be responsible for this cup run.