Speculation: LA Kings Offseason Thread

[YP44]

Happy Ziggy Palffy Day!

didn't the original trade have LA keeping Joikinen too but the league said it was not balanced.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

This is where we are under blake.

non-competitive 1st round exit
salary capped roster, strapped and having to make moves just to ice a lesser team than last year
depreciating assets, no prospects playing significant roles
3 goalies left in the org are Copley, Villalta, Portillo
Bereft of LHD prospects
Shipping out consecutive 1sts and 2nds
Now debating emptying the remainder of the cupboards for a low end 1C/high end 2C with one year control

Absolute trash, f***in burn it down at this point, the mere fact we are even discussing PLD as if he's going to ride to the rescue is a failure.

 

[tigermask48]

didn't the original trade have LA keeping Joikinen too but the league said it was not balanced.

Correct, what always cracked me up though was that both Biron and Jokinen ended up in Florida via seperate moves by 2002 and played another couple seasons there together.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

didn't the original trade have LA keeping Joikinen too but the league said it was not balanced.

Yep, and even before that, a trade with the Rangers was also rejected. The Kings would've kept Jokinen and given up Scott Barney in the trade that Bettman vetoed.

 

[King'sPawn]

didn't the original trade have LA keeping Joikinen too but the league said it was not balanced.

Yep. With some of the screwy trades we have seen, imagine agreeing to a trade so bad that the league has to step in and tell you how bad it is.

 

[lumbergh]

the mere fact we are even discussing PLD as if he's going to ride to the rescue is a failure.

The mere fact that we are even discussing PLD on the back of some crap internet rumor is a failure. I'm sure Blake's kicked the tires, done his due diligence, but PLD is completely nonsensical as an acquisition.

 

[funky]

Is Clarke also a bust? Byfield is all of 202 days older than him. He missed qualifying for the next years draft by a few days. His road to the NHL has had set backs he can't control. I can see people being discouraged by his progress but the word bust is ridiculous at this point.

I know he was a #2 overall pick but sometimes I think we forget just how young he is and how much time he missed with illness and injury. Losing 15 to 25 lbs off a slight body had to take a lot out of him. I sat behind the bench in his first game back to the Reign and my wife who is tiny looked as thick as he did. He was also gassed after 30 seconds on the ice.

I think we will see more explosion out of the legs this year and hopefully he will be back up to strength. You can't tell me he gained all the weight back he lost when sick playing an NHL schedule. I think with health comes strength and strength come confidence.

The goal scoring is a legitimate concern but we saw signs of him starting to shoot more in the final games. I am thinking we will see a stronger Byfield which could very well help drive the shot. I still see him being more a Joe Thorton with wheels type then a sniper.

We saw him learn to protect the puck better, start going for the dirtier areas and we saw him thread some beautiful passes that were near misses. He meshes with Kopitar which is hard to do and he keeps the salary cap cost down this coming season.

Every league he goes it takes him a while to spool up, then he plays at a high level.

I know there are some warts, what 20 year old doesn't? We are an impatient bunch but I am definitely going to give him to the completion of his ELC before worrying about him. There is no way in hell I am offering him as trade bait at this point.

Our biggest need for this upcoming year is a Goalie, a Third line center and size on D and the 4th line. Those can surely be addressed without Byfield's name being mentioned. Give the big guy another year playing healthy with bigger minutes at basically league minimum. Hopefully as Kopi starts to fade Byfield starts to uptick.

Now Blake has too get off his ass once again and address some of our needs. Signing Gavrikov was a massive start but he can't rest there. We can no longer go into the season with massive holes when we have tradeable assets to fill these holes and positional players being held back because of others ahead of them. If Bjornfot is not in the plans, put him in a package. At this point I don't really care when or where these extra pieces were drafted, if they are redundant I ask what can they get me. Roster players like Durzi, love or hate him, can fetch us a piece we need. Hell I would trade Durzi to Philly for Seeler and a pick and our defense is immediately buttoned up and we have extra cap space to use on Vilardi.

I am probably naïve but once again I have taken day 2 of the draft off and I will be sitting waiting to see who Blake trades to fill holes or gain picks. I do have a feeling this team may look different in 2 weeks. Fingers crossed the right moves are made. Can't give up hope yet.

 

[LAKings88]

Kassian about to be bought out.

 

[Nasti]

Kassian about to be bought out.

I know where you’re going with this. No thanks.

 

[tigermask48]

Funky, most of us get that illness and injuries happen and can derail development. It's bound to happen, I think the bigger issue is the frequency at which illness and injury happen to Kings prospects specifically because it is an increasingly alarmingly high rate. Vilardi, Thomas, Turcotte, Byfield...

 

[LAKings88]

Imho, Grundstrom, JAD, Durzi and Iaffalo are redundancies now.

I know la loves its depth tho. I can see them holding onto them and trading them at the deadline if the fall out of the playoffs.

Maybe Arvidsson gets moved over Iaffalo due to contract.

I know where you’re going with this. No thanks.

Take him over MacEwen for toughness tho.

 

[Kurrilino]

This is where we are under blake.

non-competitive 1st round exit
salary capped roster, strapped and having to make moves just to ice a lesser team than last year
depreciating assets, no prospects playing significant roles
3 goalies left in the org are Copley, Villalta, Portillo
Bereft of LHD prospects
Shipping out consecutive 1sts and 2nds
Now debating emptying the remainder of the cupboards for a low end 1C/high end 2C with one year control

Absolute trash, f***in burn it down at this point, the mere fact we are even discussing PLD as if he's going to ride to the rescue is a failure.

This is why you have to finish a rebuild and not keep playing the 30+ year old who have proven that they don't have what it takes anymore.
Sidelining Kopitar and Doughty and let the youngsters play big minutes created more laughter a couple of years ago than today.

Byfield and Kupari have both shown speed on the ice and creative playmaking abilities.
Pair those guys with Fiala and Kempe on 1st and 2nd line and just let it go.
Mix in Kaliev and Vialrdi who have the tools to pot 30+ goals and we might even see a better product than what we already have.

 

[funky]

Funky, most of us get that illness and injuries happen and can derail development. It's bound to happen, I think the bigger issue is the frequency at which illness and injury happen to Kings prospects specifically because it is an increasingly alarmingly high rate. Vilardi, Thomas, Turcotte, Byfield...

It is unreal the injuries, illnesses, this team has suffered. Don't forget Kupari blowing out his knee at the WJC's. Poor Clarke is probably praying for a trade with the string of luck our last half dozen first picks have had. Is it something our development staff is doing or just a freaky streak?

I just want to see Turcotte play a full set of games this year and see if he can get back on track. He is exactly the little snotty sparkplug our lineup needs.

 

[head eyes]

Would rather have Lucic than Kassian if we're trying to address toughness.

 

[lumbergh]

Funky, most of us get that illness and injuries happen and can derail development. It's bound to happen, I think the bigger issue is the frequency at which illness and injury happen to Kings prospects specifically because it is an increasingly alarmingly high rate. Vilardi, Thomas, Turcotte, Byfield...

If there's one element of hockey that is dictated by luck, it's injuries. Pretty uncontrollable from an organizational point of view. Some years teams are unexpectedly good, and it's almost always associated with few man-games lost. Some years teams are unexpectedly bad, and it's almost always associated with many man-games lost. Some players labeled injury-prone will play the rest of their careers without incident. Not predictable, as far as I can tell.

Some prospects will get injured. Just live with it. Be patient and sometimes you're rewarded.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Can the Kings coax Dustin Byfuglien to come out of retirement?

 

[tigermask48]

I think some of these injuries are controllable and are a circumstance of poor development. Kupari blowsout a knee at the WJC, it happens.

Turcotte gets his bell rung and suffers multiple concussions while adjusting to the speed of pro hockey (via admittedly cheap shot hits) as an undersized center as a 19 year old? Some of that is the Kings rushing him before he is ready because he was drafted high.

Vilardi had injury concerns before he was drafted and that was part of him falling to the Kings iirc.

 

[Nasti]

Take him over MacEwen for toughness tho.

The Kings aren’t required to have either on the team.

 

[GameNight]

Vilardi should be regarded as Arvidsson's long term replacement.

Study the pieces on the chess board, what they are and where they are. If Vilardi is part of a trade for a C, or anything else other than an equivalent RW- the Kings will not make the playoffs in 2025.

 

[bland]

The mere fact that we are even discussing PLD on the back of some crap internet rumor is a failure. I'm sure Blake's kicked the tires, done his due diligence, but PLD is completely nonsensical as an acquisition.

That's why we are worried about it.

Why expect sensibility now?

Can the Kings coax Dustin Byfuglien to come out of retirement?

One of those "Ooh, a piece of candy. Ooh, a piece of candy" mousetrap deals?

 

[Sol]

This is where we are under blake.

non-competitive 1st round exit
salary capped roster, strapped and having to make moves just to ice a lesser team than last year
depreciating assets, no prospects playing significant roles
3 goalies left in the org are Copley, Villalta, Portillo
Bereft of LHD prospects
Shipping out consecutive 1sts and 2nds
Now debating emptying the remainder of the be fair.

Lest we forget that you were against Eichel as well. Seems like you’ve been too busy clutching your pearls for the prospects rather than being realistic about their potential or lack there of.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

Byfield and Kupari have both shown speed on the ice and creative playmaking abilities.

You're right. When I think of Byfield I think of "creative playmaking abilities"
Hahaha

 

[Sol]

You're right. When I think of Byfield I think of "creative playmaking abilities"
Hahaha

Remember, people didn’t want Stutzle because he wasn’t “good” at scoring goals.

How the turn tables. Stutzle is scoring goals and points in general while byfield cant crack
More than 5 goals a season lmao

 

[bland]

You're right. When I think of Byfield I think of "creative playmaking abilities"
Hahaha

Uh, you should. That's the strength of his game.

 

[BigKing]

Blake's drafting is getting shit on and I get it; however, there is some chicken/egg with bad drafting, bad development or both. Regardless, he deserves to be shit on.

That said, Brandt Clarke makes all of the Thomas Hickeys go away if he is a transcendent talent at the NHL level.