Speculation: LA Kings Offseason Thread

[Sol]

I think it was a telecast after the trade - it was discussed how the Kings players loved Quick. He and his wife would apparently always make sure that players would be invited to holiday gatherings and keep everyone together.

I think with Quick, more specifically, is he's very intense and competitive, and seemed pretty dismissive of pithy questions. But I also believe Quick, while supportive of his teammate, would also not go down easy or be replaced.

You’re right. A good team mate and friend but very likely his intensity for a spot he has would also seep into tension for someone taking his position.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Quick is one of the most intense goalies I've ever seen, and Petersen maybe one of the least

I have no doubt they got along but if you're Petersen and your job is "unseat embedded legend" it's gonna be a mountain to climb.

Not making excuses for Cal, just trying to see the perspective and it makes sense imo, especially for such a mentally and emotionally challenging position.

 

[chris kontos]

Quite honestly Quick didn’t seem like the nicest fellow. So it doesn’t really surprise me if it’s true.

If this is true, intense competition should have brought out the best in petey. Instead he folded. Something like what you're alluding to should have made quick's level of play alot better and would have benefited both of them and the team

 

[King'sPawn]

Rookie Faceoff Schedule

 

[FrozenKing18]

Quite honestly Quick didn’t seem like the nicest fellow. So it doesn’t really surprise me if it’s true.

I think when it comes to the game, Quick is insanely competitive to the point where you’d think he’s an a**hole, but outside of that he’s actually a pretty good teammate.

 

[Schrute farms]

Not that i believe Hoven here 100%; but if anything, i think he's comments make Blake & TM (etc.) look bad wrt Cal. If a guy (esp a goalie) is that weak minded at the top level of sports and hockey, then maybe you shouldn't give that guy $5M/year for multiple years. Especially when you still have the franchise icon goalie there with the opportunity to win that job.

I know he's trying to place blame away from Blake and onto Quick....but imo it makes Blake look more like a complete and utter incompetent fool who isn't ready for the job of ruining an organization.

Edit/update: I meant "running" -- but i'm keeping the original word above and not editing it -- because it's funny. He's actually 'The Man' and perfect for "ruining" an organization.

 

[chris kontos]

surprising the kings didnt provide petersen a safe place and shield him from this monster of a 2X stanley cup conn smythe winning teammate.
i've never met either one of them, b ut peterson should have realised and learned from quick. not folded up like a cheap tent because he had personal issues with a potential mentor. peterson never had a glove hand anyway and i guess that was quicks fault as well. the guy acted like he had never caught a ball tossed to him in his life.
what the hell kind of a competitive level would a grown man have when faced with someone at work who he didnt like whose job he was after? especially from any kind of a pro athlete.
sick of people who try to run down arguably the best player that the kings have ever had.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Seems like every thread is now dedicated to bitching about Blake...

Petersen, much like most goalies, is tough to unravel because just about every goalie is a mental case. He got paid because goalies of his experience were getting similar contracts, and the team was buying into his UFA years.

His numbers were rather superb on a bad Kings team in his first two seasons, but then the more starts he got, the more he struggled. He outperformed Quick in 2020-21, and then his numbers and performance took a nosedive once he got his contract extension in 2021.

Look what's happened to Jordan Binnington. The Blues had to let Ville Husso go, he earned a similar contract as Petersen from Detroit, and he stunk in his first season in Detroit.

Another example of goalies not handling pressure well is the unfortunate case of Spencer Knight. He got paid, his performance plummeted, and we later found out he's battling mental-health issues.

What some blogger shared was his theory on why Petersen didn't succeed here, but all the blame falls on his shoulders. But don't let that stop you drama queens from stepping on your soapboxes.

 

[tny760]

the more starts he got, the more he struggled. He outperformed Quick in 2020-21, and then his numbers and performance took a nosedive once he got his contract extension in 2021.

well that's a big f***in problem ain't it?

dude got 15 million reasons to find the best sports psychologists in the business and figure it out. they both deserve criticism.

 

[Herby]

Lets blame the guy who isnt here.
Hoven blaming Quick's competiveness for peterson's issues is laughable and moves hoven to the top of the shit list

What did you expect him to do, actually blame the management team who signed CP? Pravda wasn’t critical of the Soviets

Better chance of seeing Johnny Utah posting about the Kings bringing in Johnny Gaudreau.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

well that's a big f***in problem ain't it?

dude got 15 million reasons to find the best sports psychologists in the business and figure it out. they both deserve criticism.

Like I said, the problem was buying into his UFA years, which cost them more than he was actually worth. He looked good in a small sample size, and the team assumed he'd get better, but Cal proved them wrong.

And the Kings managed to find someone to take on his contract, at the cost of retaining a portion of Provorov's contract over the next two seasons.

Who knows if this experience with Cal is going to cloud their decision making when it comes to investing in a goalie, but you're starting to see more and more teams go this route.

 

[Choralone]

It always gets hilarious on this board when people try to "read between the lines" or extrapolate "what really happened" based on a couple of random "clues".

 

[chris kontos]

What did you expect him to do, actually blame the management team who signed CP? Pravda wasn’t critical of the Soviets

Better chance of seeing Johnny Utah posting about the Kings bringing in Johnny Gaudreau.

Why did the guy write about quick/petersen at all? Because hoven is an excuse making punk

 

[chris kontos]

Seems like every thread is now dedicated to bitching about Blake...

Petersen, much like most goalies, is tough to unravel because just about every goalie is a mental case. He got paid because goalies of his experience were getting similar contracts, and the team was buying into his UFA years.

His numbers were rather superb on a bad Kings team in his first two seasons, but then the more starts he got, the more he struggled. He outperformed Quick in 2020-21, and then his numbers and performance took a nosedive once he got his contract extension in 2021.

Look what's happened to Jordan Binnington. The Blues had to let Ville Husso go, he earned a similar contract as Petersen from Detroit, and he stunk in his first season in Detroit.

Another example of goalies not handling pressure well is the unfortunate case of Spencer Knight. He got paid, his performance plummeted, and we later found out he's battling mental-health issues.

What some blogger shared was his theory on why Petersen didn't succeed here, but all the blame falls on his shoulders. But don't let that stop you drama queens from stepping on your soapboxes.

So what happened to petersen is explained by other recent goalies going bad?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

So what happened to petersen is explained by other recent goalies going bad?

What happened to Petersen is that he's a mental midget who can't handle the pressures and workload of being a #1 goalie. His first two seasons, he had absolutely zero pressure and posted excellent numbers. Once the team thrusted him in a starting role, he sank.

We witnessed this before with Jamie Storr. It's hard to get a read on goalies. Hell, even Quick is an example of this. He was rejuvenated in 2021-22, then had one of the worst seasons by a Kings goalie the following year. What changed?

 

[Sol]

I do think this is one of those situations where Blake and the Goalie were in the wrong. This falls on a few shoulders, not one. If what Hoven says is true then Blake should have been aware of the situation.

A 5 million one year deal should have been as far as it went since Cal wasn’t even very impressive at all.

 

[Lt Dan]

well that's a big f***in problem ain't it?

dude got 15 million reasons to find the best sports psychologists in the business and figure it out. they both deserve criticism.

Like I said, the problem was buying into his UFA years, which cost them more than he was actually worth. He looked good in a small sample size, and the team assumed he'd get better, but Cal proved them wrong.

And the Kings managed to find someone to take on his contract, at the cost of retaining a portion of Provorov's contract over the next two seasons.

Who knows if this experience with Cal is going to cloud their decision making when it comes to investing in a goalie, but you're starting to see more and more teams go this route.

Indeed

And it also needs to be pointed out that with the exception of Petersen, we have had great luck with goalies, getting more out of them than any other team and saving multiple careers..... Jones, Budaj, Scrivens, Keumper , Campbell, Copely
Everyone but Cal Petersen and his dog spot

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

If we move out Arvidsson, we can afford Hellebuyck at 50% retention.

Byfield - PLD - Fiala
Turcotte - Kopitar - Kempe
Moore - Danault - Kaliyev
Fagemo - Lizotte - Lewis

Anderson - Doughty
Gavrikov - Clarke
Bjornfot - Roy

Hellebuyck
Copley

Turcotte ain’t doing shit this year wanna bet he sees less than 10 games as a king this year?

 

[Docgonzo]

Goalies have to have that short term memory loss like relief pitchers and corner backs. Forget the previous play and focus on the current. Some can’t and those are the ones that can’t hack it.

With goalies you can always tell their mental toughness after they get scored on. Guys like Gibson seem like they’re going to cry, guys like Smith loved to blame teammates.

 

[tny760]

Turcotte ain’t doing shit this year wanna bet he sees less than 10 games as a king this year?

especially on the 2nd line

i'll be shocked if he makes it 10 games without season ending gall stone surgery or some shit

 

[Herby]

Hoven was on with Boomer Gordon on NHL/Sirius. (Yeah I know how a lot of you think about Hoven, just listen...).
Highlights:
--Anderson-Doughty, Gavrikov-Roy, Bjornfot-Clarke to start
--Spence will be 7th defenseman in AHL as Kings carry 6 defensemen. No back-to-back on the road until December, so Kings will be doing a lot of paper transactions to maneuver around the cap
--Quick's transition to Petersen was very difficult as Quick was very competitive in handing over to Cal and it got in Cal's head

Hoven is pretty reliable with stuff like this, so you can probably believe it. Like I’ve said with this management team, you have to judge them by their actions and not their words. When they traded 2 veteran RHD it was obvious the reason why.

Clarke making the NHL with a handful of AHL games completely contradicts the BS that members of this organization have spewed on Hoven and others podcasts (and Hoven has amplified) about slow cooking everyone as an excuse for the struggles of some high picks.

On the CP/Quick thing. The Mayor of Pravda won’t blame the state, so instead it will blame the war hero who had a falling out with the state before being sent to Siberia.

Why did the guy write about quick/petersen at all? Because hoven is an excuse making punk

Hoven is a unique situation, a major 4 sports team in a huge market with a small but dedicated fanbase, that is largely uncovered by any local media. He is the source of Kings news, is the go to for all the interviews (got PLD right away) and takes calls from media outlets all over the continent to discuss the Kings. M

He is the one who controls most of what is discussed on the Kings and what he says has big pull with people like Axl who just believe what he says is gospel. The Kings know this as well and it’s a perfect partnership where Hoven gets all the access and the Kings get the message they want out.

But boy has he had some whoppers

“Rob Blake‘s rebuild is way ahead of schedule”

“Rob Blake won the offseason in 2021”

“The PLD trade had nothing to do with QB’s struggles”

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I miss having actual reporters who covered the team without any bias. Fans used to be critical of the likes of Helene Elliott, but she was one of the best writers who covered the team. No more Lisa Dillman, or Steve Springer, or Rick Sadowski, or Lonnie White, or Rich Hammond, or Mike Bresnahan.

Whatever is remaining for local hockey coverage is now left to Eric Stephens and a handful of bloggers who are clearly biased.

 

[Sol]

Goalies have to have that short term memory loss like relief pitchers and corner backs. Forget the previous play and focus on the current. Some can’t and those are the ones that can’t hack it.

With goalies you can always tell their mental toughness after they get scored on. Guys like Gibson seem like they’re going to cry, guys like Smith loved to blame teammates.

Really? I wouldn’t lump Gibson in with them. Gibson did extremely well while going in every night knowing he was going to get lit up like a Christmas tree. The Ducks were bleeding the most high danger scoring chances and shots against last year and the year before they up there as well. I am sure that every ducks fan would say that he was the only one who came to play. I think Gibson can be dramatic but I don’t think he’s a mental midget.

Even Quick in 2014 was pretty mediocre during the playoffs. I remember the Kings we’re winning in spite of him not being able to make many saves at all.

Just looking at all the stats now from 2014-2015 playoffs his numbers were only better than Bryzgalov.

1		Jonathan Quick	LAK	27	26	2.58	0.911

 

[DoktorJeep]

Blake made his own bed with Petersen. It doesn’t matter how far the Mayor is willing to carry water, you can’t objectively deflect blame away from the coach and GM when it comes to the Caltrastophe.

If Quick is the most notable reason why Cal was flushed down the toilet, plus Walker and $2M for Provorov to play in Ohio, then you don’t need a 90 minute podcast to only get noticed for making a cheap argument. Or don’t, and just give us less of the numerology and grievances about travel issues. The prospect interviews are never bad, so a lot of good is there.

Blake owns paying the guy too early for too much and too long with zero competing offers. His projection of Cal’s future performance and value was wrong to the tune of tens of millions of dollars in cash, unplanned expenses and opportunity cost.

Todd owns breaking under pressure too early and starting Quick as long as he backstops a win the second things go bad in October. He was handed the future stud #1G and gifted a franchise legend as the backup. Somehow that turns to shit cause the coach feels shook. And this in a market with low expectations across the board in the best of times.

Yet the Kings make the playoffs despite blunders, low talent and no expectations. Suddenly, Blake and TMac need to shift the goalie formula on the fly, but it’s not a burning issue in the offseason, so it’s easier to kick the can down the road. Worst case scenario is you trout out the media mouthpieces to downplay issues if it comes time to defend bad decisions.

Good thing for management is they and the majority of fans have great long term memory but poor short term. Both parties sleep peacefully every night despite multiple major mistakes as long as things are good overall.

But it’s concerning for those who care about having one of the best teams in the league every year to root for, and expect to because the market affords the required resources to ownership, who charges top dollar for access to the product while enough suckers are willing to pay in time and money.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

Hoven is pretty reliable with stuff like this, so you can probably believe it. Like I’ve said with this management team, you have to judge them by their actions and not their words. When they traded 2 veteran RHD it was obvious the reason why.

Clarke making the NHL with a handful of AHL games completely contradicts the BS that members of this organization have spewed on Hoven and others podcasts (and Hoven has amplified) about slow cooking everyone as an excuse for the struggles of some high picks.

On the CP/Quick thing. The Mayor of Pravda won’t blame the state, so instead it will blame the war hero who had a falling out with the state before being sent to Siberia.



Hoven is a unique situation, a major 4 sports team in a huge market with a small but dedicated fanbase, that is largely uncovered by any local media. He is the source of Kings news, is the go to for all the interviews (got PLD right away) and takes calls from media outlets all over the continent to discuss the Kings. M

He is the one who controls most of what is discussed on the Kings and what he says has big pull with people like Axl who just believe what he says is gospel. The Kings know this as well and it’s a perfect partnership where Hoven gets all the access and the Kings get the message they want out.

But boy has he had some whoppers

“Rob Blake‘s rebuild is way ahead of schedule”

“Rob Blake won the offseason in 2021”

“The PLD trade had nothing to do with QB’s struggles”

“Paul LaDue played in the top 4; Paul LaDue IS a top 4 defenceman.”

That was the moment the glass shattered for me.