Speculation: LA Kings Offseason Thread

[Herby]

This board seems far different from what I see on Twitter. Hoven's stuff completely crafts the narrative for a large part of the fanbase, a portion of the fanbase I assume wasn't online bitching about the Kings in the 90s or even the 00's.

This isn't new though. Lombardi used Hammond. Cammalleri was basically character assassinated on there. The part about that--and even Rosen--was that there was still some semblance of journalistic integrity and some independence, highlighted most famously by the Williams/O'Sullivan trade "fiasco".

Now? LAKI is worthless and bloggers (i.e. super fans grateful for access), are now your "news" source. It's just a pulpit for Management and nobody dares bite the hand that feeds.

I have to admit, I am pretty shocked how the "We always had him pegged as a 5-7 year project" lie about QB has been so accepted within the Kings fan community. I mean, you expect it from someone like Hoven who can't be critical of anything because doing so is a risk to his access to the team. But this has become one of these situations where if you just repeat a lie over and over again that it becomes reality. There was zero talk about QB taking this long to develop (not being a C entering year 4, really!!??). You can go back and check posts here or elsewhere, or comments on Twitter and there was nothing about a development plan that long, and for good reason, no team in their right mind is taking 5-7 years to develop a #2 overall pick, it's complete insanity that anyone would think that, but here we are in the summer of 2023 and that is accepted by many within this community.

And these guys will eventually admit mistakes (kind of), but it's years down the road (see Hickey and Teubert), where they come up with reasons the picks failed, instead of just saying, we made terrible evaluations on players.

I'm sure in 2032 when Mark Yannetti is entering his 26th season with the team he will go on Hoven or Jessie's show and tell everyone how "we just fell in love with his compete level and blinded us to some red flags we should have seen from a Top 5 pick" or on the other one will say "we were unicorn hunting instead of just going for the best player to help us compete with Kopi, did him being German vs our pick being Canadian have an impact too, I'd hate to think that, but maybe in a way it did". He always has some long winded response instead of just saying "Our evaluation sucked, it happens sometimes" or "we chose the wrong guy between the two we were debating"

Like someone else said in an earlier reply, this isn't a casual fanbase, most Kings fans are dedicated and follow the team closely, don't BS us with excuses and lies, just be honest. If Yannetti just said, "hey, with a pick that high you are certainly expecting more instant results than we have seen, we still believe in the player and his upside but it's been a slower process than we expected" . I won't speak for everyone else, but to me that is more honorable and fair than going on and making excuses and creating false narratives.

The stuff about "we've always been a slow cook team" is just flat out lying to a fanbase that should see right through it.

 

[Herby]

Hey, I got a DM from you know you. I was beginning to feel left out hearing that others were getting them.

If you aren't a season ticket holder you have no right to have an opinion on the team.

Losing in the 1st round back to back years are "Two excellent seasons"

Having a negative opinion of the FO means you "have no life" , but sending DM's to multiple people telling them how stupid they are and being banned from a hockey messageboard means you have a wonderful and normal life.

 

[BigKing]

I have to admit, I am pretty shocked how the "We always had him pegged as a 5-7 year project" lie about QB has been so accepted within the Kings fan community. I mean, you expect it from someone like Hoven who can't be critical of anything because doing so is a risk to his access to the team. But this has become one of these situations where if you just repeat a lie over and over again that it becomes reality. There was zero talk about QB taking this long to develop (not being a C entering year 4, really!!??). You can go back and check posts here or elsewhere, or comments on Twitter and there was nothing about a development plan that long, and for good reason, no team in their right mind is taking 5-7 years to develop a #2 overall pick, it's complete insanity that anyone would think that, but here we are in the summer of 2023 and that is accepted by many within this community.

And these guys will eventually admit mistakes (kind of), but it's years down the road (see Hickey and Teubert), where they come up with reasons the picks failed, instead of just saying, we made terrible evaluations on players.

I'm sure in 2032 when Mark Yannetti is entering his 26th season with the team he will go on Hoven or Jessie's show and tell everyone how "we just fell in love with his compete level and blinded us to some red flags we should have seen from a Top 5 pick" or on the other one will say "we were unicorn hunting instead of just going for the best player to help us compete with Kopi, did him being German vs our pick being Canadian have an impact too, I'd hate to think that, but maybe in a way it did". He always has some long winded response instead of just saying "Our evaluation sucked, it happens sometimes" or "we chose the wrong guy between the two we were debating"

Like someone else said in an earlier reply, this isn't a casual fanbase, most Kings fans are dedicated and follow the team closely, don't BS us with excuses and lies, just be honest. If Yannetti just said, "hey, with a pick that high you are certainly expecting more instant results than we have seen, we still believe in the player and his upside but it's been a slower process than we expected" . I won't speak for everyone else, but to me that is more honorable and fair than going on and making excuses and creating false narratives.

The stuff about "we've always been a slow cook team" is just flat out lying to a fanbase that should see right through it.

There was definitely a thought that it wouldn't be immediate RE: Byfield but it is a lie to say it is all on track at the moment when we are looking at him playing wing once again in his D+4 year.

That said, Management isn't going to bury him since he is still a very important prospect. You also wouldn't want to help diminish any potential trade value. You just hope that they aren't so cheeky with the truth behind the scenes and when dealing the player directly.

Just like anything news related, it is tough to just take everything at face value. Many fans want their favorite team to always be right and their players to be infallible: those fans will just eat up whatever Bluc or any other future management team throws out there.

Hey, I got a DM from you know you. I was beginning to feel left out hearing that others were getting them.

If you aren't a season ticket holder you have no right to have an opinion on the team.

Losing in the 1st round back to back years are "Two excellent seasons"

Having a negative opinion of the FO means you "have no life" , but sending DM's to multiple people telling them how stupid they are and being banned from making regular posts means you have a wonderful and normal life.

He has season tickets?

 

[FSL KINGS]

Can't even lock up the rentals.
Fire Blake!

 

[Statto]

Can't even lock up the rentals.
Fire Blake!

Thank you hockey gods. Three years is a surprise.

Hey, I got a DM from you know you. I was beginning to feel left out hearing that others were getting them.

If you aren't a season ticket holder you have no right to have an opinion on the team.

Losing in the 1st round back to back years are "Two excellent seasons"

Having a negative opinion of the FO means you "have no life" , but sending DM's to multiple people telling them how stupid they are and being banned from a hockey messageboard means you have a wonderful and normal life.

That put you in your place.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Oh my goodness, thank you Dorion saving Blake from himself

 

[Herby]

There was definitely a thought that it wouldn't be immediate RE: Byfield but it is a lie to say it is all on track at the moment when we are looking at him playing wing once again in his D+4 year.

That said, Management isn't going to bury him since he is still a very important prospect. You also wouldn't want to help diminish any potential trade value. You just hope that they aren't so cheeky with the truth behind the scenes and when dealing the player directly.

Just like anything news related, it is tough to just take everything at face value. Many fans want their favorite team to always be right and their players to be infallible: those fans will just eat up whatever Bluc or any other future management team throws out there.


He has season tickets?

I don't think saying a player is behind schedule is burying him. It's just being truthful to the fanbase that is investing time and money in the team. It certainly beats going on three different podcasts and telling blatant lies. I also don't think it sends any message to the rest of the league they don't already know, the 31 other teams all know Byfield is behind schedule, it's not news to them. Although internally I'm sure they get a good laugh at some of the lies that Yannetti and Murray have told the last 2 summers. And you are correct, nobody expected QB to come in and be a plug and play star in his D+1. But nobody expected us to be at this spot either, if you had told any Kings fan on the night they drafted him that entering Year 4 that QB would be playing wing and would have 8 goals in 100 NHL games everyone would have been seriously worried, and rightfully so.

But instead they send Yannetti to Pravda to pull a Baghdad Bob and say "Nothing is wrong, everything is under control" and people like Axl and Hoven say "See, listen to Yack, he has such a great history of being truthful and transparent" and round and round we go.

 

[Docgonzo]

Hey, I got a DM from you know you. I was beginning to feel left out hearing that others were getting them.

If you aren't a season ticket holder you have no right to have an opinion on the team.

Losing in the 1st round back to back years are "Two excellent seasons"

Having a negative opinion of the FO means you "have no life" , but sending DM's to multiple people telling them how stupid they are and being banned from a hockey messageboard means you have a wonderful and normal life.

It’s been surprisingly peaceful around here thanks to that, even if everybody doesn’t see eye to eye.

Little surprised he’s able to DM people so
frequently without getting in more trouble..

 

[King'sPawn]

I don't think saying a player is behind schedule is burying him. It's just being truthful to the fanbase that is investing time and money in the team. It certainly beats going on three different podcasts and telling blatant lies. I also don't think it sends any message to the rest of the league they don't already know, the 31 other teams all know Byfield is behind schedule, it's not news to them. Although internally I'm sure they get a good laugh at some of the lies that Yannetti and Murray have told the last 2 summers. And you are correct, nobody expected QB to come in and be a plug and play star in his D+1. But nobody expected us to be at this spot either, if you had told any Kings fan on the night they drafted him that entering Year 4 that QB would be playing wing and would have 8 goals in 100 NHL games everyone would have been seriously worried, and rightfully so.

But instead they send Yannetti to Pravda to pull a Baghdad Bob and say "Nothing is wrong, everything is under control" and people like Axl and Hoven say "See, listen to Yack, he has such a great history of being truthful and transparent" and round and round we go.

Except that's ignoring that Yannetti said they'd have liked him to score more by now. But they still said he's on track as far as improving in areas they need him to improve.

 

[tny760]

THREE YEARS

hahahahaha

He has season tickets?

one of his multiple personalities anyway

 

[Herby]

Can't even lock up the rentals.
Fire Blake!

Best news of the summer.

I am normally the last person on Earth to complain about sports salaries, because most of the time these guys are providing value. But these awful players who make 700k is just mind boggling.

Except that's ignoring that Yannetti said they'd have liked him to score more by now. But they still said he's on track as far as improving in areas they need him to improve.

He said enough about QB where Hoven was comfortable talking down to his listeners (as usual) and saying anyone who thought this was a reflection on Byfield was clueless.

"How do we know this had nothing to do with QB? Well Yack told us they are happy with QB and this trade had nothing to do with him"

Imagine having someone on your show who proceeds to tell multiple outright lies to you and the listeners, and then on the next episode referencing said liar as a factual reference to make a point.

But I guess that is where we are with the state of media coverage of the Kings. Thank God for Rosen.

 

[Trash Panda]

Can't even lock up the rentals.
Fire Blake!

Three years for the worst hockey player to wear a kings uniform since Nathan Dempsey.

That’s comical.

 

[Schmooley]

Best news of the summer.

I am normally the last person on Earth to complain about sports salaries, because most of the time these guys are providing value. But these awful players who make 700k is just mind boggling.


He said enough about QB where Hoven was comfortable talking down to his listeners (as usual) and saying anyone who thought this was a reflection on Byfield was clueless.

"How do we know this had nothing to do with QB? Well Yack told us they are happy with QB and this trade had nothing to do with him"

Imagine having someone on your show who proceeds to tell multiple outright lies to you and the listeners, and then on the next episode referencing said liar as a factual reference to make a point.

But I guess that is where we are with the state of media coverage of the Kings. Thank God for Rosen.

I thought Danault being brought in was because Byfield wouldnt be ready in time.
Dubois I thought was more that Turcotte is not a player and Kopitar has only a year or two left.
We will probably see both Byfield and Dubois as centers on the team down the road.

 

[Herby]

Three years for the worst hockey player to wear a kings uniform since Nathan Dempsey.

That’s comical.

MacEwen was a unifying force on this board though. Very rarely is there a player that is universally loved or hated as much as this guy was. I think bland may have been literally the only person here who didn't hate the way this guy played.

 

[King'sPawn]

Best news of the summer.

I am normally the last person on Earth to complain about sports salaries, because most of the time these guys are providing value. But these awful players who make 700k is just mind boggling.


He said enough about QB where Hoven was comfortable talking down to his listeners (as usual) and saying anyone who thought this was a reflection on Byfield was clueless.

"How do we know this had nothing to do with QB? Well Yack told us they are happy with QB and this trade had nothing to do with him"

Imagine having someone on your show who proceeds to tell multiple outright lies to you and the listeners, and then on the next episode referencing said liar as a factual reference to make a point.

But I guess that is where we are with the state of media coverage of the Kings. Thank God for Rosen.

It goes without saying that if every prospect played at a better level, then getting another player wouldn't be necessary.

If Kaliyev and Vilardi put up first line winger numbers, they wouldn't have needed to get Fiala. But there weren't overreactive fans blaming a 20 or 23 year-old last year old for the Kings acquiring Fiala.

Only difference is people still love the Kaliyev and Vilardi pick but bemoan the Byfield pick because the player taken right after him had an all-star season. And they like Fiala, so why would they "blame" those players?

But because fans can devolve into irrational asshats, they need to be reminded this move shouldn't be used as an indictment against Byfield. But too late for that, apparently.

Instead the show gets called out for defending a 20 year-old.

What a time we live in.

 

[ZJames]

No MacEwen, no Durzi, no Peterson, no Iafallo... So who are we tying to the whipping post next year? Byfield? Moore? Kopitar? Trevor Lewis?

 

[Johnny Utah]

No MacEwen, no Durzi, no Peterson, no Iafallo... So who are we tying to the whipping post next year? Byfield? Moore? Kopitar? Trevor Lewis?

Bjornfot.

 

[bland]

MacEwen was a unifying force on this board though. Very rarely is there a player that is universally loved or hated as much as this guy was. I think bland may have been literally the only person here who didn't hate the way this guy played.

MacEwen here was nothing like his previous play in Vancouver. The version we saw couldn't complete a simple 10 foot pass or show his calling card due to the cage. I will stand by the statement that he is a more competent player than Lemieux, but in no way could I defend what we were seeing at the time.

 

[BigKing]

MacEwen here was nothing like his previous play in Vancouver. The version we saw couldn't complete a simple 10 foot pass or show his calling card due to the cage. I will stand by the statement that he is a more competent player than Lemieux, but in no way could I defend what we were seeing at the time.

I give players of his ilk way more rope than others but it was rough.

You also can't have your one "tough guy" moment go as poorly as his did. Yikes.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

No MacEwen, no Durzi, no Peterson, no Iafallo... So who are we tying to the whipping post next year? Byfield? Moore? Kopitar? Trevor Lewis?

Nonsense, Byfield is the whipping post that we shall tie Trevor Lewis to

 

[Johnny Utah]

Kings officially have no Enforcer in the NHL or AHL.

Pretty surprising considering a few years back we had McDermid, Lemieux, Doty and Imama.

I hope they sign someone to a two way.

I guess Blake and co. don't see value in protecting their assets or would like million dollar players like Danault, PLD and Kempe fighting, which is a poor move.

 

[YP44]

Kopitar re-signed for 2 years $7M according to a thread on the trade board!!

I love it!, think I had guess it as 2 years $6.5M.

 

[Mats26]

Kopitar re-signed for 2 years $7M according to a thread on the trade board!!

I love it!, think I had guess it as 2 years $6.5M.

I would of preferred 5per a year, but the cap is going up and he does produce.
This also means no Mathews.

 

[YP44]

I would of preferred 5per a year, but the cap is going up and he does produce.
This also means no Mathews.

PLD meant no mathews. Bird in the hand....

Sounds like Toronto is going to offer Mathews way more than I would want him for anyway.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Wow overpayment. Everyone thought that would be 5 million.