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Kings Article: LA Kings Rob Blake And That Big Elephant In The Room

For all of the Blake haters you have to hate 99 just as much. The things he did to get Luc and Bernie moved though common and simple at the time are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse than Blake wanting to go to a contender before he retired. Blake was a great King when he was with us and I doubt anyone would have done anything differently if they were in the same position.

4 Belongs.
 
KINGS17 said:
Again, if the fans aren't the biggest part of the organization, the Kings are missing the boat. I will say classy move to bring Norstrom back to the podium and to help raise the banner.

Interesting selection on the jersey. That's the only era from which I have fond memories of Blake even though he was often injured.
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Not every fan thinks negatively of Blake though. Hell, I remember during the 2001 negotiations that fans would bring signs that were pro-Blake and to get him signed (and they were being confiscated by security).
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Not every fan thinks negatively of Blake though. Hell, I remember during the 2001 negotiations that fans would bring signs that were pro-Blake and to get him signed (and they were being confiscated by security).
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It wasn't just sign confiscations, they gave me a cavity search as well.
 
DonKingKong said:
For all of the Blake haters you have to hate 99 just as much. The things he did to get Luc and Bernie moved though common and simple at the time are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse than Blake wanting to go to a contender before he retired. Blake was a great King when he was with us and I doubt anyone would have done anything differently if they were in the same position.

4 Belongs.
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Gotta say from the perspective of Gretzky as an "LA King" I'm not a fan, and his shenanigans involving Robitaille are one of the biggest reasons why, along with him GM'ing from his locker room stall.
 
Marcel D cried the day he got dealt to the Rags.

Vachon fought the deal that brought him to L.A. (or is said to have) Luc went to Detroit over coming back to L.A. Simmers asked to be dealt in the media to name but a small few. I mean you just can't blame players for wanting off of a team that is rudderless and hasn't any chance of turning things around in time for them to win a championship. Blake bled for the Kings for years and stuck it through some of our darkest times before taking a shot at a cup and is back now working hard on our future success. Guy is a King.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Not every fan thinks negatively of Blake though. Hell, I remember during the 2001 negotiations that fans would bring signs that were pro-Blake and to get him signed (and they were being confiscated by security).
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True. However, rarely is a player's number retired when a significant portion of the team's long-term fans don't want to see it done.

To me, as a long term fan, this is just Luc being tone deaf yet again. He's lucky that the Kings are winning so much these days. It covers for a lot of his mistakes.
 
KINGS17 said:
True. However, rarely is a player's number retired when a significant portion of the team's long-term fans don't want to see it done.

To me, as a long term fan, this is just Luc being tone deaf yet again. He's lucky that the Kings are winning so much these days. It covers for a lot of his mistakes.
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I don't think it is anywhere close to a majority. We are all bandwagonners who became fans after Blake retried.
I know I am
 
I just wish the Kings organization had toned down the hyping on social media. I think most everyone agrees that the Blake love/hate is split pretty evenly among the fanbase, and I know many longtime STH's who I used to sit near who told me they would not attend the ceremony. But the Kings went full speed ahead with the hype, as if they were retiring Luc's number.
 
What's done is done. I'm past all this ****.

Now, let's go win a ****ing Cup.
 
Herby said:
I just wish the Kings organization had toned down the hyping on social media. I think most everyone agrees that the Blake love/hate is split pretty evenly among the fanbase, and I know many longtime STH's who I used to sit near who told me they would not attend the ceremony. But the Kings went full speed ahead with the hype, as if they were retiring Luc's number.
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I wonder if the Kings will retire Justin Williams number? I doubt that they will. Yet, as a King he means a hell of a lot more to me than Rob Blake ever will.
 
KINGS17 said:
I wonder if the Kings will retire Justin Williams number? I doubt that they will. Yet, as a King he means a hell of a lot more to me than Rob Blake ever will.
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Given that they honored Deadmarsh and celebrated his short stint here, I'm sure they'll do something to honor Williams' time here, just as they did with the last meaningful King to wear #14.
 
K17,

Good point about Luc, once Luc came back to the organization it was a given that Blake's jersey would be retired. Luc is loyal to his friends and always goes to bat for them, remember when Roenick was trying to break into media, Luc gave him some kind of podcast or video show on the Kings website. I think you also bring up a good point about the Kings success the last couple years making it easier to have a Blake jersey retirement.

I don't know if it's a majority one way or the other, I would say probably 1/3 are very pro-Blake (like Ziggy) and 1/3 are very anti-Blake (like you and I) and the rest are probably new fans that don't give a crap either way. And again I don't feel anyone is right or wrong, I respect you and Ziggy's opinion. I will say though, if this were a corporate setting no way would a former CEO who was hated by a decent chunk of shareholders ever be honored, but again, it's over, and we should move on after tonight.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Given that they honored Deadmarsh and celebrated his short stint here, I'm sure they'll do something to honor Williams' time here, just as they did with the last meaningful King to wear #14.
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We both know there is a big difference between what the Kings did for Norstrom and what they did for Blake tonight.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
Imagine having a player like Blake on this roster to go with Doughty. Would make for a scary good blueline. Closest player to Blake today would probably be Weber.

It's also a bit disappointing that Dave Taylor couldn't be there. And no, he's not at fault for the Blake negotiations in 2001.
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Actually, I can confirm that Taylor was there, doing his usual thing as a scout for the Blues.

Didn't ask him, but I suspect that the Blues did not want him to participate. Knowing Taylor, he would've been out there if he could.
 
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