LA Kings the most disastrously run franchise in the league

[KirkAlbuquerque]

No they aren’t but they sure have squandered a top 2 prospect pool, and the only 2 who really panned out they traded. At least Fiala is pretty good .

 

[Honour Over Glory]

The nepotism runs deep with this front office. I was extremely pissed they didn't try to hire the best coach available. But I guess management sees something in Hiller because he did right the course after TMac refused to make adjustments.

Hockey in general loves this sort of garbage and it's why you have so many muppets play musical chairs and there's very little fresh new names in the mix. I was a big fan of Warsofsky a few years ago and I'm glad he's getting a shot in San Jose and a year or so ago I was talking on the Pens board about David Carle being brought in even to be the WBS coach to get experience thinking Dubas was smart enough to fire an ignorant tit like Sullivan, wasn't to be.

But LA, because my brother lives in SD and I visit often, I end up going with him and my nephew to Kings games and I am a fan of Byfield, it's just stupid to me to put Hiller in charge just because he "paid his dues by being there a couple of years" as it were. I mean Sturm would have been a fresh new take.

My take is that if you have an assistant there that long and he's coaching the system from the previous coach, you're not getting all that different of an outlook really with how to move the team in a new direction. I just felt the potential the Kings had was destroyed a little by Blake in that idiotic Dubois deal as I was very high on Villardi as I am sure a lot of you were as well, only to see him make a deal for Kuemper for a reunion 7yrs later where he's on the wrong side of 30 and they've had quite a few "is this the one?" goalie options that have failed or been mediocre at best for a future and now they do this, Blake should be fired for it.

Hiller to me just doesn't seem the bloke to get the Kings to that next level, he's a Babcock crony and I maybe just don't like him for that and there's that bias for me, but personally I think LA could have been better about it and gone with Sturm. Or at best, interview other coaches as I think Woodcroft would have been another great option if Sturm wasn't it for them, I would have gone with Woodcroft as the HC and kept Sturm either in the AHL another year before he's brought back up as an Assistant Coach and can run the powerplay better this time or he finds a HC job else where.

 

[Astyanax]

They cut their losses. The cap space they freed up is valuable. Maybe it's better to ask, "what they hell are the Caps thinking?"

I wondered the same thing, because the perpetual malcontent is not a replacement for Backstrom. That said, LA gave up legitimate assets and money for that same malcontent, so LA loses this trade at this time. Maybe his true talent will show up in Washington, but his ego was made for LA and it didn't last but a year there, so I think not.

 

[Astyanax]

I remember getting roasted on another site for expressing my displeasure for the PLD trade.

Yes, myself as well. I'm not even a kings fan, but some were still giving me sh*& for doubting it. Like magically it was just going to work in LA. So not even a calendar year later and this douche gets yet another new start.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I wondered the same thing, because the perpetual malcontent is not a replacement for Backstrom. That said, LA gave up legitimate assets and money for that same malcontent, so LA loses this trade at this time. Maybe his true talent will show up in Washington, but his ego was made for LA and it didn't last but a year there, so I think not.

LA loses the Winnipeg trade. Not this one.

 

[Astyanax]

Blake is an idiot for the whole PLD shitshow but there's been far worse from other teams.

Buffalo is the poster boy for "disaster franchises".

Ok Buffalo has certainly struggled with a lot of bad management decisions, trades, contracts, but also a bit of bad luck. Atlanta is right there, as they have actually lost the franchise 2x. (Maybe Atlanta is not on par as their blunders were 30 years apart and different organizations) But I think the real white elephant in the room is the coyotes. It has never worked. Bad attendance, bad product, bad management. They have already relocated 3(technically 4) times within there own city, no less. Their 2nd ownership group (?) was notorious for not paying their vendor's and may still be liable for sexual misconduct law suits. If I recall correctly the nhl had to take over management for a spell, to end that reign of terror, until they were able to usher in a whole new reign of terror. Complete with a 25 year old GM and finishing with their home games at a borrowed college arena. God, why did it take so long.(We are all looking at you Gary.) Sometimes you have to tie a company to a tree and hit with a shovel.

 

[Astyanax]

LA loses the Winnipeg trade. Not this one.

Ok. That is fair. Winnipeg definitely won that. And I really don't know what Washington is up to, but it can't be good. And yes I think LA did very well to get out from under the pld contract. But I was looking at the collective assets lost within a calendar year when I suggested that LA lost. PLD, vilardi, lafallo, kuapri and a 2nd for kuemper. I would still call that a loss, but sure Washington is worse.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Ok. That is fair. Winnipeg definitely won that. And I really don't know what Washington is up to, but it can't be good. And yes I think LA did very well to get out from under the pld contract. But I was looking at the collective assets lost within a calendar year when I suggested that LA lost. PLD, vilardi, lafallo, kuapri and a 2nd for kuemper. I would still call that a loss, but sure Washington is worse.

The most plausible reason I've read is getting Ovechkin over the finish line. But even then, you'd think there were better options at center. But then again, they needed to move Kuemper too, so I guess 3 extra mil for a young center that has talent and could turn it around maybe is worth the risk. Team is basically going to be rebuilding soon anyway.

 

[Misery74]

LA loses the Winnipeg trade. Not this one.

lol. Enjoy Darcy Kuemper.

 

[Misery74]

The most plausible reason I've read is getting Ovechkin over the finish line. But even then, you'd think there were better options at center. But then again, they needed to move Kuemper too, so I guess 3 extra mil for a young center that has talent and could turn it around maybe is worth the risk. Team is basically going to be rebuilding soon anyway.

Washington isn’t rebuilding. The youth movement has gone better than expected. This team didn’t expect to make the playoffs.

Acquiring PLD was a move to solidify our playoff spot.

You all can think what you want, but this trade helps the Caps. Especially for the first three years.

Darcy’s last win was February. We barely squeezed into the playoffs, and it was determined we were better with Kuemper on the bench. He didn’t see the ice for the last month.


This deal was about shitcanning our absolute worst contract.

LA should be f***ing embarrassed.

 

[Dead Coyote]

I think the Edmonton Oilers circa early-mid 90s through to 2016 were pretty f***ing awful of a franchise. Won the cup in '90 and then had two decent seasons before falling off a cliff in 93. Were either bad or mediocre until they got McDrai except for pretty much 3 years when they had CuJo dragging them into the playoffs and then again when Cam Talbot had an insanely good season and playoffs. And then since acquiring McDrai they've done almost nothing with this being their best season by far. Not to mention the old boys club of Lowe, Chiarelli, McTavish etc and then the 11 top 10 picks they had during this period (before McDrai) and the 3/3 lottery picks they won before it turned into 4/6 with McDavid.

I still remember fans throwing their jerseys on the ice in 2013 and 2014 and Ben Scrivens throwing one back into the crowd lmao. It's funny that pretty much the only thing that's changed since then is the drafting of McDrai.

 

[bouncesonly]

Washington isn’t rebuilding. The youth movement has gone better than expected. This team didn’t expect to make the playoffs.

Acquiring PLD was a move to solidify our playoff spot.

You all can think what you want, but this trade helps the Caps. Especially for the first three years.

Darcy’s last win was February. We barely squeezed into the playoffs, and it was determined we were better with Kuemper on the bench. He didn’t see the ice for the last month.


This deal was about shitcanning our absolute worst contract.

LA should be f***ing embarrassed.

Goalies are weird. They can bounce back with a change of scenery. How many changes of scenery will PLD require before he lives up to his "potential." Enjoy buying out his contract.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Minnesota thanks LA for Faber and a 1st.

 

[PelagicJoe]

[Whatever/Wherever the Arizona Coyotes are now has entered the chat.]

 

[The Butcher]

Washington isn’t rebuilding. The youth movement has gone better than expected. This team didn’t expect to make the playoffs.

Acquiring PLD was a move to solidify our playoff spot.

You all can think what you want, but this trade helps the Caps. Especially for the first three years.

Darcy’s last win was February. We barely squeezed into the playoffs, and it was determined we were better with Kuemper on the bench. He didn’t see the ice for the last month.


This deal was about shitcanning our absolute worst contract.

LA should be f***ing embarrassed.

LA and the fans are embarrassed...

but extremely grateful that PLD will do his floating around somewhere else for the next 7 years.

 

[Machinehead]

They're in the playoffs pretty consistently and won the Cup not terribly long ago.

 

[Statto]

Hockey in general loves this sort of garbage and it's why you have so many muppets play musical chairs and there's very little fresh new names in the mix. I was a big fan of Warsofsky a few years ago and I'm glad he's getting a shot in San Jose and a year or so ago I was talking on the Pens board about David Carle being brought in even to be the WBS coach to get experience thinking Dubas was smart enough to fire an ignorant tit like Sullivan, wasn't to be.

But LA, because my brother lives in SD and I visit often, I end up going with him and my nephew to Kings games and I am a fan of Byfield, it's just stupid to me to put Hiller in charge just because he "paid his dues by being there a couple of years" as it were. I mean Sturm would have been a fresh new take.

My take is that if you have an assistant there that long and he's coaching the system from the previous coach, you're not getting all that different of an outlook really with how to move the team in a new direction. I just felt the potential the Kings had was destroyed a little by Blake in that idiotic Dubois deal as I was very high on Villardi as I am sure a lot of you were as well, only to see him make a deal for Kuemper for a reunion 7yrs later where he's on the wrong side of 30 and they've had quite a few "is this the one?" goalie options that have failed or been mediocre at best for a future and now they do this, Blake should be fired for it.

Hiller to me just doesn't seem the bloke to get the Kings to that next level, he's a Babcock crony and I maybe just don't like him for that and there's that bias for me, but personally I think LA could have been better about it and gone with Sturm. Or at best, interview other coaches as I think Woodcroft would have been another great option if Sturm wasn't it for them, I would have gone with Woodcroft as the HC and kept Sturm either in the AHL another year before he's brought back up as an Assistant Coach and can run the powerplay better this time or he finds a HC job else where.

Whilst he was under Babcock, by all accounts he knows how to deal with players and is a good communicator. He gets that the newer generation need very different approaches. So whilst I’m sure he took stuff from Babcock he’s not Babcock-like in his approach. Hiller is a creative PP coach so I think he will give the team a different look/approach, although the roster makeup will mean we need to be tight defensively. Strum would have been less popular with the fan base in general.

To be clear I want BLuc gone but Hiller is low on the issues list.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

The Kings have been poorly run for a bit now, but I suspect AEG pushed Blake and Robitaille to speed up the rebuild and turn it into a retool.

Columbus, Ottawa, and formerly Arizona have been more poorly run in recent memory.

 

[Fatass]

Based on the buyout calculator on Capfriendly, I don't think this is an option. Buying out Kuemper would have been better for them.

Yup. total dollars 12 mil v 40 mil? Why would the owner prefer the 40?

 

[MOGlLNY]

Me reading this thread as a Sabres fan.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

What a difference a year can make

 

[Kranix]

At least they launched PLD into the sun instead of trotting him out next season saying, "we want to help him be better"

 

[RabbleMasterBlaster]

The Philadelphia “Still looking for a #1 goaltender for 38 years” Flyers say “hi.”

They had bob bruh. And then gave the reins to a r*p**t. Aw well. So close right?

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

They had bob bruh. And then gave the reins to a r*p**t. Aw well. So close right?

Bryz was a weirdo but I don’t think he ever did anything that bad

 

[RabbleMasterBlaster]

Bryz was a weirdo but I don’t think he ever did anything that bad

Wait I rem that other guy... Who flopped around like a crazy man in net. They had him for years...chechmanek? Wasn't great but was fun to watch.