GDT: Offseason game thread

[Butch 19]

8 games too many, he wasn't exactly his old self in the playoffs either. But you can't stop the tide with that defense in front of you.

This is true. (or maybe he was his old self by giving up a few borderline goals).

He got outplayed by his understudy up north. That is embarrassing.

DS needs to limit Quick to 60 starts. He is getting severely overworked. Who really cares (other than me that is!) where they finish at the end of the season?

Obviously home ice is meaningless when you get worked.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Assuming we need a new voice in the room and Sutter does not resign, is Stevens really the best option? He may be a wonderful coach, but how big of a change in voice will that be?

I think Sutter is wonderful and has found the formula for increasing a team's chance of winning the cup, but I think the players have checked out and need someone new to kick them in the butt. Other than our clear weakness on defense, the team was not hungry in the playoffs. The fact that Doughty had to say "well, I am not saying they were hungrier or more motivated than us..." says it all.

Unfortunately, knowing Sutter, he will go on to win another cup if he gets hired by another team. I think Sutter would actually turn the Flames into a Stanley Cup team with the talent they have.

I'm not saying he is, but I think it's pretty commonly accepted that they've been grooming him as a leadership succession plan. He's one of the (if not THE) highest-paid assistants in the league and I believe DL intends to retain him but how long do you think he wants to continue being an assistant, especially with current coaching vacancies around the league?

 

[Butch 19]

Hammond is an idiot. "Just make better roster decisions"? Yeah, its that easy. Because Top 4 defenders are available willy nilly and teams are dying to take our cap dumps.

Hammond's V-8 moment.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

I'm not saying he is, but I think it's pretty commonly accepted that they've been grooming him as a leadership succession plan. He's one of the (if not THE) highest-paid assistants in the league and I believe DL intends to retain him but how long do you think he wants to continue being an assistant, especially with current coaching vacancies around the league?

And if the Kings continue to not win, the incentive to leave will be greater. Of course if they continue to not win then the chances of them changing coaches is more likely.

 

[KingsFan7824]

So we have a coach who doesn't know if he wants to come back and a GM who might be losing it?

Has anything gone right for the Kings since they won the Cup on Friday the 13th?

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Has anything gone right for the Kings since they won the Cup on Friday the 13th?

Matt Greene on IR for an entire season was significant

 

[TheBannermen]

Hey, I appreciate the fact that Dean cares so much that he's staring dementia right in the face.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Josh Cooper's timeline caught some more of the early substantive stuff:

"Dean said he could 'see it' before the playoffs"

"There's a lot of work to be done here."

"We're not going backwards, but in order to re-create it we need to create a new foundation"

This should be the most encouraging to everyone though:

 

[Trolfoli]

could be the opposite too. Sutter wanted to rebuild and trade Iggy in Calgary but ownership said no, so they fired him and brought in Feaster...One year late they signed off on the rebuild.

Maybe Sutter wants a retooling year or two and DL still wants to push to win now.

Sutter's older now and will think about retiring at some point. His focus will be different. Really there's no reason for him to stick around for 2 years as the team tries to rebuild, then retire.

 

[AlphaBravo]

I'm not saying he is, but I think it's pretty commonly accepted that they've been grooming him as a leadership succession plan. He's one of the (if not THE) highest-paid assistants in the league and I believe DL intends to retain him but how long do you think he wants to continue being an assistant, especially with current coaching vacancies around the league?

That is all true. I also wouldn't blame Stevens for leaving because usually when a coach is changed, his entire staff is replaced as well.

Also, I would be curious to know what new ideas Stevens would have if he became head coach. Since Sutter is the head coach, Stevens probably can't implement most of his own ideas. Curious to know what that might be.

 

[theMajor]

Hey, I appreciate the fact that Dean cares so much that he's staring dementia right in the face.

stress wrecks people. cant imagine how stressed he is right now or how stressed he's been the last few months

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

And I hate to say it but I somewhat agree with the mayor here in that the "TIME is right"



Contract is up, he's considering moving on, org wants to make changes...why drag it out for another year if not everyone is on the same page, and the roster now has two years of underperforming flaws nonwithstanding? And I say that as a guy who LOVES Sutter and would love him back.

 

[AlphaBravo]

Josh Cooper's timeline caught some more of the early substantive stuff:

"Dean said he could 'see it' before the playoffs"

"There's a lot of work to be done here."

"We're not going backwards, but in order to re-create it we need to create a new foundation"

This should be the most encouraging to everyone though:

Looks like Josh caught the more important quotes from DL. I am glad he sees this. The worst thing next year would be to try to patch the team with a bunch of over the hill veterans to be "competitive" again. DL needs to do what Boston is doing now, even if it means missing the playoffs next year.

 

[Trolfoli]

What I take from this is Lombardi was trying to hold onto what was left of his creation. Spent the last few days/weeks at the Reign games convincing himself that they have enough talent coming that the Kings just need to wait a couple of years for the cap to go up and the next batch of young players to break out.

Sutter leaving, could signal the end of what Lombardi created. He may look to make more substantial moves now instead of just trying to patch what was left.


Can you really just "patch" the team by adding a top 4 D, 3C, and the latest bombshell, a new head coach?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

What I take from this is Lombardi was trying to hold onto what was left of his creation. Spent the last few days/weeks at the Reign games convincing himself that they have enough talent coming that the Kings just need to wait a couple of years for the cap to go up and the next batch of young players to break out.

Sutter leaving, could signal the end of what Lombardi created. He may look to make more substantial moves now instead of just trying to patch what was left.


Can you really just "patch" the team by adding a top 4 D, 3C, and the latest bombshell, a new head coach?

depends on if you think those are the biggest flaws w/the team. I personally believe so.

If we went into the playoffs with:

Lucic-Kopitar-Versteeg
Pearson-Carter-Toffoli
King-(Bonino/Bozak/Nielson/Fehr)-Gaborik
Lewis-Vinny-Brown
Nolan, Andreoff

Doughty-Muzzin
(Myers/Shattenkirk/Petry)-McNabb
Martinez-Schenn/Greene
Schenn/Greene, Gravel

I'd think we would have been an absolute favorite. NO guarantees we'd win, especially considering how our top players got outplayed, but that depth is significantly better and would have allowed us to overcome a one-goal deficit at least once more imo.

In other words, yes, they're big, clear issues, but solve them and the rest of our roster looks pretty golden, even at this point. Yes, the best days are likely behind us, but people would still fear the Kings.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

depends on if you think those are the biggest flaws w/the team. I personally believe so.

If we went into the playoffs with:

Lucic-Kopitar-Versteeg
Pearson-Carter-Toffoli
King-Bonino-Gaborik
Lewis-Vinny-Brown
Nolan, Andreoff

Doughty-Muzzin
Myers-McNabb
Martinez-Schenn/Greene
Schenn/Greene, Gravel

I'd think we would have been an absolute favorite. NO guarantees we'd win, especially considering how our top players got outplayed, but that depth is significantly better and would have allowed us to overcome a one-goal deficit at least once more imo.

In other words, yes, they're big, clear issues, but solve them and the rest of our roster looks pretty golden, even at this point. Yes, the best days are likely behind us, but people would still fear the Kings.

Where did all those guys come from and how'd they fit them cap wise? Even the exact same roster they had but add in Byfuglien and a healthy Martinez and they're huge favorites.

 

[Martyros]

So we have a coach who doesn't know if he wants to come back and a GM who might be losing it?

All we need is an owner that doesn't know whether to hold onto the team or not.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Where did all those guys come from and how'd they fit them cap wise? Even the exact same roster they had but add in Byfuglien and a healthy Martinez and they're huge favorites.

It's just a hypothetical based on the 'what if you patch the 3c and 4d' idea. I'm sure it's not cap-compliant, just suggesting the roster isn't completely wrecked.

Like I said elsewhere too, for all we know, Dowd comes in and blows the doors off next year, Cernak becomes a great 2nd pairing option early, our 2016 pick is an immediate 4C, Amadio is rookie of the year, etc...it's obviously better to plan as if that's NOT going to happen, but there are surprises every year.

 

[Omni Owl]

And I hate to say it but I somewhat agree with the mayor here in that the "TIME is right"



Contract is up, he's considering moving on, org wants to make changes...why drag it out for another year if not everyone is on the same page, and the roster now has two years of underperforming flaws nonwithstanding? And I say that as a guy who LOVES Sutter and would love him back.

Agree, I think its time for Sutter to move on. I'm not sure about Stevens though, wasn't he underwhelming in Philly? Maybe dee can chime in and refresh our memories...

 

[BigBrown]

I also think it's important not to overreact. Gonna have to be real careful not to end up being the next Vancouver Canucks. They got rid of their highly regarded coach and never got close to being good again. Be careful what you wish for. Sutter might have flaws but he's one of the best coaches the Kings have ever had.

 

[TheBannermen]

Just read the word for word conference call on LA Kings Insider.

I know I made jokes about Dean being crazy and dementia and all that... but I get where he's coming from. He's talking about complacency. A lack of fire from the Kings at every organizational level. I get that, because success makes you think you can finally breath. Truth is, in sports especially, success is a fleeting. It's no different for fans, to bring it back to something we can all relate to. Personally, the last two seasons haven't bothered me as much as the Kings' failure bothered me before 2012. That's just the nature of it. If we're taking Deans word for it, he's trying to find that hunger again from top to bottom. Maybe he is crazy. Or maybe the Mad Scientist is back?

 

[Omni Owl]

I also think it's important not to overreact. Gonna have to be real careful not to end up being the next Vancouver Canucks. They got rid of their highly regarded coach and never got close to being good again. Be careful what you wish for. Sutter might have flaws but he's one of the best coaches the Kings have ever had.

Who has gone on to coach and fail with the Rangers. Vancouver has the most incompetent GM in the league, I doubt DL would sink that far.

 

[tsanuri]

And I hate to say it but I somewhat agree with the mayor here in that the "TIME is right"



Contract is up, he's considering moving on, org wants to make changes...why drag it out for another year if not everyone is on the same page, and the roster now has two years of underperforming flaws nonwithstanding? And I say that as a guy who LOVES Sutter and would love him back.

Problem is I don't see us doing anything short of promoting from within if he leaves. And is Stevens the best guy for the job? He's the highest paid assistant in the league, I believe. When they gave him the raise and changed him to associate head coach.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

My interpretation of what Dean is saying that the team needs to make some adjustments, whether it be with coaching, playing style, scouting, etc. there is some systematic change that needs to take place and the team has to adapt to the pace of today's game.

I also find that the team has lost it's identity over the past few years since winning the Cup in 2014. There has been a lot of changes that have taken place, some players have improved since then, others have regressed. There is a general lack of depth throughout the lineup at just about every position and there is also a lack of creativity, a lack of puck distribution, a lack of ability in getting pucks onto the net, and even defensively they were lacking in structure and bodying out opponents from prime scoring areas.

I don't know what needs to change to correct those issues, and that's what Dean Lombardi is paid to figure out.

 

[BigBrown]

Who has gone on to coach and fail with the Rangers. Vancouver has the most incompetent GM in the league, I doubt DL would sink that far.

I wouldn't say a stanley cup finals, a conference finals and a first round exit is necessarily a failure. Only one team can win it all every year.