Speculation: LA Kings Offseason Thread

[FSL KINGS]

With Byfield it is not only, "does he make it", he needs to become a young star in the league. Hopefully hitting 80+Pts and becoming what he was projected.... our future 1C. As a #2 overall draft pick he will always have these types of expectations and pressure, some kids relish it, but some can't handle the pressure. Big year for him. Needs to increase his points production, be more assertive and show he can handle being on the top line, PP but also play some C during the season.

Just more arbitrary expectations.

Regular season points don't win championships
-McDavid

Edit: Kopitar has broken 80 points in the regular season 2 times.

 

[johnjm22]

Ducks are going to have

Fantilli/Carlsson
Zegras
McTavish

Down the middle.

We better hope Byfield pans out.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

If given the choice between hoping/wanting Byfield to break out and trading him for an older player because they think he's a bust/disappointment, there are definitely people in the latter category. Not saying you.

But it's the same circular arguments and the offseason's young. We'll still see plenty of it going up to preseason and possibly beyond.

Believing a prospect is already a bust and trying to salvage value in a trade is not the same as openly rooting for a prospect to fail. Surely you understand the difference here?

The notion that any Kings fan here is openly rooting for prospects to fail just to be right on the internet is deranged.

 

[King'sPawn]

Believing a prospect is already a bust and trying to salvage value in a trade is not the same as openly rooting for a prospect to fail. Surely you understand the difference here?

The notion that any Kings fan here is openly rooting for prospects to fail just to be right on the internet is deranged.

I never accused anyone of rooting for Byfield to fail. I chose my words carefully to avoid bullshit arguments like this

And neither did the person you replied to. They just said people will have their foot in their mouths when talking about Byfield.

So, stop prescribing arguments to people for things they haven't said.

 

[YP44]

Ducks are going to have

Fantilli/Carlsson
Zegras
McTavish

Down the middle.

We better hope Byfield pans out.

and their D prospects look very very good as well. Hell they even have a goalie prospect. Hope these guys don't pan out.

 

[Sol]

Just more arbitrary expectations.

Regular season points don't win championships
-McDavid

Edit: Kopitar has broken 80 points in the regular season 2 times.

I don’t think you realize how much of the Kings present and future is on his shoulders. If byfield becomes 60 percent the player Kopitar was at his age then we’ve dodged a massive bullet.

Believing a prospect is already a bust and trying to salvage value in a trade is not the same as openly rooting for a prospect to fail. Surely you understand the difference here?

The notion that any Kings fan here is openly rooting for prospects to fail just to be right on the internet is deranged.

Yeah I personally want the Kings to salvage value and let a team take a shot at him since I don’t think he has what it takes. Yeah his value is lower but I’d rather trade him now than have his value sink even more next year. I would love nothing more than Byfield to show to us that he is the heir apparent that so many kings fans wanted him to be. The problem for me is the issues with Byfield before he was drafted never went away for me. I had really big issues with his game which is why I never wanted him. On top of that, a new issue has crept into his game which is terrible goal scoring ability. He was said by scouts to have a good shot. And he is one of the worst shooters I’ve seen especially as a second overall.

We can chalk that up to confidence potentially but then that gives me a big feeling that he’s a mental midget. And I’ve seen signs of that in his game where he totally falls apart.

These are issues you don’t want to see from the second overall player. For that reason let him become someone else’s project while he has some value to GMs who think they can salvage him. Gimme PLD in a Byfield trade

 

[Schmooley]

I don’t think you realize how much of the Kings present and future is on his shoulders. If byfield becomes 60 percent the player Kopitar was at his age then we’ve dodged a massive bullet.

Yeah I personally want the Kings to salvage value and let a team take a shot at him since I don’t think he has what it takes. Yeah his value is lower but I’d rather trade him now than have his value sink even more next year. I would love nothing more than Byfield to show to us that he is the heir apparent that so many kings fans wanted him to be. The problem for me is the issues with Byfield before he was drafted never went away for me. I had really big issues with his game which is why I never wanted him. On top of that, a new issue has crept into his game which is terrible goal scoring ability. He was said by scouts to have a good shot. And he is one of the worst shooters I’ve seen especially as a second overall.

We can chalk that up to confidence potentially but then that gives me a big feeling that he’s a mental midget. And I’ve seen signs of that in his game where he totally falls apart.

These are issues you don’t want to see from the second overall player. For that reason let him become someone else’s project while he has some value to GMs who think they can salvage him. Gimme PLD in a Byfield trade

What happens when he breaks out in two years? Will you stop being so loud about your opinions of young players if that happens? You were wrong about Kempe and Vilardi and then just say they arent the norm and continue to be arrogantly wrong about your player assessment almost like you have not played this game in your entire life.
Cool you dont like Byfield we get it you post about it non stop.

 

[Sol]

What happens when he breaks out in two years? Will you stop being so loud about your opinions of young players if that happens? You were wrong about Kempe and Vilardi and then just say they arent the norm and continue to be arrogantly wrong about your player assessment almost like you have not played this game in your entire life.
Cool you dont like Byfield we get it you post about it non stop.

Bro what on earth are you talking about? Kempe really? Let me guess you saw it coming from 6 years ago when Kempe was doing nothing that he was randomly going to become a 40 plus goal scorer out of nowhere? It always says a lot to me when someone uses Kempe as an example of patience in drafting because it clearly shows how moronic your line of thinking is. Vilardi, I always said he had the skills but he was way too sluggish. They changed his position and his foot speed improved a lot too. Not really a shock he put it together but before last season it wouldn’t have shocked anyone if he didn’t put it together either.

No one ever doubted Vilardis skill.

Were you on your knees too when they signed Petersen for 15 million? My money says you were.

What an idiotic counter argument. Seriously as a note to anyone, if someone brings up Kempe as an example of patience in drafting, rest assured they’re a clown.

 

[Sol]

Yea I always liked Kempe and defended him on here. I did like Petersen also. The difference is most folks post their opinion a couple times not constantly every day.

Wait so you saw a 40 goal scorer in the last pick of the first round? I always liked Kempe too but shit I’d be lying if I said “yeah bro this is the guy who’s going to finally pots 40 on the kings”. But for sure if you knew Kempe was going to break out like how he did randomly YEARS apart from when he was drafted then I wholeheartedly nominate you to dethrone Yanetti.

Byfield is a contentious topic and the highest pick the Kings have had since Doughty. No shit he’s a common topic on the Kings especially with where they are. Do you think he’d be contentious and prevalent topic if he was performing as expected?

You’re acting like we’re talking about some random player like Lizotte.

 

[King'sPawn]

I responded to that person saying “everyone here wants Byfield to succeed.” Then you responded to me talking about people wanting him traded. I then clarified that wanting him traded and believing he’s already a bust is not the same as rooting for him to fail.

If you’re in agreement with all of this, why did you even respond to my original post?

Because you responded to someone saying "you're going to eat words about Byfield" by saying "everyone wants him to succeed" as if you were confused as to what words people would be eating.

Why did you say "everyone wants him to succeed" when all someone said was that people will eat their words about him?

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Wait so you saw a 40 goal scorer in the last pick of the first round? I always liked Kempe too but shit I’d be lying if I said “yeah bro this is the guy who’s going to finally pot 40 on the kings”

Byfield is a contentious topic and the highest pick the Kings have had since Doughty. No shit he’s a common topic on the Kings especially with where they are. Do you think he’d be contentious and prevalent topic if he was performing as expected?

You’re acting like we’re talking about some random player like Lizotte.

Well yea, in Kempe's career early on there, were a ton of people that preached patience......

Did anyone say EXACTLY he would be a 40 goal scorer...no....but preaching patience on a kid, saying he will be very good...is the best you are gonna get when trying to predict the future....

Did you say Stutlze was going to score 90 plus points his 2nd year when Ottawa drafted him?? Why not?

 

[Sol]

Because you responded to someone saying "you're going to eat words about Byfield" by saying "everyone wants him to succeed" as if you were confused as to what words people would be eating.

Why did you say "everyone wants him to succeed" when all someone said was that people will eat their words about him?

I’d like my crow extra crispy. Hopefully he doesn’t disappoint lol.

 

[Schmooley]

Wait so you saw a 40 goal scorer in the last pick of the first round? I always liked Kempe too but shit I’d be lying if I said “yeah bro this is the guy who’s going to finally pot 40 on the kings”

Byfield is a contentious topic and the highest pick the Kings have had since Doughty. No shit he’s a common topic on the Kings especially with where they are. Do you think he’d be contentious and prevalent topic if he was performing as expected?

You’re acting like we’re talking about some random player like Lizotte.

I dont know about 40 goals but I dont evaluate necessarily off just that. When you would watch Kempe early on you saw it was obvious he had the tools. Byfield has them also.
Whether they get there and in how long is up to them and for Byfield it will be when he fills out into his frame.
He has a ton of things to work on. I get the criticism and I see his flaws like you do.
Just think you should ease up on him hes going to be good but maybe not in the Kings winning again with Kopitar timeline.

 

[Sol]

I dont know about 40 goals but I dont evaluate necessarily off just that. When you would watch Kempe early on you saw it was obvious he had the tools. Byfield has them also.
Whether they get there and in how long is up to them and for Byfield it will be when he fills out into his frame.
He has a ton of things to work on. I get the criticism and I see his flaws like you do.
Just think you should ease up on him hes going to be good but maybe not in the Kings winning again with Kopitar timeline.

Do you realize what you’re asking for? Comparing the 30th pick to the 2nd pick of the draft is nonsense. You don’t think Roland McKeown didn’t have tools? How about players like Zykov on the top of my head. A lot of players have tools in the first round. What you pay for in the top 5 is certainty that they put it together. And those top 5 players tend to also be the most skilled and the most successful ones. Skill is apparent in the first round. No one expected what Kempe has done. Why even bring him up? It makes your argument look completely dishonest.

Doughty was drafted second overall. Same position as Byfield. Stop comparing him to Kempe.


There’s different expectations. Completely different expectations.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Do you realize what you’re asking for? Comparing the 30th pick to the 2nd pick of the draft is nonsense. You don’t think Roland McKeown didn’t have tools? How about players like Zykov on the top of my head. A lot of players have tools in the first round. What you pay for in the top 5 is certainty that they put it together. And those top 5 players tend to also be the most skilled and the most successful ones. Skill is apparent in the first round. No one expected what Kempe has done. Why even bring him up? It makes your argument look completely dishonest.

Doughty was drafted second overall. Same position as Byfield. Stop comparing him to Kempe.


There’s different expectations. Completely different expectations.

LOL no, YOU didn't expect it....people who watch and understand the game, knew it was there....but didn't know when it would show itself...

HUGE difference.

 

[King'sPawn]

I’d like my crow extra crispy. Hopefully he doesn’t disappoint lol.

I plenty gets served to you, all due respect.

I'm still expecting 45 points last year, which is admittedly on the low side, but I will be worried if he doesn't hit that benchmark by end of next season (barring another injury). There needs to be continued growth in his game (you have said you've not seen it but we'll just disagree, unless you want to discuss specifics). But not only growth in skill, he needs growth in numbers.

And even though him exploding into an 80-point player would be nice, I'm willing to settle for small increments of growth.

 

[Schmooley]

Do you realize what you’re asking for? Comparing the 30th pick to the 2nd pick of the draft is nonsense. You don’t think Roland McKeown didn’t have tools? How about players like Zykov on the top of my head. A lot of players have tools in the first round. What you pay for in the top 5 is certainty that they put it together. And those top 5 players tend to also be the most skilled and the most successful ones. Skill is apparent in the first round. No one expected what Kempe has done. Why even bring him up? It makes your argument look completely dishonest.

Doughty was drafted second overall. Same position as Byfield. Stop comparing him to Kempe.


There’s different expectations. Completely different expectations.

You brought up Kempe not me

 

[Sol]

I plenty gets served to you, all due respect.

I'm still expecting 45 points last year, which is admittedly on the low side, but I will be worried if he doesn't hit that benchmark by end of next season (barring another injury). There needs to be continued growth in his game (you have said you've not seen it but we'll just disagree, unless you want to discuss specifics). But not only growth in skill, he needs growth in numbers.

And even though him exploding into an 80-point player would be nice, I'm willing to settle for small increments of growth.

50 points take it or leave it. I think will settle us all down. That’d be good growth. 20 goals and 30 assists would be really nice.


Byfield needs to improve on his shot, his strength, and stamina. Those are missing a lot from his game.

You brought up Kempe not me

Check your response buddy.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Because you responded to someone saying "you're going to eat words about Byfield" by saying "everyone wants him to succeed" as if you were confused as to what words people would be eating.

Why did you say "everyone wants him to succeed" when all someone said was that people will eat their words about him?

Because no one will care about “being wrong about Byfield” if he breaks out and helps the team. Everyone here likes the LA Kings and wants to see the team do well.

People act like this is a zero sum game where all the “Byfield haters” will suffer and “eat crow” if he does well. And again, that’s some seriously deranged social score keeping for an internet message board.

People want Byfield to break out and become a super star. The amount of criticism he gets is directly related to how highly people think of him, and how frustrated they are that he hasn’t broken out yet.

 

[shuchukfan]

Byfield has the creativity of a 486 computer asking chat GPT how to play hockey.

I didn't find out until MANY years later that the Turbo button did not, in fact, make the computer faster. It actually slowed the computer down to run older programs.

 

[BigKing]

I find it funny that all you guys will have your foot in your mouth about Byfield next year.

He is f***ing 20 years old

He'll be 21 years old by opening night. Bust.

 

[Nasti]

50 points take it or leave it. I think will settle us all down. That’d be good growth. 20 goals and 30 assists would be really nice.


Byfield needs to improve on his shot, his strength, and stamina. Those are missing a lot from his game.


Check your response buddy.

This kind of sums up why your evaluation of Byfield is problematic. 20 goals and 30 assists are just random numbers you personally want to see but it’s like you haven’t actually watched him play to see that he’s clearly a playmaker.

“Byfield needs to improve on his shot”. - Yeah ok, which 20 year old doesn’t? He was also pretty snake bit last year.

“His strength”. - what 6’5” 20 year old doesn’t need to finish filling out?

“His stamina”. - again, what 20 year old doesn’t especially when he’s missed time due to illness?

Zero context in any of your arguments.

 

[FeartheFur]

Anyone who says a 20 year old is a bust is an idiot. Be a fan of the team. Go watch the Ducks or something.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

This kind of sums up why your evaluation of Byfield is problematic. 20 goals and 30 assists are just random numbers you personally want to see but it’s like you haven’t actually watched him play to see that he’s clearly a playmaker.

“Byfield needs to improve on his shot”. - Yeah ok, which 20 year old doesn’t? He was also pretty snake bit last year.

“His strength”. - what 6’5” 20 year old doesn’t need to finish filling out?

“His stamina”. - again, what 20 year old doesn’t especially when he’s missed time due to illness?

Zero context in any of your arguments.

And especially when that 20 year old loses 20+ lbs 2 weeks into the season due to a freak, nearly month long illness.

People (myself included) have pointed it out before.... That was probably a pretty huge factor both on the strength and stamina fronts. Which then also likely affected his confidence. If you're 20 lbs lighter, you're going to play differently.. It's not rocket science. These things are all related and all should be taken into account when evaluating the player.

There's making excuses, sure. But there's also valid factors that can provide valuable context that shouldn't be dismissed.

Byfield has been underwhelming, yes. There's also quite a lot of context that make the fact that he's been underwhelming pretty understandable and suggests that - without some of those setbacks - we'd be looking at the player quite differently. And, we'd likely be projecting his value/potential differently as well. So let's keep that in mind.

He needs to be better. We can all pretty much agree on that. But here's the thing... He (almost definitely) will be better. And sure you can argue that you don't think he'll be much better - but that's a pretty arbitrary claim as we really have no clue how much better he'll be. So let's hit the breaks a little bit, yeah?? Let's see how he looks in training camp, see how he looks next season, and then we can re-evaluate.

You can think the Kings should trade him now, should've traded him a year ago, or should've drafted someone else at #2 but the bottom line is: They drafted Byfield, he's a top 9 NHL forward as a 20 year old (with some pretty significant developmental setbacks), and they likely aren't trading him. He's still super young and still has a lot of potential.

Players get better from ages 20-23/24.... They just do. So unless the Kings are going to trade him for an elite 1C.... They should probablyyyyyyy hold on to him and hope for the best, right? Look at Jack Hughes... He had one of the least productive rookie seasons for a 1st overall pick in history. He also had an underwhelming sophomore season. Then, he exploded. It happens... and quite frequently at that. So lets maybe take a deep breath and see if the guy can't come out guns blazing next year.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Because no one will care about “being wrong about Byfield” if he breaks out and helps the team. Everyone here likes the LA Kings and wants to see the team do well.

People act like this is a zero sum game where all the “Byfield haters” will suffer and “eat crow” if he does well. And again, that’s some seriously deranged social score keeping for an internet message board.

People want Byfield to break out and become a super star. The amount of criticism he gets is directly related to how highly people think of him, and how frustrated they are that he hasn’t broken out yet.

If you saw the sheer number and type of DMs I got for defending Vilardi here and on the main board, you wouldn't feel this way.

And trust me, there are PLENTY of receipts on this board for Vilardi as there will be for QB one way or another. Ultimately thougth it's not about being right or wrong, just about not being a f***ing dick about your opinion.

The vindication is an emotional catharsis when you have people chasing you around rooting for a guy failing by telling you how much he sucks and how dumb you are for believing--no matter how much reasonable evidence you provide--until he doesn't and they disappear and pretend it never happened.

That's going double for Byfield right now. should he succeed--saying you were rooting for him all along because you were a Kings fan doesn't excuse being a shithead about it (not YOU in particular SR10, that's just a general 'you' comment to the forum). I mean we're not on flat-out insults yet but being dismissive of evidence-based opinions is close considering no one can be 'right' yet anyway.