Speculation: LA Kings Offseason Thread

[Matt13]

Marcus Foligno is a name I would look at.

Foligno is the guy I was thinking about too. Big body and can play on the fourth line. He'd be a nice addition.

I would love a guy who plays in this style.

However, the guy is going to be 32, probably looking for a multi year deal as UFA and you will be paying for what he did yesterday.

It would be a hard pass for me unless the guy wants a very short, friendly deal because he would like some sunshine, but if that the case, he's headed to Florida not California because of taxes.

 

[Bandit]

Someone should ask point blank whether the purpose of the rebuild was to establish a new generation of Kings and future faces of the franchise or accumulate assets that can be parlayed into a new supporting cast for Kopitar and Doughty's last kick at the can. The sad thing is I think maybe the people at the top themselves don't know.

That's way too many words. Their eyes would glaze over somewhere around "establish".

 

[Mats26]

According to Blake, if he could, he would bring back every single player for next season. Yes he mentioned Edler too. We need a major shift in acquiring\drafting players with size and speed, but we ain't going nowhere with a delusional GM.

 

[tny760]

According to Blake, if he could, he would bring back every single player for next season. Yes he mentioned Edler too. We need a major shift in acquiring\drafting players with size and speed, but we ain't going nowhere with a delusional GM.

yeah blake was very clear in that presser, what happened was OK and he wants the same

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

I would love a guy who plays in this style.

However, the guy is going to be 32, probably looking for a multi year deal as UFA and you will be paying for what he did yesterday.

It would be a hard pass for me unless the guy wants a very short, friendly deal because he would like some sunshine, but if that the case, he's headed to Florida not California because of taxes.

I’d be interested in Hathaway but had no idea he’s 31 until I just now looked.

 

[BigKing]

As an anti-Blake guy, it sucks because I have to pull for him to do well since I want the Kings to do well. I want to be wrong but the track record is pretty long right now and it isn't looking great. It is looking very mediocre which was a big part of my issue in the first place: they acted like this was some hotshot GM hire and they had to get him now before he got a GM job somewhere else and the guy proceeds to be such a basic ass paint-by-numbers GM.

One of my biggest gripes with him is hoarding his prospects. Outside of trading a great prospect in Faber, who are the other prospects he has traded? I can't recall him trading any of his draft picks or prospects he has acquired. Management should know that its prospects aren't cutting it before the rest of the league knows yet he holds on to all of them until they are worthless.

 

[Mats26]

yeah blake was very clear in that presser, what happened was OK and he wants the same

It was the weirdest presser. How can you want more of the same?

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

According to Blake, if he could, he would bring back every single player for next season. Yes he mentioned Edler too.

I know he's made mistakes already and is already a terrible GM in some eyes already... But this off-season will REALLY make/break Blake as a GM.

If he makes some really good moves (whatever those might be) and some young players/prospects make big strides.. That can probably save his job.

If he brings back a guy like Edler... inexcusable. If he refuses to trade players like Sean Walker to make room for Clarke & free up cap space... inexcusable. If he allows us to go into next season with a tandem of Copley/Petersen... inexcusable. If he signs McLellan to an extension despite 0 post season success... inexcusable.

The more I think about it, the more I'm realizing he needs one HELL of an off-season (and some serious luck in the form of prospect development) in order to be in a position to keep his job. If the Kings don't win a round next year, Blake and McLellan should both be gone.

The Turcotte pick (especially now knowing he went against Yanetti and staff) is a horrendous mistake. Petersen contract also a bad mistake. Those are the kind of mistakes that can/should lead to GMs losing their jobs.

 

[Mats26]

As an anti-Blake guy, it sucks because I have to pull for him to do well since I want the Kings to do well. I want to be wrong but the track record is pretty long right now and it isn't looking great. It is looking very mediocre which was a big part of my issue in the first place: they acted like this was some hotshot GM hire and they had to get him now before he got a GM job somewhere else and the guy proceeds to be such a basic ass paint-by-numbers GM.

One of my biggest gripes with him is hoarding his prospects. Outside of trading a great prospect in Faber, who are the other prospects he has traded? I can't recall him trading any of his draft picks or prospects he has acquired. Management should know that its prospects aren't cutting it before the rest of the league knows yet he holds on to all of them until they are worthless.

I thought development was an issue years ago. If nothing changes how do you expect better results?

 

[Schmooley]

It was the weirdest presser. How can you want more of the same?

Its like the Nashville method. Just good enough to make ownership money so that everyones job is safe for a decade+ and not bad enough to be a laughing stock.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Yes, both of these things can and WILL happen. I'm excited.

Lol, in all seriousness tho yeah I do understand he hasn't been very productive and also understand that maybe I'm being too optimistic.. But I'm not ready to write him off.

I think as a 20 year old who dealt with a broken ankle last year and a month long illness that caused him to lose 25 lbs just 2 weeks into the season this year... He still absolutely has shown us flashes and I believe we still have to be a little patient with him.

Believe the wait is going to be worth it and the points will come. If by the end of next season he hasn't progressed significantly (~50+ points assuming he plays most/all of the full 82 games) then yeah, I'll be more critical and panicked as most people on these boards seem to be.

But I'm not there yet. Plain and simple.

I'm not saying "he's FOR SURE going to be an elite 1C still" - I'm just saying he absolutely has a chance and that isn't anywhere near as crazy as people are making it seem. Some players take longer to develop and we basically knew since DAY 1 that Byfield was always going to take a couple years to find his game.

IMO - He'll get there and it'll be worth the wait. And sure, maybe I'm wrong, but again, hopefully not.

No one here is hoping Byfield busts. People are simply acknowledging that Byfield is an objectively historic disappointment for his draft position.

I don’t think Byfield will become a #1 star center in the NHL. Why? Because nearly every #1 star center of his draft position was producing by their D+3 season.

I think it’s far more likely he tops out as a 50-60 point playmaking winger. And that’s fine. But it still leaves us with a massive hole at #1 center that can’t just be casually filled by a trade or free agency signing.

 

[All The Kings Men]

Honestly I read the Turcotte character stuff more as he rubs people the wrong way

I have never heard anything of the sort and have only heard the exact opposite.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

No one here is hoping Byfield busts. People are simply acknowledging that Byfield is an objectively historic disappointment for his draft position.

I don’t think Byfield will become a #1 star center in the NHL. Why? Because nearly every #1 star center of his draft position was producing by their D+3 season.

I think it’s far more likely he tops out as a 50-60 point playmaking winger. And that’s fine. But it still leaves us with a massive hole at #1 center that can’t just be casually filled by a trade or free agency signing.

This is fair. At this point we kinda are just hoping he blossoms into a Tage Thompson-like unicorn which... Yeah, probably isn't the most likely outcome in the world lol. Although maybe not impossible given his size/toolset.

Guess we'll see.. But definitely understand thinking he may not become a star #1 C. Hopefully he proves us wrong because like you and others have pointed out, that would be a massive hole in the lineup/future.

 

[AbsentMojo]

No one here is hoping Byfield busts.

I think there is one person : )

 

[Schmooley]

Would it be smart to sell high on Roy and Arvidsson?
Say Roy and Turcotte for Buffalos 1st and Arvidsson+ to a team that needs scoring like the Islanders for a 2024 first?
If they move those 2 and Walker they could have cap to bring back Gavrikov and a passable stopgap goaltender.
It would also get them back into the high end of the draft with some first rounders.
Insert Fagemo or Kaliyev for Arvidsson and Clarke for Roy.

 

[Maynard]

I have never heard anything of the sort and have only heard the exact opposite.

It doesn’t seem like you’re in the loop on this one. It’s understandable.

 

[Herby]

One of my biggest gripes with him is hoarding his prospects. Outside of trading a great prospect in Faber, who are the other prospects he has traded? I can't recall him trading any of his draft picks or prospects he has acquired. Management should know that its prospects aren't cutting it before the rest of the league knows yet he holds on to all of them until they are worthless.

Other than the re-inventing the wheel development strategies he has used on most of his top prospects, this is my biggest issue with Blake.

If you went against your scouting staffs recommendations and drafted this kid, and then he follows that up with the type of season he had at UW, which very likely confirmed the suspicions of your scouts (little offensive upside, durability issues) is it unreasonable to maybe look to move on from him while he still may have had Top 10-15 value? As you mentioned, a GM should be aware of issues before other teams are, the Kings presumably watched Wisconsin play more than any other teams (other than maybe Montreal and NYR), the Kings had rookie camps, etc. This is a point that the "It's just bad luck, everyone had him ranked that high" crowd is missing in all of this. The evaluation and development process doesn't end on draft night. Or maybe you do what NYR did with Lias and just push the eject button and get a 2nd round pick for him sometime last season. The Kings did none of those things, instead they ridiculously pulled him from college early and have had him in the AHL for 3 seasons now, with two NHL cups of coffee mixed in. Apparently he was offered around the league this season, but considering he is still here, the Kings are either expecting to much in return or the rest of the league has written him off.

Bjornfot it's the same thing, the second the Kings committed to Edler and Walker for this season and were going to send Bjornfot back to the AHL (unheard of after 2 NHL seasons) they should have just gotten the best offer they could for him. Instead he spends almost the entire year in the AHL, playing poorly and likely disgruntled because, well, no teams handle players this way. And now he's worth significantly less than he would have been after last season.

Kaliyev, if you keep bringing in veteran offensive wingers, re-signing the wingers you have and converting your failed 1st round centers to wingers to the point where you have no room for him on the roster, just trade him. Don't switch off between playing with Kupari and being a healthy scratch. Just trade him in a deal to fill any of the massive holes on your roster before his value falls. Unfortunately like Turcotte and Bjornfot his value has also taken a big hit in the last 12 months.

Spence will be the next one joining his 2019 draft mates on this list. They likely won't be trading Roy because next year is another year they think they will be contending (Kopi's final contract year). Doughty will be going nowhere obviously, Clarke is knocking on the door, who knows with Durzi. So since he has more waiver eligibility you can safely assume that Spence will be back in the AHL next season and we will be having this same lame discussion next season except he will be up against it for waivers and his trade value will be less.

Man, it seems like just yesterday when people were hyping the hell out of the 2019 draft. And now entering the 2023-2024 season its possible that none of these guys will be in the lineup on opening night. Best chance is Kaliyev, and that is probably in his usual spot next to Kupari or Lizotte.

I have never heard anything of the sort and have only heard the exact opposite.

Your connection to the Kings would make it less likely for people to leak this news to you, as opposed to someone like Rosen. Right or wrong, Rosen is seen now as the most impartial and independent voice covering the Kings.

BTW, for what its worth, I used to play on a beer league with a guy who's brother was an upperclassmen on that Wisconsin team. I shot him a text last night and asked him about this, and he replied to me today that the part about having one foot out the door and not being committed and all-in with the team was true, but that his brother thought Turcotte was a nice kid otherwise, but mostly kept to himself.

 

[AbsentMojo]

yeah blake was very clear in that presser, what happened was OK and he wants the same

Blake and Luc are a product of the Kings old long term loser culture... and it seems Blake's tutelage under DL produced not a protege, but an opposite reaction to DL's values which were build team from middle out, size vs speed, focus on post season performance. Blake went way overboard reversing the 2nd one which hurt the 3rd one. And not building middle out means our centers and goalie arent set while the edges (wings) are already producing at contender rates.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

As an anti-Blake guy, it sucks because I have to pull for him to do well since I want the Kings to do well. I want to be wrong but the track record is pretty long right now and it isn't looking great. It is looking very mediocre which was a big part of my issue in the first place: they acted like this was some hotshot GM hire and they had to get him now before he got a GM job somewhere else and the guy proceeds to be such a basic ass paint-by-numbers GM.

One of my biggest gripes with him is hoarding his prospects. Outside of trading a great prospect in Faber, who are the other prospects he has traded? I can't recall him trading any of his draft picks or prospects he has acquired. Management should know that its prospects aren't cutting it before the rest of the league knows yet he holds on to all of them until they are worthless.

Traded a 2nd for Lias Andersson, that's just off the top of my head....pretty sure there were 3-4 others in there

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I have never heard anything of the sort and have only heard the exact opposite.

Which is fine and I believe you, but I also believe Rosen has a lot of credibility, and he's not putting that out there for no reason, nor is he just speculating based on his interactions.

And that's what makes it interesting--it's in contrast to almost everything we know and believe about Turcotte, coming from a reputable source, in a way that makes plenty of sense.

And in context it rings a few alarm bells because it's in the same article as the Zegras over Turcotte stuff, which makes it fair to infer that not everyone is on the same page internally, which is maybe confirmation bias but we've all talked about all season how that shows externally.

 

[tny760]

yeah quite frankly, to me, rosen is about as close as it gets to "beyond reproach" when it comes to LA media so i gotta respect his word on this one

i think he's made an extensive effort through his career to not speculate without solid ground so i'm gonna listen to what he has to say here and he said what he said pretty specifically

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

yeah quite frankly, to me, rosen is about as close as it gets to "beyond reproach" when it comes to LA media so i gotta respect his word on this one

i think he's made an extensive effort through his career to not speculate without solid ground so i'm gonna listen to what he has to say here and he said what he said pretty specifically

I feel the same way, he takes his integrity and connections very seriously, and like I pointed out earlier, I can only remember a handful of texts in his time writing about the Kings that he's come off with this VERY direct, deliberate tone. It's the same incredulous "are you f***ing serious?" tone we have with respect to the 'well just run it back' attitude of Blake's presser.

 

[Herby]

Which is fine and I believe you, but I also believe Rosen has a lot of credibility, and he's not putting that out there for no reason, nor is he just speculating based on his interactions.

And that's what makes it interesting--it's in contrast to almost everything we know and believe about Turcotte, coming from a reputable source, in a way that makes plenty of sense.

And in context it rings a few alarm bells because it's in the same article as the Zegras over Turcotte stuff, which makes it fair to infer that not everyone is on the same page internally, which is maybe confirmation bias but we've all talked about all season how that shows externally.

One thing that is kind of interesting is that in the past Rosen has said that his source told him that the Kings had "heavy internal discussions" about who to draft in the 2019 1st round. I believe he first said this on twitter but I believe also mentioned it when his site first opened last summer.

But now the source has straight up told him that the scouting team (Yanetti) wanted to draft Zegras but Blake overruled them and went with Turcotte, adding in the nuggets that Tony Granato possibly had some input on the pick and also the stuff about Turcotte's supposed poor attitude at UW and with the Kings.

That leads me to believe that Rosen's sources are people involved in the Kings amateur scouting and that there might be some serious hostility between Blake and his scouts that has gotten worse in the last 15 months or so. I know from reading interviews in the past, scouts hate when GM's trade 1st round picks and prospects because it negates much of the work they put in. Well since Rosen first mentioned the possible "internal debate" thing the Kings have traded two 1st round picks and the guy who honestly is Yanetti's crown jewel pick since Blake took over in Faber. Plus, Zegras and Stutzle continued to run away from Turcotte and Byfield. We know for sure now the scouts wanted Zegras and were overruled, I wonder if the same isn't true of 2020, there were some rumblings (Ruutu especially) but maybe there is more to that and Blake overruled them again.

 

[AbsentMojo]

And in context it rings a few alarm bells because it's in the same article as the Zegras over Turcotte stuff, which makes it fair to infer that not everyone is on the same page internally, which is maybe confirmation bias but we've all talked about all season how that shows externally.

I think its healthy to have different views internally and have it come down to final debate to make a decision (so there isnt group think or pressure not to speak your mind) - but maybe the decision was not a debate. Ultimately Blake made the call and seems he missed twice on two big decisions.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I think its healthy to have different views internally and have it come down to final debate to make a decision (so there isnt group think or pressure not to speak your mind) - but maybe the decision was not a debate. Ultimately Blake made the call and seems he missed twice on two big decisions.

I don't disagree with that at all, but i"m suggesting it's manifesting in more than just drafting.