Speculation: LA Kings Offseason Thread

[FSL KINGS]

The Lewis slander in here is unbelievable! We get a chance to see a King's legend skate again.

He could make 1,000 games if brought back the following season too!!!

 

[tny760]

He could make 1,000 games if brought back the following season too!!!

i think i'm going to be sick

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I would.

But I think it depends on how we define "NHLer". I think my standard might be a bit higher.

If find the injury argument a bit weak because you could just easily argue why it reduces his probabilities of becoming a NHLer.

I mean if there's one thing I trust this org to do it's churn out bottom sixers.

I don't know what you're expecting from him but I almost always figured he was going to be a lewis with maybe a little more scoring upside if it all pans out.

Watching his healthy version tear it up in Ontario made it pretty clear he's a guy with the versatility and skill to stick a bit. He's not a big hitter but he'll get in there and get scrappy, isn't averse to fighting, and has enough skill to not make the opponent ignore him. I just don't think looking at a metrics card does justice to what he does especially since it's unfriendly to depth players anyway but ESPECIALLY with injuries and sample size.

 

[johnjm22]

I think Lewis is pretty much guaranteed the 4th line RW spot.

For the forwards, I think the only questions will be 3rd line RW (Fagemo or Kaliyev), and 4th line LW (Grundstrom or JAD).

I know people are going to HATE hearing this, but I could see Kaliyev in the AHL this year since he's waiver exempt.

Byfield-Kopitar-Kempe
Moore-PLD-Arvidsson
Fiala-Danault-Fagemo
Grundstrom-Lizotte-Lewis
JAD

That's my prediction for opening night if everyone is healthy.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Like who?

Grundstrom and Bjornfot if they don’t make the team out of camp would be the most efficient losses on waivers. Their contracts are one way and would be a $2M cash hit to sit in Ontario. The cap savings would be around half of that, so a marginal benefit over keeping them in the NHL. Given the cap situation Rob Blake’s has created, does anyone expect they would be missed anytime soon? Surely their are better internal options on two way contacts.

Respectively, they’re the 12th forward and notionally 6th defenseman on what is expected to be a short handed roster. If some GMs gift Blake $2M in cap space coming out of camp, I’d expect his sycophants to begin their plans for the parade.

 

[Herby]

Anyone that's watched a healthy Thomas wouldn't be putting him at 1-in-10 to being an NHLer at all.

He's got a diverse enough skillset that he can carve out a career as a bottom sixer if his offensive development doesn't pan out (and it looks like it just may be running out of time on that end), think Trevor Lewis.

Now if you say he's redundant or injuries have robbed him, I'd say the jury's out. But washing him over how he performed when needing literal surgery on both shoulders? Pissweak.

The issue is, he's yet another sub 6' player who probably isn't skilled enough to play in a Top 9 scoring role in the NHL, and so you are looking at an undersized 4th line player if he makes it.

Under Blake the Kings have been obsessed with taking players like this with Top 2 picks, character, energy, heart and soul (insert your fav cliche) with questionable NHL skill-sets (Thomas, Turcotte, JAD, Hughes) but have mostly rolled 7's with these picks. I think using a more recent 2nd round pick on a 6'6 center and bringing him over quickly was a shift in philosophy to what they probably want in a future 4th line C. Which I actually agree with, if your Top 9 is going to be skilled scorers, you should have more size and some toughness on the 4th line.

 

[tny760]

I think Lewis is pretty much guaranteed the 4th line RW spot.

For the forwards, I think the only questions will be 3rd line RW (Fagemo or Kaliyev), and 4th line LW (Grundstrom or JAD).

I know people are going to HATE hearing this, but I could see Kaliyev in the AHL this year since he's waiver exempt.

Byfield-Kopitar-Kempe
Moore-PLD-Arvidsson
Fiala-Danault-Fagemo
Grundstrom-Lizotte-Lewis
JAD

That's my prediction for opening night if everyone is healthy.

i can't really see kaliyev in the A personally, i'm thinking fagemo is down and it's probably the end of his kings org tenure if he knows what's best for him. can't forget kaliyev put up 13 goals here last season

i'm feeling a JAD/lewis rotating door for that 4th line, load up PLD with fiala and kaliyev. whether that's 2nd or 3rd line deployments i guess depends on todd

 

[Johnny Utah]

Honestly I would rather see Fagemo and Thomas playing than Kayilev and Byfield (the way they both played at the end of last year). Kayilev and Byfield are waiver exempt but it will never happen.

Do the Kings need a big soft center playing 1st line LW who can’t score? Not really.

Do the Kings need a poor defensive and inconsistent goal scorer on the 2nd or 4th line? Not really.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Grundstrom and Bjornfot if they don’t make the team out of camp would be the most efficient losses on waivers. Their contracts are one way and would be a $2M cash hit to sit in Ontario. The cap savings would be around half of that, so a marginal benefit over keeping them in the NHL. Given the cap situation Rob Blake’s has created, does anyone expect they would be missed anytime soon? Surely their are better internal options on two way contacts.

Respectively, they’re the 12th forward and notionally 6th defenseman on what is expected to be a short handed roster. If some GMs gift Blake $2M in cap space coming out of camp, I’d expect his sycophants to begin their plans for the parade.

Bjornfot would not cost the Kings any cap hit if he were in the AHL. Grundstrom would only cost $150,000 against the cap if he were in the AHL.

Minimum NHL Salary & Buried Cap Hit | Puckpedia

The minimum NHL Salary is set in the CBA (11.12.a) and is as follows: 2012-13 – U.S. $525,0002013-14 – U.S. $550,0002014-15 – U.S. $550,0002015-16 – U.S. $575,0002016-17 – U.S. $575,0002017-18 – U.S. $650,0002018-19 – U.S. $650,000 2019-20 – U.S. $700,0002020-21 – U.S. $700,0002021-22 – U.S...

puckpedia.com

The amount of Cap Relief that a team gets from assigning a player to the AHL is the lesser of their Cap Hit and the NHL Minimum Salary + $375,000 (Buried Threshold). Therefore, if a player with a Cap Hit less than the Buried Threshold is sent down, their full Cap Hit no longer counts on the Team's total cap hit. If a player has a Cap Hit greater than the Buried Threshold, if they are sent to AHL the team's Cap Hit is the player Cap Hit - Buried Threshold. The Buried Threshold is as follows: . . .

2023-24: $775,000 + $375,000 = $1,150,000

 

[Sol]

I don’t think Thomas will have a career in the NHL imo. Those shoulder injuries are really rough. They don’t ever truly heal correctly.

Unfortunately Lewis is playing this year. I think the main reason they brought him back is because McDavid was chewing out the 4th line and they want someone defensive there instead.

 

[Johnny Utah]

A 4th line of Grundstrom-Lizotte-Lewis isn’t going to do anything. It’s not intimidating.

At least throw some kids or a wild card in there like Thomas in there and see what he can do.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

The issue is, he's yet another sub 6' player who probably isn't skilled enough to play in a Top 9 scoring role in the NHL, and so you are looking at an undersized 4th line player if he makes it.

Under Blake the Kings have been obsessed with taking players like this with Top 2 picks, character, energy, heart and soul (insert your fav cliche) with questionable NHL skill-sets (Thomas, Turcotte, JAD, Hughes) but have mostly rolled 7's with these picks. I think using a more recent 2nd round pick on a 6'6 center and bringing him over quickly was a shift in philosophy to what they probably want in a future 4th line C. Which I actually agree with, if your Top 9 is going to be skilled scorers, you should have more size and some toughness on the 4th line.

I think it's kind of the opposite--people are underselling his skill and ignoring his grit.

I don't think your thoughts on the organizational concerns are off especially with the redundancies (remember I agreed in that I said it's like they're 3-d printing 5'10 - 6ft skaters), but I think a lot of people are really missing the mark on the type of player Akil Thomas is. He's a lot closer to Pinelli, a skill player with some spice, enough that they can play depth without being an issue.

I disagree with just throwing him on the bottom line fwiw but that WOULD match the organization's MO with kids. But it's like people have their minds made up that because he hasn't made the NHL yet, context be damned, he's on his way to bustville.

Obviously they're not all going to make it. But pending health, of course, Akil should (but probably not this season as he works on his health and the organization fawns over 25+ year olds). I'm just defending the guy because it looks like everyone is ready to trashheap him when he was arguably Ontario's best player with two bad shoulders.

 

[Herby]

I think it's kind of the opposite--people are underselling his skill and ignoring his grit.

I don't think your thoughts on the organizational concerns are off especially with the redundancies (remember I agreed in that I said it's like they're 3-d printing 5'10 - 6ft skaters), but I think a lot of people are really missing the mark on the type of player Akil Thomas is. He's a lot closer to Pinelli, a skill player with some spice, enough that they can play depth without being an issue.

I disagree with just throwing him on the bottom line fwiw but that WOULD match the organization's MO with kids. But it's like people have their minds made up that because he hasn't made the NHL yet, context be damned, he's on his way to bustville.

Obviously they're not all going to make it. But pending health, of course, Akil should (but probably not this season as he works on his health and the organization fawns over 25+ year olds)

The Kings probably want to have three lines capable of atleast being a threat to score and one line that is bigger and tougher to play against. And that makes sense, that is what everyone is doing now. I guess the issue is where do these guys all fit in? I just don't see guys like Thomas, Turcotte, JAD, Fagemo and Pinelli being 2nd line players, will they be able to score enough to be 3rd liners? That is up for debate with all of them. Also keep in mind most of these guys are C's and the Kings have three veteran C's signed long-term, and if your 4th line is going to be bigger and tougher it just locks these guys into only one role.

Kopitar
PLD
Danault
Kempe
Fiala
Kaliyev
Byfield
Moore

I would say all these guys are locks to be Top 9 players for the Kings for at least the next two seasons barring any kind of trade or major injury. This doesn't even account for VA for this season, but I think VA is probably headed to the market after the season.

If the Kings keep their first rounder this year you are hoping to likely add another prospect who may be able to be a Top 9 player in 3 years. The spots just start to become really tight. Can one of them play on the 4th line? Sure, but if you have more than one, your 4th line starts to really lack size, especially if Lizotte is one of the other 4th liners (which is likely the case).

And yes, the Kings evaluation and development of these types of C's has been quite poor. JAD doesn't score enough to be higher in the lineup, Turcotte doesn't score enough to be higher in the lineup, Thomas has been injured but probably wasn't going to be a guy who could be up in the lineup, Hughes had a terrible D+1 year in college and transferred to BU, Pinelli we will see, he probably has the most upside of this group. But ultimately in taking similar types of players with so many picks inside the Top 2 rounds you would hope that one of them would have been a bigger hit. It's not an impossibility to find Top 6 players in the 2nd round.

 

[Bandit]

The real question is does Fiala give Lewis 22 back?

 

[Sol]

The real question is does Fiala give Lewis 22 back?

Lewis is a nobody and wasn’t on the Kings for a while. No.

 

[FSL KINGS]

The real question is does Fiala give Lewis 22 back?

This is not a question.

The only question is, what will Fiala 's new number be? May I suggest 14? 12 maybe?

 

[Herby]

Lewis is a nobody and wasn’t on the Kings for a while. No.

Not the way hockey rooms work.

If Lewis wants the number he will likely get it.

 

[Statto]

The issue is, he's yet another sub 6' player who probably isn't skilled enough to play in a Top 9 scoring role in the NHL, and so you are looking at an undersized 4th line player if he makes it.

Under Blake the Kings have been obsessed with taking players like this with Top 2 picks, character, energy, heart and soul (insert your fav cliche) with questionable NHL skill-sets (Thomas, Turcotte, JAD, Hughes) but have mostly rolled 7's with these picks. I think using a more recent 2nd round pick on a 6'6 center and bringing him over quickly was a shift in philosophy to what they probably want in a future 4th line C. Which I actually agree with, if your Top 9 is going to be skilled scorers, you should have more size and some toughness on the 4th line.

I’m pretty sure he broke 6’ and 200 lbs a while ago (from his podcast) and he’s bulked up a bit more since then IMO. Thats his draft height/weight on that card.

 

[Statto]

I don’t think Thomas will have a career in the NHL imo. Those shoulder injuries are really rough. They don’t ever truly heal correctly.

Unfortunately Lewis is playing this year. I think the main reason they brought him back is because McDavid was chewing out the 4th line and they want someone defensive there instead.

That’s my worry, he lost most of last year having reinjured one of them. Hopefully his age will help the healing/rehab process but I’m not counting on it.

 

[Statto]

I think it's kind of the opposite--people are underselling his skill and ignoring his grit.

I don't think your thoughts on the organizational concerns are off especially with the redundancies (remember I agreed in that I said it's like they're 3-d printing 5'10 - 6ft skaters), but I think a lot of people are really missing the mark on the type of player Akil Thomas is. He's a lot closer to Pinelli, a skill player with some spice, enough that they can play depth without being an issue.

I disagree with just throwing him on the bottom line fwiw but that WOULD match the organization's MO with kids. But it's like people have their minds made up that because he hasn't made the NHL yet, context be damned, he's on his way to bustville.

Obviously they're not all going to make it. But pending health, of course, Akil should (but probably not this season as he works on his health and the organization fawns over 25+ year olds). I'm just defending the guy because it looks like everyone is ready to trashheap him when he was arguably Ontario's best player with two bad shoulders.

Agreed and he was outstanding just before he got reinjured, again one of the best players having missed most of the previous season. A scoring threat and was playing with some jam in his game. The upside is there if he stays healthy.

 

[Sol]

That’s my worry, he lost most of last year having reinjured one of them. Hopefully his age will help the healing/rehab process but I’m not counting on it.

To be fair if he got his shoulder banged up that much at a young age then he just might have missed out on the genetic lottery

 

[Statto]

To be fair if he got his shoulder banged up that much at a young age then he just might have missed out on the genetic lottery

Apparently it was an issue in both shoulders he played with in junior for some time. I agree as it’s both it may be congenital but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed. Unfortunately we can’t count on it.

 

[Bandit]

This is not a question.

The only question is, what will Fiala 's new number be? May I suggest 14? 12 maybe?

Plot twist, Fiala gives Lewis 22, and they take 23 out of the rafters and give it to Fiala.

 

[Bandit]

The games are going to be live streamed.

The Kings org pissing on you isn't the kind of streaming you want.

 

[fivehole32]

I don’t think Thomas will have a career in the NHL imo. Those shoulder injuries are really rough. They don’t ever truly heal correctly.

Unfortunately Lewis is playing this year. I think the main reason they brought him back is because McDavid was chewing out the 4th line and they want someone defensive there instead.

For the type of game he plays, I think you are right considering Thomas. I was super high on him when he was drafted, but having both shoulders under the knife early on stymied his growth.