GDT: Los Angeles Kings at Washington Capitals - February 3, 2015 - 4:00 p.m. (PST)

[Face Wash]

I don't think DL is just going to sit on his hands and watch this season pass him by though he may wait to see if we're buyers or sellers. I see more of a McNabb futures trade than one of the previous deadline deals too. But I'm just saying it's possible, not necessarily probable. We're arguably in a worse spot if you're talking about the actual shape of the team but we were in a mathematically worse spot then so just food for thought.

Oh Dean will do something and it will be more along the lines of the McNabb deal or a picks deal. The reason no high ticket player will be coming is because I doubt if anyone other than Shore, Nolan and Richards would be traded for one of them. Sure I could see a Richards with a high pick and cap money retained for Phaneuf, or someone, but I don't think that would happen. The CAP/Richards/Voynov are huge stumbling blocks to that sorta deal.

My point about the date is, while yes, they were in slightly more dire straits even later in a season that ultimately ended up in a Cup, that team was trending up at the time, this one isn't and there's more distractions/drama and more tired bodies and less talent on this one, especially on the back end. That team had an identity, this one has lost its identity.

Again, if this team doesn't get 8 or their next 10 road points (starting tomorrow) it's time to think about moves.

 

[bob77]

Someone mentioned it yesterday and they were spot on. This team is the 2011 Philadelphia Flyers. Went to the finals vs Chicago and didn't make the playoffs the next year. Outside of Kopitar, Carter, Doughty and Quick, there is no talent. Gaborik was unreal last year and had a little bit of positive this year but he's been the guy from Columbus all over again. Toffoli is a great secondary player but not someone you rely on to win games for you.

Dustin Brown said that there are a lot of guys on our team who would be superstars if they played elsewhere. I've been thinking about that for the past 30 minutes and can't figure out who he's talking about?

He might be referring to the opportunity to be in a system that is not as defensive minded as the Kings. With DS, you can have all the offensive skill in the world, but if he thinks you have defensive issues at all, he's sitting you down. Other teams tend to balance these thoughts out a little more. The problem with believing a team can be squeaky tight defensively is that just a little or a few minor leaks ruins the whole strategy. It's like plumbing. You might think the water is air tight, but just a little trickle leak will still make a big mess. It either all has to work, or it kind of becomes useless. I'm not saying its a bad strategy, after all, the Kings won two cups with it. However, it's very difficult to consistently play at that defensive level. You start to reach a point where the team might be better off taking more chances offensively, and just see how it all plays out on the back end.

 

[Face Wash]

Gaborik was unreal last year and had a little bit of positive this year but he's been the guy from Columbus all over again.

Who leads the Kings in Goals, Goals per Game, PPG, Shooting Percentage and has the 5th highest cap hit on the team when Richards is up to say nothing of the fact that this season he's making $1M less than Richards?

This Gaborik hate I'm reading better be sarcasm that I just don't get because he's anything but the problem on this team!

I wish more guys were like Gaborik and went to the dirty areas to score goals like he does.

 

[Reclamation Project]

So much ******** going on right. I get the team is playing like ass, but complaining about Gaborik? Come on.

 

[damacles1156]

If you expect Gabo to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

That is not who Gabo is, at age 32. He is a guy with quick hands, and High Hockey IQ that will score goals around the net, and make the PP better.

The Kings version of Radim Vrbata.

 

[Kurrilino]

If you expect Gabo to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

I fix that for you

If you expect Gabo to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Kopitar to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Brown to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Williams to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Carter to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Richards to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Stoll to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

Anyone is seeing a pattern here ??????

At least i do. It's Dean's idea of the Locker Room hockey player.
He drafted and traded for this insane idea of hockey.

And before the smart guys jump in here to point out this team won 2 cups....
Lot's of the series were game 7. Mostly won by lucky shots like Stoll and Vancouver. Mix that with we got the absolute weakest competition in the finals we could ask for.

Just imagine these games would have swung the other way.

Dean would be fired long time ago, Sutter would have been chased out of town with pitchforks.

The problem is that no player is willing to stick out or decide a game because this attitude was beaten out of the minds years ago.
The Kings are as close to be a power house as the Oilers.

If you want to win hockey games on a regular base you need "Beasts"
who tell the team "you guys are crap i go out and win it"
Guys like Ovechkin or Datsyuk. Or look at the Blackhawks... they have several players who do that.

Working together as a team is nice and all but our team is full of Locker Room guys. I wonder when the NHL let the Locker Room be part of the scoring.

I for my part couldn't care less about the Locker Room, i don't want nice players, i want players who get stuff done. If he tells the whole team you suck and so do you coach ... so be it.

 

[damacles1156]

I am fine with two Cups, Lombardi just has work to do this season, and the off-season.

 

[Reclamation Project]

2 rings in 3 years sounds like "getting stuff done" to me...

 

[Jeff18]

Same here, I don't care how we got 2 cups, we got them anyways. DL is going to try to fix this team. And I thought Quick really stood on his head during our first cup run. He powered this team to the cup.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Jonathan Quick single-handedly strapped this team to his back and willed them into the playoffs. I've never seen such an incredible performance by one player in my life. How he didn't win the Hart is mind-boggling.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

not to mention he was rocking an even higher playoff save percentage (.953 IIRC) in 2013 before we ran into the wood chipper known as the Hawks. I thought his performances vs. the Sharks and Blues in 2013 were the greatest thing he's accomplished thus far (aside from I guess 2012 regular season).

I don't see how anyone can possibly complain about anything results oriented between 2012-2014 and as far as I'm concerned, despite my petty whining, they've earned a mulligan from my true wrath (x sucks, x isn't getting it done, etc.) in 2015.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

The only thing which pisses me off about the disaster of this season is the firepower its going to give every bitter Sharks/Ducks/Blues/Canucks fan which has waited for this day for literally three years now.

I'm actually completely fine with missing the playoffs this year and going through a major retool. I'm also okay, at this point, with being sellers at the deadline. If giving away Williams for free, essentially, would allow us to shed the Richards contract, that may be worth it, IMO.

I'm also okay with Kopitar having played himself out of a Toews deal this year. That's his pill to swallow, and I'm sure Dean will use it as ammunition. Dean started being way too soft on these guys, something that's already been discussed. Yet some of Dean's most gamebreaking trades (Visnovsky for Stoll/Greene, Johnson for Carter) flew very much in the face of loyalty.

Looking forward to the kid gloves coming off again. Everybody but Doughty and Quick should be analyzed after this season, IMO.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I fix that for you

If you expect Gabo to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Kopitar to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Brown to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Williams to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Carter to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Richards to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

If you expect Stoll to be a PPG player or a guy that takes games over...You are going to be disappointed.

Anyone is seeing a pattern here ??????

At least i do. It's Dean's idea of the Locker Room hockey player.
He drafted and traded for this insane idea of hockey.

And before the smart guys jump in here to point out this team won 2 cups....
Lot's of the series were game 7. Mostly won by lucky shots like Stoll and Vancouver. Mix that with we got the absolute weakest competition in the finals we could ask for.

Just imagine these games would have swung the other way.

Dean would be fired long time ago, Sutter would have been chased out of town with pitchforks.

The problem is that no player is willing to stick out or decide a game because this attitude was beaten out of the minds years ago.
The Kings are as close to be a power house as the Oilers.

If you want to win hockey games on a regular base you need "Beasts"
who tell the team "you guys are crap i go out and win it"
Guys like Ovechkin or Datsyuk. Or look at the Blackhawks... they have several players who do that.

Working together as a team is nice and all but our team is full of Locker Room guys. I wonder when the NHL let the Locker Room be part of the scoring.

I for my part couldn't care less about the Locker Room, i don't want nice players, i want players who get stuff done. If he tells the whole team you suck and so do you coach ... so be it.

Complaining about how a team wins the Cup, or in the playoffs period. Other than 82-0, and 16-0, could you be satisfied?

Know who couldn't get stuff done last year? Chicago in Game 7 at home, with multiple leads. Couldn't shut down a poorly built Kings team. What does that say about Chicago and their beasts?

There's getting stuff done, period, and then there's qualifying every accomplishment after it happens. I want players that get stuff done, end of story. However, they can't be a little lucky, and they can't only play the team that is on the other side of the ice. They won the Cup a couple times, sure, but there were Game 7's along the way. Sweep or go home.

 

[Reclamation Project]

The only thing which pisses me off about the disaster of this season is the firepower its going to give every bitter Sharks/Ducks/Blues/Canucks fan which has waited for this day for literally three years now.

I'm actually completely fine with missing the playoffs this year and going through a major retool. I'm also okay, at this point, with being sellers at the deadline. If giving away Williams for free, essentially, would allow us to shed the Richards contract, that may be worth it, IMO.

I'm also okay with Kopitar having played himself out of a Toews deal this year. That's his pill to swallow, and I'm sure Dean will use it as ammunition. Dean started being way too soft on these guys, something that's already been discussed. Yet some of Dean's most gamebreaking trades (Visnovsky for Stoll/Greene, Johnson for Carter) flew very much in the face of loyalty.

Looking forward to the kid gloves coming off again. Everybody but Doughty and Quick should be analyzed after this season, IMO.

Who gives a flying ****? How many rings do the Blues/Sharks/Canucks have? Add them all up and it's still the sum of the ****s I give - ZERO.

I stopped even acknowledging the Ducks and their fan base years ago.

 

[damacles1156]

The only thing which pisses me off about the disaster of this season is the firepower its going to give every bitter Sharks/Ducks/Blues/Canucks fan which has waited for this day for literally three years now.

I'm actually completely fine with missing the playoffs this year and going through a major retool. I'm also okay, at this point, with being sellers at the deadline. If giving away Williams for free, essentially, would allow us to shed the Richards contract, that may be worth it, IMO.

I'm also okay with Kopitar having played himself out of a Toews deal this year. That's his pill to swallow, and I'm sure Dean will use it as ammunition. Dean started being way too soft on these guys, something that's already been discussed. Yet some of Dean's most gamebreaking trades (Visnovsky for Stoll/Greene, Johnson for Carter) flew very much in the face of loyalty.

Looking forward to the kid gloves coming off again. Everybody but Doughty and Quick should be analyzed after this season, IMO.

I wouldn't care what those fan's think, Their teams have accomplished nothing of worth. Just like they didn't care what Kings fan's thought or said Five years ago.

 

[Jeff18]

The only thing which pisses me off about the disaster of this season is the firepower its going to give every bitter Sharks/Ducks/Blues/Canucks fan which has waited for this day for literally three years now.

Don't worry man. ****** nonplayoff hockey has happened to all those teams very recently. We also have won more cups than any of those teams in that period.

 

[KingsFan7824]

The only thing which pisses me off about the disaster of this season is the firepower its going to give every bitter Sharks/Ducks/Blues/Canucks fan which has waited for this day for literally three years now.

To say what? Play your two aces.

I'm actually completely fine with missing the playoffs this year and going through a major retool. I'm also okay, at this point, with being sellers at the deadline. If giving away Williams for free, essentially, would allow us to shed the Richards contract, that may be worth it, IMO.

I'm also okay with Kopitar having played himself out of a Toews deal this year. That's his pill to swallow, and I'm sure Dean will use it as ammunition. Dean started being way too soft on these guys, something that's already been discussed. Yet some of Dean's most gamebreaking trades (Visnovsky for Stoll/Greene, Johnson for Carter) flew very much in the face of loyalty.

Looking forward to the kid gloves coming off again. Everybody but Doughty and Quick should be analyzed after this season, IMO.

It will be an interesting summer if the Kings keep falling. I'm guessing it would've been last year had they gone out to the Sharks in 4 or 5 looking the way they did.