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

[crassbonanza]

I think the reality is that the front office had to start competing this season. The takeover was sold to AEG by BLuc with the mindset that with the talent on the team they should be a Stanley Cup contender and that Sutter/Deano were hindering that. This was clearly communicated at the press conference. The issue is that ever since the takeover there have been a number of mishaps that eventually led to a tear down. Now the Kings are back in the basement attendance wise, so I have to imagine there was some pressure on BLuc to bring back some excitement. I actually don't mind bringing in some veteran players to bridge the gap between Kopi and the young players, but I would rather have utilized our cap space/assets on a player in their mid 20's. Danault and Arrvy will both turn 29 this year and non star players typically tend to decline at 30, it just doesn't seem to align with a long term development plan.

 

[kilowatt]

Those look absolutely amazing and would be tremendous if we went with these for the next generation of kids. But you know Luc, he would combine the horrendous Chevy logo with these pathetic homeplates we have now and redesign it to look like Sh*T for the next 20 years.

It's not even hard, make these our main jerseys:

Then use this as our alternate:

And don't ever wear these stupid f***ing chrome helmets ever again

 

[Peter James Bond II]

I like the Scott D concept one...IF there was some purple in it. Maybe the piping that is currently gray, make purple or a blueish-purple. And the crown would need some color as well. Maybe a subdued gold. (not too bright of a gold) If the gold did not work, at least make the crown have a brighter silver and not flat gray. Purple jewels. Do you know this guy? Ask him to do that.

 

[shuchukfan]

Those purple jerseys are the best jerseys we've ever had.

I'll take the purple jersey with the updated crown, please.

 

[KINGS17]

This isn't rocket science although statistics do demonstrate reality. We have Phillip Danault. He is probably the main, certainly not the only, reason the Kings are better this year than last. Kopitar is already older today than Danault will be at the end of the contract he signed with us and many were complaining about paying for that 6th season. Danault will never be as good as AK in his prime, but right now he is better in many aspects of the game. There is absolutely no reason that PD should not be getting some of those tougher minutes and assignments. That is why we got him, why we are paying him, and he is delivering. Why McLellan is being so stubborn about overplaying AK is beyond me. It seems to me the biggest reason coaches get fired in any sport is the inability to adjust to the talents of his players. I hesitate to quote John Maynard Keynes on a hockey board, but this quote is apropos:
“When the facts change, I change my mind - what do you do, sir?”

Will we be happier fans someday when it is:

Byfield
Danault
TBD
TBD

down the middle? I think so. Could it be Kopitar at the 3C? Maybe, or we may be even happier if it is one of the kids with more grit in his game.

 

[KINGS17]

Those purple jerseys are the best jerseys we've ever had.

Yup bar none. They are on point with franchise and they are distinctive.

 

[ru4reals]

It's not even hard, make these our main jerseys:

Then use this as our alternate:

And don't ever wear these stupid f***ing chrome helmets ever again

Thank you the Black and Silver Crown jerseys are f**ken awesome for me at least, and that's all they had to do. Unbelievable. The throwback jerseys are phenomenal....without that ugly *ss Chevy crest.

All they had to do.

 

[Herby]

The stupid “just get in” mentality needs to go. It’s been here since Andy Murray. The Kings winning their cups despite forgettable regular seasons (especially 2012) were anomalies.

It's just so awful because it's just engrained throughout the organization. I am hearing Luc's voice in my head right now saying "We are only a couple of points out, we just need to get in and anything can happen", he says it every year to justify his crappy teams as contenders. Even a guy like Patrick O'Neal (best part of Kings broadcast, btw) will reference 2012 to the current era teams fighting to get the final wildcard spot.

2012 was great, a fun ride none of us expected, but I'd rather win cups from the top like Chicago, Pittsburgh and Tampa have done than to try and emulate a once in a generation type playoff run.

 

[ru4reals]

I'll take the purple jersey with the updated crown, please.

That would be awesome.

 

[KINGS17]

The stupid “just get in” mentality needs to go. It’s been here since Andy Murray. The Kings winning their cups despite forgettable regular seasons (especially 2012) were anomalies.

I don't know about the 2011-12 through 2013-14 teams being anomalies. Those three Kings teams were very good regular season teams in some important aspects of the game that were made better with significant tweaks in 2012 and 2014 that made them even better.

In 2011-12 the Kings were far and away the 2nd best defensive team in the NHL behind only St. Louis. Their major flaw for most of the season was offensive production, and the Carter trade fixed that PDQ.

In 2012-13 the Kings were still a fine defensive unit, with better than adequate offense despite Kopitar's sub par goal scoring campaign .

In 2013-14 the Kings were the best defensive team in the entire NHL with only Boston being even remotely close, and the next best defensive team in the NHL a distant 3rd. That season the California road swing was a murderers row where teams in winning steaks went to see losing streaks started, and teams on losing streaks got pounded. The Kings lacked some punch on offense. Enter Marion Gaborik, and they were feared on offense yet again.

Despite not winning Pacific Division titles in any of those seasons, those Kings teams could turn it up a few notches for any regular season game and be the best team in the NHL, especially in 2013-14.

 

[KINGS17]

It's not even hard, make these our main jerseys:

Then use this as our alternate:

And don't ever wear these stupid f***ing chrome helmets ever again

Sorry, I can't go along with the chevy logo sacrilege on those beautiful purple jerseys.

 

[KINGS17]

Like i said at this point just f***ing send them all down.

Iafallo-Kopitar-Kempe
Moore-Danault-Arvidsson
Grundstrom-Andersson-Frk
AA-Lizotte-Brown
Tkachev, Wagner

Anderson-Doughty
Edler-Roy
Maatta-Strand

Let the kids just be the reign and be 'the guys' so they can have some minutes and learn since they're not being trusted to do shit at the nhl level and there, you can have your veteran wet dreams and no one will care. f***, trade the guys under 25 for some plug depth like Nate Thompson and Paul Byron, just go for it. Run the vets careers out with a 'competitive' team, just don't pretend the youth matter until the vets are burned out completely, thanks.

I am not opposed to this if I could see a deep AHL playoff run in my crystal ball with near 100% certainty.

If, as I would suspect, the NHL playoff run lasted about 5 games, it would certainly be telling.

 

[lexlavender]

I am not opposed to this if I could see a deep AHL playoff run in my crystal ball with near 100% certainty.

If, as I would suspect, the NHL playoff run lasted about 5 games, it would certainly be telling.

I'm pretty sure the Reign will go deep in playoffs, they are a very strong team this year.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Weird roadie. Thursday vs. the Isles at 4...might be a 0-0 shootout. Then, the thing i've been dreading, BACK TO BACK 10 AM GAMES on sat and sun in Philly and Pittsburgh before finishing next Wednesday in Detroit. Then the 'break', nearly two weeks without a game. So I think it's fair to assume no real changes until then, didn't check what Ontario's schedule is like but I'm bummed that means Turcotte, Fagemo, Kupari are just sitting here not playing for damn near 3 weeks. When we get back and are on break--Ontario has back t backs in two consecutive weekends so hopefully those kids will skate but sheesh.

These guys better be clockwork-oranged watching power play highlights of the REd Army and PK highlights of the 2000s new jersey devils 8 hours a day for those two weeks i swear to god

And I assume the roster we have after that will solidify what we're seeing down the stretch. Guessign Byfield will be up (for better or worse), Turcotte and Fagemo back down, AA/Andersson back in full.

 

[Statto]

One thing that rarely gets brought up in these discussions is Kopitar himself. Kopitar has been the most important part of this team since 2006, and is a future 1st ballot HOFer. He has earned a say, and as we know TMac and Blake both keep him in the loop regarding team planning and outlook.

Do you really think one of the most talented, successful players of the past two decades is just going to be okay with reduced minutes? I get that there's chain of command, but again, Kopi has earned the longest leash of anyone in the org, so if he says he wants to play big minutes then he'll get every opportunity to continue doing it.

I'm not saying that is right or wrong, it's just likely a reality of the situation. These are competitive, proud, professional athletes we're talking about. The same goes for Doughty and all the same critiques on his icetime. You think Drew wouldn't notice if his minutes were reduced? Kopitar is quieter to the media, but we have no idea what convos go on between captain and coach.

I don’t doubt that Kopitar and Doughty have a say/influence on their ice time. However, that is definitely part of the problem if true. Yes Kopitar having the opportunity to have his say has absolutely been earned but the final decision should not ever be down to the player because fundamentally human nature prevents most people from being truly objective when assessing their own performance. Crosby is playing 19:29 per game, they are from the same draft class, so if he can have his minutes reduced so can Kopitar.

Given the tangible benefits to reducing the minutes of both players and the way the D corp stepped up in Doughty’s absence, the evidence is there to win any discussion on ice time. Crosby is playing 19:29 per game, they are from the same draft class, so if he can have his minutes reduced so can Kopitar. I just don’t see a strong argument for keeping their icetime up where it is. If either player were to pout or demand a trade then they can go. There should never be a scenario where the lunatics run the asylum. I am not saying that’s happening, I am talking hypothetically.

 

[Nasti]

I don't know about the 2011-12 through 2013-14 teams being anomalies. Those three Kings teams were very good regular season teams in some important aspects of the game that were made better with significant tweaks in 2012 and 2014 that made them even better.

In 2011-12 the Kings were far and away the 2nd best defensive team in the NHL behind only St. Louis. Their major flaw for most of the season was offensive production, and the Carter trade fixed that PDQ.

In 2012-13 the Kings were still a fine defensive unit, with better than adequate offense despite Kopitar's sub par goal scoring campaign .

In 2013-14 the Kings were the best defensive team in the entire NHL with only Boston being even remotely close, and the next best defensive team in the NHL a distant 3rd. That season the California road swing was a murderers row where teams in winning steaks went to see losing streaks started, and teams on losing streaks got pounded. The Kings lacked some punch on offense. Enter Marion Gaborik, and they were feared on offense yet again.

Despite not winning Pacific Division titles in any of those seasons, those Kings teams could turn it up a few notches for any regular season game and be the best team in the NHL, especially in 2013-14.

They were obviously great teams. They won cups after all. But they underachieved in the regular season despite the great defense. “Just get in” is a recipe for underachieving. And it bit them hard in 2015. I remember in those years, every time the Kings started to gain a somewhat comfortable cushion into a playoff spot, they’d take their foot off the gas. I say they were anomalies because most other teams that win the cup, do it after having great regular seasons too. Winning championships as the 8th seed ain’t gonna happen often.

 

[Nasti]

It's just so awful because it's just engrained throughout the organization. I am hearing Luc's voice in my head right now saying "We are only a couple of points out, we just need to get in and anything can happen", he says it every year to justify his crappy teams as contenders. Even a guy like Patrick O'Neal (best part of Kings broadcast, btw) will reference 2012 to the current era teams fighting to get the final wildcard spot.

2012 was great, a fun ride none of us expected, but I'd rather win cups from the top like Chicago, Pittsburgh and Tampa have done than to try and emulate a once in a generation type playoff run.

And I remember Luc saying those exact words during the Andy Murray/Ziggy Palffy days. You know, because winning the cup without ever having home ice happens so often.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Hockey is a game of mistakes, almost everything is a result of a nice play forcing a breakdown. Of course we're playing some good and great teams especially lately. The idea is to minimize those mistakes. Kopitar is making a LOT of them. You can defend the ones we're watching and you can almost always share responsibility (most breakdowns aren't just one dude duffing it like Mikey getting juked out of his jock),but when one guy is involved ina disproportionate number of them relative to his team, and that's backed up by both the eye test AND the stats, it's fair to wonder what's cooking a guy.

Except again, his take on the Kreider goal is absolutely bullshit, invented bullshit to boot, just so he can have another excuse to rag on Kopitar, and don't get me wrong, I don't really f***ing care about Kopitar, but if you are going to bitch and complain, (like you do) at least make it about shit that actually happened (like you do) instead of shit you invented in your head.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Old school reference or current reference, it's not really factually correct in any way though. It's actually the opposite, Detroits best players for the last 30 years have seen very little time in the minor leagues.

As far as doing what Detroit is doing this season, well no arguments from me, go back and check the receipts this summer, my first preference was to play the kids a lot and suck again to add another piece. Detroit while basically eliminated from the playoffs half way through has actually overachieved a bit (I doubt even Yzerman thought Seider and Raymond would be this good or Larkin and Bertuzzi would be point-per-game guys). That was a roster that looked like it was going to be a lock to pick top 5. Even with all that, their goal-differential is poor and they will sell at the deadline and be picking in the top 8, able to add another key piece while breaking in their 2 young stars in a low pressure situation.

The Kings instead tried once again to squeeze out a wildcard spot from their championship core from a decade ago. Detroit could have traded for Viktor Arvidsson and signed Alex Edler and Philip Danault, they had more space than LA, but they stuck with a more long-term vision where LA again looked short term at the expense of low pressure ice-time for its young players. Not trying to rag on Danault, he has been really good for the Kings but the reality is he takes a spot from a young player and isn't going to move the needle to make this team a playoff threat. Not a bad player and not a bad short term signing, but if the goal is to win cups I'd have rather not brought in any of those guys and been a bottom 5 team with a ton of ice time for all the young kids. They needed another impact young player in the system that a top pick would have provided and they needed icetime for the youth, we get none of that this season and in exchange we may be able to finish 3rd in the division.

I just don't get why so many who championed those moves and the direction Blake went this summer are now angry about ice-time for young players. The message was clearly sent by Blake they were putting the interests of 11,8,32,23 and the new vets they brought in above letting their youth learn on the job. I am shocked that people are not grasping this, Blake isn't tricking anyone, his plan was clearly laid out over the summer and to be honest, as much as I hate it and disagree with it, it is working. The team is in the playoff hunt, even though they have zero chance to contend.

Agree to a point, my only thing to add though, is they have the youth in place, Byfield, Turcotte, Kaliyev, Kupari, Durzi, Clarke, Fagemo etc, they have those youth pieces, so the next step is to try and compete, even if they aren't a contender, getting those players a whiff of the playoffs, is a good thing in their development (yea I know Clarke is a few years away)

 

[YP44]

Why must we continue to get punished with the chrome domes?

those jerseys look like knock offs of the 90's jerseys. they are terrible too

 

[YP44]

It's not even hard, make these our main jerseys:

Then use this as our alternate:

And don't ever wear these stupid f***ing chrome helmets ever again

Been saying it for a while, if the team would even just get rid of the should to cuff piping and put a hem line on the black the jerseys would look alot better. I agree the crown should be the logo, but who knows if we will ever see that.

 

[bland]

Except again, his take on the Kreider goal is absolutely bullshit, invented bullshit to boot, just so he can have another excuse to rag on Kopitar, and don't get me wrong, I don't really f***ing care about Kopitar, but if you are going to bitch and complain, (like you do) at least make it about shit that actually happened (like you do) instead of shit you invented in your head.

Watch the play again super genius. Kopitar bites on Fox's fake shot then Fox walks - literally walks - right around him as Anze is too upright and slow to react. THAT is where the play broke down. Anze lets him get inside the top of the circle and just holds his stick out - no strides, just gliding - as Fox opens up the seam.

The PK breakdowns are happening up top here, its not diffucult to see unless you don't know what you are watching.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Watch the play again super genius. Kopitar bites on Fox's fake shot then Fox walks - literally walks - right around him as Anze is too upright and slow to react. THAT is where the play broke down. Anze lets him get inside the top of the circle and just holds his stick out - no strides, just gliding - as Fox opens up the seam.

The PK breakdowns are happening up top here, its not diffucult to see unless you don't know what you are watching.

You are off your rocker....too consumed with hate to actually break down the play... Fox gives it to Panarin, and they shift, Panarin walks down, Kopitar has to slide down to prevent the cross ice pass, Panarin avoids Iafallo and makes the pass back to Fox, Kopitar is about 15-20 feet away at that point, cuts it to about 10-15 as he swings towards Fox, who 100% shows shot, Kopitar uses his stick to cut off the pass to Zibanejad which NYR were trying to do all night, Fox then cuts to the outside, Kopitar gets his stick in position for a shot block, Fox turns the corner, and fakes the shot at the circle dot, where Kopitar has nothing to bite on, he has his stick in position to block that shot, then Fox drifts below the Dot and Maata takes a weird ass angle to cut off something...and Roy is covering Quick, the pass comes through and Kreider scores,

That's not a broken down play per se, that's f***ed up coverage by Roy and Maata.

Like I said, you made up shit in your head, to give you an excuse to bitch about something that didn't happen.

 

[deeshamrock]

Agree to a point, my only thing to add though, is they have the youth in place, Byfield, Turcotte, Kaliyev, Kupari, Durzi, Clarke, Fagemo etc, they have those youth pieces, so the next step is to try and compete, even if they aren't a contender, getting those players a whiff of the playoffs, is a good thing in their development (yea I know Clarke is a few years away)

Playoff experience is invaluable for young players and the Kings have a good group of the next wave that would benefit from dipping their skates in the playoff pool.
The other benefit to having drafting forward (center) heavy is trade chips. Centers are valued and the Kings continue to be in most of the Chychrun rumors. Kupari and Vilardi might be offered but depending on how badly they want Chychrun, they might have to up the ante.
But having that many top picks, does make it easier to put a piece in place in other areas needed.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Playoff experience is invaluable for young players and the Kings have a good group of the next wave that would benefit from dipping their skates in the playoff pool.
The other benefit to having drafting forward (center) heavy is trade chips. Centers are valued and the Kings continue to be in most of the Chychrun rumors. Kupari and Vilardi might be offered but depending on how badly they want Chychrun, they might have to up the ante.
But having that many top picks, does make it easier to put a piece in place in other areas needed.

100%, they should always be drafting BPA and then weed out who they want, they can easily trade Kupari, Vilardi, JAD and a 1st for a top player etc, now would the other team want that, who knows, but the pieces to make a trade are 100% there.