GDT: Offseason game thread

[KingsFan7824]

And now they're going to have to give up great pieces (Pearson +) to acquire a replacement. Not to mention like you said losing the first and prospect for what they thought was a replacement in Sekera.

Which is why I'm finding myself in the "let's just hold up and take a second here" camp. There's no reason to trade Pearson, or even Pearson+, for a defenseman that probably isn't even available anyway.

There's no more oh they were tired from all the Cup runs, or this or that legal issue. It's not the same team. They're not going to get some great defenseman for Pearson(+), so why do that? Whatever magic the Kings had from 2012-2014 seems to be gone.

It's not rebuilding, it's not retooling, but resetting. They're not trading Kopitar, Doughty, or Quick, so no rebuilding. They've won 1 playoff game in 2 years, so what would they retool? I think you take a step back, say we've done a lot to try to stay on top, we took a chance, and it didn't work, at all. No more trading picks. No more trading young players or prospects.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

Which is why I'm finding myself in the "let's just hold up and take a second here" camp. There's no reason to trade Pearson, or even Pearson+, for a defenseman that probably isn't even available anyway.

There's no more oh they were tired from all the Cup runs, or this or that legal issue. It's not the same team. They're not going to get some great defenseman for Pearson(+), so why do that? Whatever magic the Kings had from 2012-2014 seems to be gone.

It's not rebuilding, it's not retooling, but resetting. They're not trading Kopitar, Doughty, or Quick, so no rebuilding. They've won 1 playoff game in 2 years, so what would they retool? I think you take a step back, say we've done a lot to try to stay on top, we took a chance, and it didn't work, at all. No more trading picks. No more trading young players or prospects.

The problem with that though is that you're wasting years of the keys guy's primes. How much longer will Carter and Quick continue to be championship caliber players? They're already past 30. Kopitar is rapidly approaching that with a lot of miles on his body already.

The Kings still aren't good in 2019, maybe Doughty starts looking around the league as a UFA.

 

[HookKing]

Lucic will be gone, the UFA market is bare which means he won't be able to pass up the ensuing cash and prizes.

I think Vinny might want to go another year and if so, DL should work it out with him for a trade to a contender while getting something back.

Don't sign Lucic, Lewis, Versteeg or Schenn if Greene is expected back/can still play next year.

Shed as many of the following as possible (based on return):

Scuderi
McNabb
King
Brown
Shore
Clifford
Andreoff
Nolan

Force DS (if he want to stay) to play the younger guys coming up or in (via trades).

Consider even trading Carter and/or Gaborik if the return is high enough.

Inner core: Doughty, Kopitar, Quick.
Outer core: Carter, Toffoli, Muzzin, Gaborik, Martinez, Pearson.

The team is in a tough spot, expectations should be low for a while.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

To land a 2D and perhaps lose Martinez a year later is nothing worth worrying about. AMart is probably overrated by kings' fans -- career bottom sixer/ marginal 2nd pairing guy.

I haven't seen anyone suggest Martinez is anything but a good 2nd pairing d-man, which he is by any indication, and a good value, one with cup experience and can play any role.

If anything, he's underrated all-around. Losing him wouldn't be the end of the world, particularly if we pick up a better d-man in the process, but as of now, he's our 3rd best d-man by a landslide and his importance can't be overstated. The hockey world just saw that even if you didn't feel that way.

 

[Kingsfan1]

Hey guys, I advise you all to watch the Penguins and see how they have brought in a number of call ups who have had a big impact on their success.

This is what the Kings should look at doing.

This has always been Sutters problem. Gravel for one should have been in over Mcnabba and Mcbain. He is going to be the shutdown dman we need.

 

[Johnny Utah]

You don't trade Carter and Gaborik is far from the core and he was awful most of the year and the playoffs.

I would keep Andreoff, he has more goals than Clifford, Nolan and Shore combined and can play all 3 forward spots.

I think a 4th line of Andreoff-Dowd-Nolan would be good.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

You don't trade Carter and Gaborik is far from the core and he was awful most of the year and the playoffs.

I would keep Andreoff, he has more goals than Clifford, Nolan and Shore combined and can play all 3 forward spots.

I think a 4th line of Andreoff-Dowd-Nolan would be good.

That would be a great 4th line. Problem is the third line. Shore isn't going to be able to handle that. Shore should be the 14th forward on the team.

 

[KingsFan7824]

The problem with that though is that you're wasting years of the keys guy's primes. How much longer will Carter and Quick continue to be championship caliber players? They're already past 30. Kopitar is rapidly approaching that with a lot of miles on his body already.

The Kings still aren't good in 2019, maybe Doughty starts looking around the league as a UFA.

Yeah, but they wasted the last 2 seasons already. If there was an obvious road to look down and say, the Kings can get the Cup back if they go that way, I'd agree. I'm just not seeing it. They're not getting rid of Brown without paying for it somehow. There's no get out of jail free card there. Not too many teams are going to line up to trade a quality top 4 defenseman, no matter what the Kings would/could realistically offer.

There's not an easy answer any which way. The golden age may have come and gone. It's most likely not going to be that good again, regardless of who is on the team, who the coach is, or who the GM is. If Doughty were to leave in 2019, then it gets the rebuilding process under way a little quicker.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Williams was a key ingredient on that top line with Kopitar and Gaborik. You have to find another greasy winger to fight in the corners for pucks. Gaborik especially needs someone like that to be effective.

We'll see what happens at the draft. All the maybe deals from the deadline get reevaluated around then. I have no doubt Dean was kicking the tires on a lot of potential trades leading up to the deadline.

There are so many directions he can take to retool. We'll see what he does.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

Yeah, but they wasted the last 2 seasons already. If there was an obvious road to look down and say, the Kings can get the Cup back if they go that way, I'd agree. I'm just not seeing it. They're not getting rid of Brown without paying for it somehow. There's no get out of jail free card there. Not too many teams are going to line up to trade a quality top 4 defenseman, no matter what the Kings would/could realistically offer.

There's not an easy answer any which way. The golden age may have come and gone. It's most likely not going to be that good again, regardless of who is on the team, who the coach is, or who the GM is. If Doughty were to leave in 2019, then it gets the rebuilding process under way a little quicker.

Completely agree. I'm just saying that I'd rather go for it another year or two instead of being a fringe playoff team for 2 years hoping they get better in a few years.

 

[kingsholygrail]

This has always been Sutters problem. Gravel for one should have been in over Mcnabba and Mcbain. He is going to be the shutdown dman we need.

Both Gravel and Forbort just aren't good enougn to crack the roster yet even over McBain and McNabb. We already know it's false that Sutter won't play young people. Young people were key parts of two Stanley Cup runs and he didn't have issues playing them.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Both Gravel and Forbort just aren't good enougn to crack the roster yet even over McBain and McNabb. We already know it's false that Sutter won't play young people. Young people were key parts of two Stanley Cup runs and he didn't have issues playing them.

was that jpeg necessary?

i'm just bugging you

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Both Gravel and Forbort just aren't good enougn to crack the roster yet even over McBain and McNabb. We already know it's false that Sutter won't play young people. Young people were key parts of two Stanley Cup runs and he didn't have issues playing them.

I was going to say 'but defense is different' but then Voynov

 

[mighty Stanley Duck]

So after last season with the rumors that the Kings players were fed up with Sutter, do you guys think a change is needed at the helm rater than bowing up this team???? One of my biggest gripes is Sutter overuse of DD and i think he wore out this season especially the playoffs.....

Sutter is one of the better coaches today, dumping him would be mega stupid.
lack of young good prospects is the biggest problem of this team.
overuse of one particular player is what you get when you have two 1st line D players and 4 scrubs.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Sutter is one of the better coaches today, dumping him would be mega stupid.
lack of young good prospects is the biggest problem of this team.

Sometimes a coach's message goes stale. Doesn't mean he's not great, just maybe no longer a fit.

I don't think that's the case here, just musing. I mean, the Ducks had the holy grail in Mike Babcock, yet here we are, right?

 

[kingsholygrail]

was that jpeg necessary?

i'm just bugging you

It is when the "Sutter hates young players" meme gets tossed around still.

I was going to say 'but defense is different' but then Voynov

The Kings are gonna pay for Voynov being an ******* for years to come. I hate it.

Sometimes a coach's message goes stale. Doesn't mean he's not great, just maybe no longer a fit.

I don't think that's the case here, just musing. I mean, the Ducks had the holy grail in Mike Babcock, yet here we are, right?

It could be Sutter being unable to get through to the guys anymore, but that sounds like a bigger issue. I don't know who the Kings would replace him with. Just John Stevens? I don't know if that guy will ever be true head coach material and he might be stale by association to Sutter at this point.

 

[ZJames]

It is when the "Sutter hates young players" meme gets tossed around still.



The Kings are gonna pay for Voynov being an ******* for years to come. I hate it.



It could be Sutter being unable to get through to the guys anymore, but that sounds like a bigger issue. I don't know who the Kings would replace him with. Just John Stevens? I don't know if that guy will ever be true head coach material and he might be stale by association to Sutter at this point.

Promote Stothers? Who knows.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Promote Stothers? Who knows.

Stothers could be interesting. It's the more interesting interesting of what's available out there.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'm almost certain it will either be Sutter or Stevens. Unless these guys have a crazy epiphany and decide to go away from the current system which is implemented throughout the organization.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I'm almost certain it will either be Sutter or Stevens. Unless these guys have a crazy epiphany and decide to go away from the current system which is implemented throughout the organization.

Yeah Sutter will likely leave on his own terms.

 

[ZJames]

It is when the "Sutter hates young players" meme gets tossed around still.



The Kings are gonna pay for Voynov being an ******* for years to come. I hate it.



It could be Sutter being unable to get through to the guys anymore, but that sounds like a bigger issue. I don't know who the Kings would replace him with. Just John Stevens? I don't know if that guy will ever be true head coach material and he might be stale by association to Sutter at this point.

Promote Stothers? Who knows.

 

[HookKing]

I haven't seen anyone suggest Martinez is anything but a good 2nd pairing d-man, which he is by any indication, and a good value, one with cup experience and can play any role.

If anything, he's underrated all-around. Losing him wouldn't be the end of the world, particularly if we pick up a better d-man in the process, but as of now, he's our 3rd best d-man by a landslide and his importance can't be overstated. The hockey world just saw that even if you didn't feel that way.

Have to disagree completely here. This is the first year Martinez has been anything but bottom pairing. He was adequate at the beginning of the season this year on second pair but degraded in the second half. I agree he is important to the Kings but that's more nostalgia and a puck mover shortage than impartial assessment. The fact he is our 3rd best D man is more about the poverty throughout the overall D corps than his league-wide value.

 

[Bandit]

Sometimes a coach's message goes stale. Doesn't mean he's not great, just maybe no longer a fit.

I don't think that's the case here, just musing. I mean, the Ducks had the holy grail in Mike Babcock, yet here we are, right?

Mike "One championship a decade ago" Babcock. Not saying he's a bad coach, but overrated. Sutter did more here in 2.5 seasons than Babcock did in 10 years in Detroit. People (not you) should keep that **** in mind when they're wishing to be "like Detroit".

 

[Keith Sweaty]

This has always been Sutters problem. Gravel for one should have been in over Mcnabba and Mcbain. He is going to be the shutdown dman we need.

Kinda like when he played King/Nolan/Voynov in the cup run of '12 and Pearson/Tofolli in '14?

Yeah, you're definitely right...

 

[tsanuri]

I'm thinking we have a few reactionary posts here but then I go to the trade board and see a value of henrik lundqvist.