Lucic and Kings begin extension talks

[Reclamation Project]

No I agree, but I wouldn't trade Gaborik or even entertain it to be honest. He's a game breaking talent. He was an absolute force in the 2014 playoffs. Players like King have more value to the Kings than in a trade.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I agree with RP.

Gaborik's numbers doesnt even look close to Brown's. People say he loses many battles along the boards but I am kinda okay with that.

He should stay healthy so we can expect that 20+ goals for 4 more years (including this season). He shouldnt be too physical.

Those last 2 years we have to sit out with him.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Gaborik will get twenty goals this year if he plays all 82.

Brown will be lucky to get 20 points. They're not even comparable.

 

[Mike Carr]

we have just over 20m to sign 8 players basing the cap as no change (but it will likely rise slightly)

Kopi 9.75
Looch 5.5
Lewis 1.5
McNabb ?
Forbert minimum
Weal minimum
Enroth minimum
Ehroff minimum

so we could get everybody under the cap if we are letting Enroth and Ehroff walk to be replaced by min salary players (presume Forbort and Weal will be min salaries still or replaced by min salaries)
McNabb is the one I have no idea what to expect him requiring etc ?

it will be tight, but can quite likely be done - the problem comes the next year when we need to re-sign Toffoli and Pearson if the cap does not go up a lot - then we can look at getting rid of contracts - (Greene and Clifford for me if that is enough) - if not then we need to lose somebody

 

[KINGS17]

we have just over 20m to sign 8 players basing the cap as no change (but it will likely rise slightly)

Kopi 9.75
Looch 5.5
Lewis 1.5
McNabb ?
Forbert minimum
Weal minimum
Enroth minimum
Ehroff minimum

so we could get everybody under the cap if we are letting Enroth and Ehroff walk to be replaced by min salary players (presume Forbort and Weal will be min salaries still or replaced by min salaries)
McNabb is the one I have no idea what to expect him requiring etc ?

it will be tight, but can quite likely be done - the problem comes the next year when we need to re-sign Toffoli and Pearson if the cap does not go up a lot - then we can look at getting rid of contracts - (Greene and Clifford for me if that is enough) - if not then we need to lose somebody

Lewis isn't going to settle on $1.5M. He is worth a little more than that to the Kings and to any other team.

 

[ORRMAN]

Bruins fan coming in peace: I am glad to see that LA fans appreciate Looch. He's still my favorite player, and I hope we might be able to sign him as a free agent after this season. When he's playing his game (controlled nasty), he's a beast.

LAKs play the kind of hockey Bruins fans appreciate. Do us a favor and beat the Sharks to help us with the 1st rounder we hold as a result of the Looch trade.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

I'll do my part

 

[Bee Sheriff]

Bruins fan coming in peace: I am glad to see that LA fans appreciate Looch. He's still my favorite player, and I hope we might be able to sign him as a free agent after this season. When he's playing his game (controlled nasty), he's a beast.

LAKs play the kind of hockey Bruins fans appreciate. Do us a favor and beat the Sharks to help us with the 1st rounder we hold as a result of the Looch trade.

Sure but you can't have him back

it's either us or Vancouver

 

[KINGS17]

Bruins fan coming in peace: I am glad to see that LA fans appreciate Looch. He's still my favorite player, and I hope we might be able to sign him as a free agent after this season. When he's playing his game (controlled nasty), he's a beast.

LAKs play the kind of hockey Bruins fans appreciate. Do us a favor and beat the Sharks to help us with the 1st rounder we hold as a result of the Looch trade.

Sutter needs to get him back on Carter's line, because it's obvious that he is never going to be effective playing with Kopitar. With Carter's line the puck gets to the net where Lucic can clean up the garbage. The puck doesn't get to the net with the same frequency on the Kopitar line.

Looking forward the return of Dwight King. He may be the missing piece to solidify the forward lines.

 

[ORRMAN]

Sutter needs to get him back on Carter's line, because it's obvious that he is never going to be effective playing with Kopitar. With Carter's line the puck gets to the net where Lucic can clean up the garbage. The puck doesn't get to the net with the same frequency on the Kopitar line.

Looking forward the return of Dwight King. He may be the missing piece to solidify the forward lines.

Curious to get LAK fans' feedback on his passing and skating, which I have always felt were under-rated. ?

Looch is a unique talent. I think most fan bases misunderstand him: he is a fierce competitor with an angry streak, on the ice, but he is a genuinely great guy off the ice. And his teammates love him. He is greatly missed in Boston. Watch the response he gets when you play Boston in Boston.

By the way we're liking Collin Miller. It's going to take some time, but he's got all the tools.

Boston - LAK Stanley Cup Final? I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[deeshamrock]

we have just over 20m to sign 8 players basing the cap as no change (but it will likely rise slightly)

Kopi 9.75
Looch 5.5
Lewis 1.5
McNabb ?
Forbert minimum
Weal minimum
Enroth minimum
Ehroff minimum

so we could get everybody under the cap if we are letting Enroth and Ehroff walk to be replaced by min salary players (presume Forbort and Weal will be min salaries still or replaced by min salaries)
McNabb is the one I have no idea what to expect him requiring etc ?

it will be tight, but can quite likely be done - the problem comes the next year when we need to re-sign Toffoli and Pearson if the cap does not go up a lot - then we can look at getting rid of contracts - (Greene and Clifford for me if that is enough) - if not then we need to lose somebody

Lucic won't sign for less than what's he making now, one of the reasons he was traded was because the Bruins couldn't afford the 8 yr/7 per that he seeks, and was adamant on term. If they intend to keep him, it will cost them

Lewis won't sign for 1.5, nor should he, he's worth more to that and is well respected thru out the NHL. McNabb is someone I think they want on the team and will try to sign him. I don't know if they ink both McN and McB. But they still have to upgrade. Quick is the reason they win far too many games, he saves their bacon.

And they have to get a backup goalie signed. Enroth might get an offer from another team, some of which will overpay and the Kings might not be able to offer him more than what he's making now if that given their constraints.

Also, next summer there are a slew of contracts going into their last year 2016/17 5 forwards, including Pearson and Toffoli and only 3 d are inked through.

DL is looking ahead to that as well and what he can afford to do that is best for the team. not an easy job. Tough decisions for him and defense tends to be his first priority so that's the area he'll be concentrating on, aside from Kopi and what he feels is required going forward.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

I'll do my part

 

[mrkolice]

lucic must be fit to play in the 1st line with kopitar and gaborik. that was the intended position when he came. so far this trio didn't show much, with last two games being a more relevant example than the first three, that 0-3 start.

so far: 1. he's not fast enough, 2. sometimes his brain's not working. improve that, become a solid cornerstone for the 1st line, and i'll buy a shirt with his number.

 

[KINGS17]

lucic must be fit to play in the 1st line with kopitar and gaborik. that was the intended position when he came. so far this trio didn't show much, with last two games being a more relevant example than the first three, that 0-3 start.

so far: 1. he's not fast enough, 2. sometimes his brain's not working. improve that, become a solid cornerstone for the 1st line, and i'll buy a shirt with his number.

Why? It's pretty obvious that Kopitar and Lucic's styles don't mesh. Lucic has been plenty fast enough. He goes to the net every shift. Lucic skates hard and with purpose. Recall his recent empty net goal against Pittsburgh? With Kopitar's line the puck just doesn't get there often enough for him to be effective.

Kopitar likes to play the game along the boards, and Lucic is in front of the net. Maybe when King gets back he can join Kopitar. King likes to play along the boards too.

 

[Ron*]

Curious to get LAK fans' feedback on his passing and skating, which I have always felt were under-rated. ?

Looch is a unique talent. I think most fan bases misunderstand him: he is a fierce competitor with an angry streak, on the ice, but he is a genuinely great guy off the ice. And his teammates love him. He is greatly missed in Boston. Watch the response he gets when you play Boston in Boston.

By the way we're liking Collin Miller. It's going to take some time, but he's got all the tools.

Boston - LAK Stanley Cup Final? I wouldn't be surprised.

His passing to the slot and to point-blank range from the corners and while he is skating in on the wing is incredible. He's gotten a number of assists this way and if the Kings didn't fumble-**** the rest of the passes he would have a lot more assists. His chemistry with Toffoli seems particularly effective.

I agree his skating is underrated as well. Most of the time he doesn't appear he has the leg speed to get to the puck and this can be frustrating but when he wants to turn on the after-burners I think he surprises fan and foe alike. I've seen on at least three occasions where he out-skated opponents from the neutral zone to the offensive zone to retrieve a puck or a pass and you can clearly see the opponent's surprise that they got beat.

 

[mrkolice]

Why? It's pretty obvious that Kopitar and Lucic's styles don't mesh. Lucic has been plenty fast enough. He goes to the net every shift. With Kopitar's line the puck just doesn't get there often enough for him to be effective.

Kopitar likes to play the game along the boards, and Lucic is in front of the net. Maybe when King gets back he can join Kopitar. King likes to play along the boards too.

kopitar and gaborik can play any game, boards, netfront, you name it. lucic did not show that width yet, not with kings. the question here is how narrow player he is longterm. i believe he can learn a lot of new tricks, but if we exclude him from the 1st line - is he worth the money?

from what i saw: this trio can make a lot of very damaging forecheck without the puck, maybe even the best ever lak trio in this department, but once they get the possession they are lost. and maybe it's just a simple click that's missing, and with marian not in his best form, well, that's what we get.

i hope looch will play with kopi and gabby, they need time, but it's on milan to prove that he belongs in the 1st line.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Curious to get LAK fans' feedback on his passing and skating, which I have always felt were under-rated. ?

Looch is a unique talent. I think most fan bases misunderstand him: he is a fierce competitor with an angry streak, on the ice, but he is a genuinely great guy off the ice. And his teammates love him. He is greatly missed in Boston. Watch the response he gets when you play Boston in Boston.

By the way we're liking Collin Miller. It's going to take some time, but he's got all the tools.

Boston - LAK Stanley Cup Final? I wouldn't be surprised.

My only complaint with Lucic would be that he's been terrible at getting the puck out of the d-zone. Skating it out, or passing it out, it seems like 85% of the time, it's just awful. Maybe that's a transition in systems, maybe he had the same issue in Boston, I don't know.

Other than that though, he's Milan Lucic.

 

[ORRMAN]

My only complaint with Lucic would be that he's been terrible at getting the puck out of the d-zone. Skating it out, or passing it out, it seems like 85% of the time, it's just awful. Maybe that's a transition in systems, maybe he had the same issue in Boston, I don't know.

Other than that though, he's Milan Lucic.

That was not a particular problem for Looch in Boston, but he wasn't usually the winger who skated the puck out. He played with Krecji who was often the guy lugging the puck.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I don't think it's a stylistic mismatch, there's just zero chemistry with Looch with Kopitar and Gaborik.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

That was not a particular problem for Looch in Boston, but he wasn't usually the winger who skated the puck out. He played with Krecji who was often the guy lugging the puck.

It's not him skating the puck out--he just frequently turns it over in our own zone, once a game or so. It's not a big deal but it's noticeable.

Re his passing and skating I agree, totally underrated. His speed is like Bowser from Mario Kart, haha, takes him a minute to get up but he's a juggernaut when moving, and his vision is actually really good, he's just not often the guy who has to distribute

 

[ORRMAN]

It's not him skating the puck out--he just frequently turns it over in our own zone, once a game or so. It's not a big deal but it's noticeable.

Re his passing and skating I agree, totally underrated. His speed is like Bowser from Mario Kart, haha, takes him a minute to get up but he's a juggernaut when moving, and his vision is actually really good, he's just not often the guy who has to distribute

Good to confirm that we weren't nuts in Boston (i.e., saying that Looch was a better skater and passer than he was given credit for being). He is a player that is generally hated by his opponents. That just means he's playing the right way.

 

[Reclamation Project]

I'd rather be a winner and be hated, than be a loser and be loved.

 

[kingsfan28]

I'd rather be a winner and be hated, than be a loser and be loved.

There are so many of these type of players. The Rangers are full of them.

 

[Choralone]

Well, I'd rather be a winner and be loved, than a loser and be hated. Best of both worlds.

 

[scryan]