Speculation: LA Kings Offseason Thread

[DAkings20]

If Vilardi is included, this will be the worst trade in Kings history.

 

[johnjm22]

None of us have any idea what's really going on.

A lot of times the stuff you see in the media is total nonsense or a huge exaggeration.

It's possible they're not even close do a deal at all.

We'll see.

 

[kings11]

None of us have any idea what's really going on.

A lot of times the stuff you see in the media is total nonsense or a huge exaggeration.

It's possible they're not even close do a deal at all.

We'll see.

So you’re saying we’re getting Kyle Connor??? I f***en knew it!!!

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Yeah, I don’t think this deal happens at all now.

This is just not how big deals typically happen in the NHL. I think they were close and it fell through.

(Watch it become official tomorrow lol)

 

[JeanBlanc]

This interview of PLD with Friedman and Marek is pretty cool. A year ago, it seems.
They talk a lot about playing against and with others.
Good stuff...talked about what it was like playing with Panarin.

After watching this, he seems like an okay guy....talks about things happen for a reason and
it;s a buisness.

Nopenopenope. He's toxic. Who're you going to believe, me or your lyin' eyes?

 

[deaderhead28]

true

 

[JeanBlanc]

Nopenopenope. He's toxic. Who're you going to believe, me or your lyin' eyes?

I mean, he's expertly coached, faking introspection, analyzing what he'd done wrong. He faked aspiration, talking about watching film of other puck protection guys like, "Draisaitl, Kopitar, Barkov, [Aho, Panarin]."

He faked being in awe of playing against Pavel Datsyuk.

He faked being thoughtful about facing adversity.

He faked trying to be classy by not talking about why he asked out of Columbus while speaking positively about the organization.

Total fakery on being fascinated by how Evgeny Svechnikov and Maxim Lazarev saw and played the game (and taught him).

 

[FSL KINGS]

Don't see how the limited cap & Fiala's cap hit allow the King's to keep Vilardi long term. How many 8 million dollar wings can you have with a 1.6M 3C?

 

[BaileyFan]

I'm just trying to figure Blakes endgame.Is he just going to go all in like DL did and trade all the assets for a maxed out cap and another cup run that isn't there.

This PLD trade serves as plausible deniability in case the Kings suffer another early playoff exit, Blake can say he tried as hard as he could to improve the team, while being cheaper and less risky than upgrading bigger holes in net or D. At the same time he keeps the prospects from his rebuild like QB, Arty, Fagemo, Clarke so he can continue to pay lip service to the whole building for the future plan. Kings Twitter will get #RobBlakeMasterclass trending and claim he's a genius for making us contenders without mortgaging the future. That's the endgame.

 

[JTeller97]

gotta appreciate a clip like this, he would give this team some type of spine

 

[Trash Panda]

I just cannot understand the thought process in giving up Gabe, who is looking like he is well on his way to being a 60-70pt guy, for an enigmatic 9 million dollar guy who is looking like he produces the same. This gets especially confusing when you take into account the kings cap woes, goaltending deficiency, and lack of snarl on the blue line.

This reeks.

 

[LAKings88]

Been waiting on Gabe to hit on his potential for a long time.

I don’t see him going backwards.

My only thought is that LA doesn’t trust his health.

Byfield makes more sense in a going for it now I guess.

 

[kingsfan28]

Luc was represented by Brisson during his career, guarantee that's what's going on.

I have zero doubt this will get done based on that alone.

This would make it even more alarming. Brisson and Luc are good friends too, so it leave very little room to play hardball.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Lebrun makes it sound like it’s not as far along as others have reported:

Dubois front-runners​

It sure feels like the Kings are front-runners on Pierre-Luc Dubois, but as of Sunday evening, there was still lots of work to be done on that front. It didn’t help that both front offices were traveling Sunday to Nashville, putting some conversations on hold.

The Habs have tried here, for sure, but it sounds like they’re simply not as good a trade fit for a Jets team that doesn’t want to rebuild. The Kings can provide players who can step into the Jets lineup right away.

Again, there’s still work to be done here. Not to mention the fact that even after both teams put the trade parameters together, the Kings will want to know they can sign Dubois, who is a restricted free agent. Those contract conversations haven’t happened yet, either. The Jets and Kings would both need to feel comfortable a trade was in the final stages before the Kings got to that conversation with the Jets’ blessing.

LeBrun: Rumblings on Johansen, Krug, DeAngelo, Dubois and more as the NHL kicks off draft week

Predators GM Barry Trotz explains his thinking on Ryan Johansen, plus the latest on Torey Krug, Tony DeAngelo and Pierre-Luc Dubois.

theathletic.com

 

[kovacro]

 

[Reaper45]

I know I’ve said this before but when was the last time a Kings trade was rumored and came true. Most Kings deals come out of no where.

 

[KopitarFAN]

Been waiting on Gabe to hit on his potential for a long time.

I don’t see him going backwards.

My only thought is that LA doesn’t trust his health.

Byfield makes more sense in a going for it now I guess.

And I can't say I would blame them, particularly if he's looking to get paid based on half of a season (Yes, I'm aware he played 63 games, but he was very hot & cold).

 

[kinghock]

I just cannot understand the thought process in giving up Gabe, who is looking like he is well on his way to being a 60-70pt guy, for an enigmatic 9 million dollar guy who is looking like he produces the same. This gets especially confusing when you take into account the kings cap woes, goaltending deficiency, and lack of snarl on the blue line.

This reeks.

This is my speculation regarding why Kings even considering trading Vilardi.

Did you have noticed how many times Gabe was injured last year and we never received any updates about what was the injuries?

I believe Kings are not sure about status of his health and they want only sign him to bridge deal.

I think Vilardi is not sure about status of his health either and he is looking for big long-term contract to secure himself financially.

 

[GameNight]

okay so everyone has landed and in Nashville now. IF the deal don't get done today, then move on to other business...

OR, better yet just move on to other business. NOW

 

[KingsHockey24]

PLD is a King today.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I know I’ve said this before but when was the last time a Kings trade was rumored and came true. Most Kings deals come out of no where.

Jason Allison? He was rumored to be headed to LA a few weeks before it officially happened.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

This is probably the most conflicted I've ever been about a hockey move.

I freaking LOVE Vilardi and have since he was drafted. He's big. He has insane hands. He has elite vision and hockey IQ. He can score and set up teammates creatively. And all of the sudden he's great defensively to top it all off. It's going to really suck to see him get traded.

That said, there are a couple things that can make trading Gabe understandable - And these have been rumored to be true over the last couple days.
1. He was demanding a long term contract and the Kings weren't willing to give him one. This is understandable from the Kings standpoint. Again, love the player but he's a player with an injury history and a career high of 63 games. He also has a career high of 41 points and his previous career high is 23 points. You don't sign players like that to long term deals, regardless of how great they played last season.
2. The Kings know more about his health situation than we do and have valid concerns. Hell, maybe it was a miracle he even played 63 games this year?? Again, a lot of this stuff is speculation but it's definitely possible.

IF either of those things aren't true... Trading Vilardi for Dubois is stupid as hell. If one or both of those is true, can you really fault the Kings??

I also go back and forth in terms of PLD as a player. One minute I think: damn this guy could be pretty sick. He's only 25 and already has 3 60+ point season, 4 20+ goal seasons, and has played 70+ games in 5 out of his 6 NHL seasons. Also has a little bit of a backbone - at least more so than pretty much all other Kings forwards.

Then the next minute I'm thinking: god this guy seems to suck defensively. Is 60+ points really even that good??? Quite a lot of players in this league put up 60+ points. This guy is going to be overpaid from day 1, isn't he.

Its tough man. On paper, knowing what we know right now as fans, it doesn't look great. But there's certainly a lot we may not know. There's also certainly a chance PLD comes to LA and takes his game to the next level.

In the end it's going to depend on a lot of factors. Some of which we won't really be able to evaluate for multiple years. What is the full package the Kings are giving up to get him? What is the full package the Jets are sending to the Kings (is it PLD and Harkins as rumored or is there a chance one of their young LHD is coming too)? What does PLD's contract end up looking like?? Is it a massive overpay as he's rumored to be looking for? Or is it actually pretty reasonable? How does PLD fit in with the Kings?? How does Vilardi do in Winnipeg?? And what does Vilardi's contract in Winnipeg look like???

We can go back & forth all day about 'oh no don't trade Vilardi' but if he does to Winnipeg and ends up being underwhelming / dealing with serious injury concerns (I hope he doesn't, just saying it's possible), do we really look back at this trade as a mistake??

Time will tell. GKG.

 

[LAKings88]

Part of me feels like the Kings are being used to entice Montreal to act. No proof just a hunch is all.

 

[Kudelski37]

This is probably the most conflicted I've ever been about a hockey move.

I freaking LOVE Vilardi and have since he was drafted. He's big. He has insane hands. He has elite vision and hockey IQ. He can score and set up teammates creatively. And all of the sudden he's great defensively to top it all off. It's going to really suck to see him get traded.

That said, there are a couple things that can make trading Gabe understandable - And these have been rumored to be true over the last couple days.
1. He was demanding a long term contract and the Kings weren't willing to give him one. This is understandable from the Kings standpoint. Again, love the player but he's a player with an injury history and a career high of 63 games. He also has a career high of 41 points and his previous career high is 23 points. You don't sign players like that to long term deals, regardless of how great they played last season.
2. The Kings know more about his health situation than we do and have valid concerns. Hell, maybe it was a miracle he even played 63 games this year?? Again, a lot of this stuff is speculation but it's definitely possible.

IF either of those things aren't true... Trading Vilardi for Dubois is stupid as hell. If one or both of those is true, can you really fault the Kings??

I also go back and forth in terms of PLD as a player. One minute I think: damn this guy could be pretty sick. He's only 25 and already has 3 60+ point season, 4 20+ goal seasons, and has played 70+ games in 5 out of his 6 NHL seasons. Also has a little bit of a backbone - at least more so than pretty much all other Kings forwards.

Then the next minute I'm thinking: god this guy seems to suck defensively. Is 60+ points really even that good??? Quite a lot of players in this league put up 60+ points. This guy is going to be overpaid from day 1, isn't he.

Its tough man. On paper, knowing what we know right now as fans, it doesn't look great. But there's certainly a lot we may not know. There's also certainly a chance PLD comes to LA and takes his game to the next level.

In the end it's going to depend on a lot of factors. Some of which we won't really be able to evaluate for multiple years. What is the full package the Kings are giving up to get him? What is the full package the Jets are sending to the Kings (is it PLD and Harkins as rumored or is there a chance one of their young LHD is coming too)? What does PLD's contract end up looking like?? Is it a massive overpay as he's rumored to be looking for? Or is it actually pretty reasonable? How does PLD fit in with the Kings?? How does Vilardi do in Winnipeg?? And what does Vilardi's contract in Winnipeg look like???

We can go back & forth all day about 'oh no don't trade Vilardi' but if he does to Winnipeg and ends up being underwhelming / dealing with serious injury concerns (I hope he doesn't, just saying it's possible), do we really look back at this trade as a mistake??

Time will tell. GKG.

If health is an issue, then the Kings can win the cup if he gets healthy for the playoffs. If health is so bad he can't play, Jets won't trade for him. If he wants a contract like Kempe it is a better deal than 65 points at 8+ aav. The odds of winning this trade are close to 0 for LA.

 

[KingsHockey24]

Too many of you are looking at what were potentially giving up vs getting back in return.

We can only hope that Vilardi gets to the level PLD is at; heck we can only hope Vilardi can stay healthy for a full 82 game season.

PLD is a monster 6'4", 218lb forward that hasn't even hit his full potential and is willing to play a nasty game need be. Exactly what we need.