TSN: Pearson traded to Pittsburgh

[BigBrown]

It´s an appropriate return for how Pearson is currently playing but it´s only a good trade if you think he won´t bounce back. That´s a legit concern so I understand the willingness to let him go. Personally I´d try sending a message by having him sit out some games and hope he eventually figures it out, rather than move an asset at its lowest value for essentially nothing but future cap room.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

This trade is like last night's game. You know the Kings are going to get their ass kicked but it is on the schedule so it has to happen.

Pearson's value has never been lower so, yes, the return is going to be bad. It's just another flaming bag of **** on a flaming bag of **** of a season.

I don't like the return but I don't like it in the sense that this all could have been avoided. It's another result of decisions made prior to the season starting.

How could it have been avoided? You think there was that big of a market out there for Pearson?

Take this roster,

Iafallo - Kopitar - Brown
Kovalchuk - Carter - Kempe
Pearson - Amadio - Toffoli
Clifford - Thompson - Lewis

Doughty - Forbort
Muzzin - Martinez
Phaneuf -Fantenberg

Quick and Campbell

On paper....just on paper....they are better than SJ, ANA, LV, DAL, VAN, CGY, etc again, on paper, so you think based on what, that they scored zero goals against Vegas (not a good thing to tout while trying to trade an offensive player) that Pearson could have fetched what exactly?

Or do you think Blake saw that roster, compared it to the rest of the league and went....yea, we are gonna go 1-14 and shit the bed to start the season, but Im not gonna make a move??

Holy hell only in this place his hindsight worth f***ing gold....

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

The one thing Blake seems to do well is sign the college/undrafted free agents. Iafallo is a really solid player. Probably a 3rd liner but still a solid, young, cheap player he got for free. Brickley and Peterson were heavily sought after as well. We'll see when they get their chance in the NHL.

 

[DoktorJeep]

I think folks taking issue with the trade comes down to what it is, a salary dump, versus what management is saying. This is a joke of a statement by that slack jawed yokel Rob Blake about improving the team with the acquired player. Everyone is lining up to blame the loss of defensive identity on the woes of the team.

It stinks from top down.

Our team is obviously not in a position that we are comfortable with in terms of how we are playing,” General Manager Rob Blake said in a statement. “This is a change to our line-up that gives us an additional amount of speed. With Carl Hagelin his number one asset is speed and getting to holes, and we think he will play a big role on the penalty kill for us going forward.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Blake has to do something! What about asset management! People have to pick one or the other. Can't rip him no matter what he does. Rip if he makes a move. Rip him if he doesn't make a move. Rip him if he makes the move he can make. Rip him if he doesn't make the move people think he should make.

I would have preferred to just keep Pearson and hope his play rebounds eventually.

Maybe if Hagelin starts producing he'll be worth something at the deadline, but considering he'll be playing for LA I doubt that happens.

A few years ago Pearson was a young 20 goal scorer with upside, now he's worthless. It's just incredibly frustrating. It will be even more frustrating when he inevitably starts producing in Pittsburgh.

Can't have both. Keep Pearson and hope he improves while playing for LA where nobody is producing. Don't trade for Hagelin because he'll be trying to improve while playing for LA where nobody is producing. Blake has to wake these guys up. No, not that way!

Blake has to asses the roster better. Get rid of guys before they lose (even more) value. But lets keep Pearson while he's playing like he doesn't belong in the NHL instead of just ripping the damn band aid off?

Good asset management is trading Quick in June 2012, not signing him to a 10 year deal. Good asset management is keeping Schenn and Simmonds, not trading them both for Richards before the team ever got out of the 1st round. It's trading Brown in June 2012, because he hasn't gotten better than he was in those playoffs. Why is Lombardi trading a 1st for Penner? Good asset management does not involve struggling to the 8th seed, and lucking out that Carter happened to be available. It's not plucking your friend off the farm in a last ditch effort to save your own ass. That 2nd Cup was a miracle. Teams don't do what the Kings did.

Lombardi happened to win though, almost despite himself. Basically everything after the O'Sullivan trade was a mess. The pick ended up Lewis instead of Giroux. Right off the bat things got dumb.

Most GM's are out there winging it. They do A, B, or C, and hope for the best. You're counting on like 25-30 other people to succeed, and they may or may not feel like doing it.

 

[SFKingshomer]

I don't think many teams would have put in a claim for Pearson if he were on waivers.

 

[crassbonanza]

Blake was a better GM than Lombardi after only three months last season.

My biggest complaint with Blake is that he has still tried to ram this flawed team down our throats as a contender and has damaged the team's long term outlook by doing so.

I'm not saying he should be fired. I'm not calling for it; however, this is completely his mess at this point. He got his year to assess what he had, said "I like this and want to add a $6MM 35 year old UFA" and is now residing over the team's worst start in 30 years.

I'm on the record giving him a ton of leeway last season and wasn't judging him as he needed time to figure out what he had, even though he's been around these players for years already. Well, his first totally-his-franchise off-season resulted in where we are today: watching the most lifeless Kings squad I've ever seen.

He deserves criticism. The players deserve it as well but, **** man, these guys already fooled Lombardi in the past and Blake fell for it too when everyone should have known better.

The problem is I think that he, along with many others, assumed that the issue with the team was Sutter. They all responded to Stevens and were able to put together a very respectable season that included a Jennings and a healthy goal differential, as well as coming in 2nd in the division with regards to ROW. I agree that it is a player issue, but I don't really fault him for buying the core an offensive player at the cost of a few years of cap space. The way I saw it before this year, was that over the next 3 seasons the team would either be a middle of the pack playoff team or would be out of the playoffs and rebuilding. In which case, locking up that cap space for 3 years is not a big problem. Also, Kovalchuk has looked really good, so I wouldn't discount him waiving his NTC and us getting some good value back in a trade.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I think folks taking issue with the trade comes down to what it is, a salary dump, versus what management is saying. This is a joke of a statement by that slack jawed yokel Rob Blake about improving the team with the acquired player. Everyone is lining up to blame the loss of defensive identity on the woes of the team.

It stinks from top down.

Show me a GM who has EVER said in public, that he acquired a player as a cap dump, or just to flip him later....hell use any sport.

 

[Kingsfan1]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Pearson puts up 50+ points next season in Pittsburgh if not this year. Hagelin is a 4th liner who can play pk and is quite good at it . This trade is about freeing cap space but damn I thought Pearson would have more value . Not sure Blake knows what he is doing but I guess we’ll see with his next few moves. Kopitar sucking is a big part of why we are in this mess as well. No leaders on the team. Just a bunch of spoiled millionaires living the lifestyle who are old kids . I at least thought they would hate losing and show more compete .

 

[BigKing]

How could it have been avoided? You think there was that big of a market out there for Pearson?

Take this roster,

Iafallo - Kopitar - Brown
Kovalchuk - Carter - Kempe
Pearson - Amadio - Toffoli
Clifford - Thompson - Lewis

Doughty - Forbort
Muzzin - Martinez
Phaneuf -Fantenberg

Quick and Campbell

On paper....just on paper....they are better than SJ, ANA, LV, DAL, VAN, CGY, etc again, on paper, so you think based on what, that they scored zero goals against Vegas (not a good thing to tout while trying to trade an offensive player) that Pearson could have fetched what exactly?

Or do you think Blake saw that roster, compared it to the rest of the league and went....yea, we are gonna go 1-14 and **** the bed to start the season, but Im not gonna make a move??

Holy hell only in this place his hindsight worth ****ing gold....

He could have accurately assessed the direction of the franchise and made moves accordingly. Instead, he grossly miscalculated and here we are.

Hindsight? GM's need to have foresight. DL lost his and it cost him his job.

Blake never appears to have had it. Hopefully he can fix that.

As for what is "f***ing gold" around here, that would be holding nobody accountable for anything. The Kings take a steaming shit on the ice and you'll be on here with "but you have to admit that it was a pretty nice shade of brown with some nice underlying tones to the smell that you guys just don't seem to appreciate."

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

The problem is I think that he, along with many others, assumed that the issue with the team was Sutter. They all responded to Stevens and were able to put together a very respectable season that included a Jennings and a healthy goal differential, as well as coming in 2nd in the division with regards to ROW. I agree that it is a player issue, but I don't really fault him for buying the core an offensive player at the cost of a few years of cap space. The way I saw it before this year, was that over the next 3 seasons the team would either be a middle of the pack playoff team or would be out of the playoffs and rebuilding. In which case, locking up that cap space for 3 years is not a big problem. Also, Kovalchuk has looked really good, so I wouldn't discount him waiving his NTC and us getting some good value back in a trade.

Absolutely, but again, we are discussing in terms of hindsight, coming off that Vegas series, he thinks, ok, still have a solid solid defense, I need to add scoring, he adds Kovalchuk, he looks around the league and goes...ok...we should be fine, we should contend, we loosened up the reigns a bit, brought in a real shooter, and bam, absolute disaster hit, and people are saying Blake should have known?? Thats horseshit....

I could care less about Blake, I don't know if he's good for the job or not, but man, perspective matters people....and now, he makes a move to give himself flexibility and people still jump over it? That's insane...

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

He could have accurately assessed the direction of the franchise and made moves accordingly. Instead, he grossly miscalculated and here we are.

Hindsight? GM's need to have foresight. DL lost his and it cost him his job.

Blake never appears to have had it. Hopefully he can fix that.

As for what is "****ing gold" around here, that would be holding nobody accountable for anything. The Kings take a steaming **** on the ice and you'll be on here with "but you have to admit that it was a pretty nice shade of brown with some nice underlying tones to the smell that you guys just don't seem to appreciate."

And yet, he make a move, and hold someone accountable, aND YOU ARE STILL BITCHING ABOUT IT....

And nonsense, NO GM in the league predicted that LA would start the way they did...that's just BS

 

[KingsFan7824]

I think folks taking issue with the trade comes down to what it is, a salary dump, versus what management is saying. This is a joke of a statement by that slack jawed yokel Rob Blake about improving the team with the acquired player. Everyone is lining up to blame the loss of defensive identity on the woes of the team.

It stinks from top down.

This roster is contractually obligated to show up for 65 more games. What do you want him to say right now? You think this roster can handle the truth? At least if they think they have a reason to show up, they might. They won't, because there's nothing left in most of these guys, not while in a Kings jersey anyway, but Blake can't say he's giving up on the season. He clearly has started down that road, but he can't say that. Not in November.

I can't imagine how this specific team would play with that thought not just in their mind, but out there for all to see.

The best thing to happen would be for nobody to show up to watch when they're back at Staples. Let them play in front of empty buildings every night. Or if you're going to go, endlessly boo them.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

How could it have been avoided? You think there was that big of a market out there for Pearson?

Take this roster,

Iafallo - Kopitar - Brown
Kovalchuk - Carter - Kempe
Pearson - Amadio - Toffoli
Clifford - Thompson - Lewis

Doughty - Forbort
Muzzin - Martinez
Phaneuf -Fantenberg

Quick and Campbell

On paper....just on paper....they are better than SJ, ANA, LV, DAL, VAN, CGY, etc again, on paper, so you think based on what, that they scored zero goals against Vegas (not a good thing to tout while trying to trade an offensive player) that Pearson could have fetched what exactly?

Or do you think Blake saw that roster, compared it to the rest of the league and went....yea, we are gonna go 1-14 and **** the bed to start the season, but Im not gonna make a move??

Holy hell only in this place his hindsight worth ****ing gold....

You can’t audible to “hindsight is 20/20” when most of us were saying this team was in bad shape in July.

BigKing is absolutely right. This could have been avoided if the firing of Dean and Darryl properly coincided with a new regime intent on rebuilding.

This team on paper isn’t better than anyone outside of name recognition. They’re about as impressive on paper as Lecavalier, Iginla, and Phaneuf were on paper when they came to LA. ON PAPER, the Kings had a ton of question marks and holes. What paper are you looking at?

This team is not good. They weren’t good in September. They weren’t good in June. They weren’t good in March as they backpedaled into the playoffs after mathematically clinching. They were good in October and November of 2017 when they went on their last big long streak of wins. That’s it. That’s literally the last time they were anywhere close to the top quarter of the league.

The signs have been there for literally years. You’re the only one ignoring them.

 

[Jericho111091]

Best of luck to the Son of Pear. Hope he finds his groove with the pens

 

[BigKing]

The problem is I think that he, along with many others, assumed that the issue with the team was Sutter. They all responded to Stevens and were able to put together a very respectable season that included a Jennings and a healthy goal differential, as well as coming in 2nd in the division with regards to ROW. I agree that it is a player issue, but I don't really fault him for buying the core an offensive player at the cost of a few years of cap space. The way I saw it before this year, was that over the next 3 seasons the team would either be a middle of the pack playoff team or would be out of the playoffs and rebuilding. In which case, locking up that cap space for 3 years is not a big problem. Also, Kovalchuk has looked really good, so I wouldn't discount him waiving his NTC and us getting some good value back in a trade.

Lombardi went all-in on a team not fully one season removed from a Cup with the Sekera trade and then doubled down with Lucic. At least he was close to the time they actually were winning.

Blake was one playoff win and appearance removed from 2014, was given a three-goal playoff sweep and decided to keep on trucking.

We can list the reasons why Blake thought he had something just like we can list the reasons why Lombardi did what he did. In the end, Lombardi was wrong and was held accountable for it even if you could explain it.

Blake is accountable now. He made a serious miscalculation and has now effectively tied an arm behind his own back as he tries to get out of it. Just keeping picks and making them is part of the equation: he also needed to obtain more picks/prospects by moving out older guys. He thought he could have the best of both worlds and was wrong. That's his choice. Hopefully he can get out of it. Hughes would obviously be a windfall if they get #1OA when trying to be good. It would totally be by accident but, hey, better lucky than good in the world of GM'ing as Lombardi proved many times.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

You can’t audible to “hindsight is 20/20” when most of us were saying this team was in bad shape in July.

BigKing is absolutely right. This could have been avoided if the firing of Dean and Darryl properly coincided with a new regime intent on rebuilding.

This team on paper isn’t better than anyone outside of name recognition. They’re about as impressive on paper as Lecavalier, Iginla, and Phaneuf were on paper when they came to LA. ON PAPER, the Kings had a ton of question marks and holes. What paper are you looking at?

This team is not good. They weren’t good in September. They weren’t good in June. They weren’t good in March as they backpedaled into the playoffs after mathematically clinching. They were good in October and November of 2017 when they went on their last big long streak of wins. That’s it. That’s literally the last time they were anywhere close to the top quarter of the league.

The signs have been there for literally years. You’re the only one ignoring them.

So you think that this team, when/if it plays to its potential....and everyone knows its not..but when its firing on all cylinders, you think that team is worse than SJ, ANA, LV, DAL, CGY, VAN, even EDM?

 

[crassbonanza]

Lombardi went all-in on a team not fully one season removed from a Cup with the Sekera trade and then doubled down with Lucic. At least he was close to the time they actually were winning.

Blake was one playoff win and appearance removed from 2014, was given a three-goal playoff sweep and decided to keep on trucking.

We can list the reasons why Blake thought he had something just like we can list the reasons why Lombardi did what he did. In the end, Lombardi was wrong and was held accountable for it even if you could explain it.

Blake is accountable now. He made a serious miscalculation and has now effectively tied an arm behind his own back as he tries to get out of it. Just keeping picks and making them is part of the equation: he also needed to obtain more picks/prospects by moving out older guys. He thought he could have the best of both worlds and was wrong. That's his choice. Hopefully he can get out of it. Hughes would obviously be a windfall if they get #1OA when trying to be good. It would totally be by accident but, hey, better lucky than good in the world of GM'ing as Lombardi proved many times.

Dude, Blake saw the team with one playoff win in 3 seasons and also didn't buy at the deadline. DL bought every single deadline and contributed to an empty cupboard. What should Blake be held accountable for? Lombardi was wrong and it costs us future pieces, Blake seems to have been wrong and it hasn't cost us anything other than a losing season.

I think your biggest issue is that you seem to think that trading away under performing players with term for picks is just an easy thing to do. Your whole argument is that this team isn't good enough to contend and that the players all suck, so who is going to not only take them on, but give you value for them? Only 5 teams have more than 8.3 million in cap space.

 

[SFKingshomer]

I don't like Blake for what he did leaving for Colorado but think he's done a decent job with the mess he's been given. I just hope he continues to keep cost controlled assets rather than trade them for a quick fix.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

So you think that this team, when/if it plays to its potential....and everyone knows its not..but when its firing on all cylinders, you think that team is worse than SJ, ANA, LV, DAL, CGY, VAN, even EDM?

Worse than San Jose, yes. And when was the last time they clicked? 4 years ago? Can't keep putting out the same shit and hoping it works. You're insane if you thought Kovalchuk was going to make this team a contender. And it's not hindsight. There's no one who thought the kings were before the season started. Everyone figured bubble playoff team at best.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

He could have accurately assessed the direction of the franchise and made moves accordingly. Instead, he grossly miscalculated and here we are.

Hindsight? GM's need to have foresight. DL lost his and it cost him his job.

Blake never appears to have had it. Hopefully he can fix that.

As for what is "****ing gold" around here, that would be holding nobody accountable for anything. The Kings take a steaming **** on the ice and you'll be on here with "but you have to admit that it was a pretty nice shade of brown with some nice underlying tones to the smell that you guys just don't seem to appreciate."

You can’t audible to “hindsight is 20/20” when most of us were saying this team was in bad shape in July.

BigKing is absolutely right. This could have been avoided if the firing of Dean and Darryl properly coincided with a new regime intent on rebuilding.

This team on paper isn’t better than anyone outside of name recognition. They’re about as impressive on paper as Lecavalier, Iginla, and Phaneuf were on paper when they came to LA. ON PAPER, the Kings had a ton of question marks and holes. What paper are you looking at?

This team is not good. They weren’t good in September. They weren’t good in June. They weren’t good in March as they backpedaled into the playoffs after mathematically clinching. They were good in October and November of 2017 when they went on their last big long streak of wins. That’s it. That’s literally the last time they were anywhere close to the top quarter of the league.

The signs have been there for literally years. You’re the only one ignoring them.

I think, to be fair, you BOTH have to admit that literally NO ONE would have had the Kings at dead last in the NHL at this point. I don't think even @KINGS17 's best fever dreams had Kopitar being this dreadful.

There's a middle ground here. Yes, Blake--and many of us apparently--were terribly wrong about the state of this roster. Personally, I thought we could START a retool like Boston and start moving some parts around for younger parts and picks while retaining the core; I never would have thought the core itself would immediately be a (THE?) problem and that the moveable parts would turn to sludge as well and I don't think anyone giving a good faith honest evaluation beyond hatred for certain players or staff would believe that either. It is also a reasonable expectation to suggest they SHOULD at least be a bubble team. I don't think there's any historical precedent for the instant decay like we've seen here with such little player turnover from season to season.

Sayng "we told you the team was in bad shape" is a far cry from "this is a lottery team," so I don't think anyone should be patting themselves on the back for predicting a giant abstract grey area that could cover anything from 31st place to first round exit. The smugness needs to go.

 

[Cochese]

Love it, Pearson has not been the same player since his broken leg. Get out of his contract with the potential to flip Hagelin for a pick.

No GM is going to give that up for an unproductive player with 2 more years at close to 4 mil.

People piss and moan about ‘asset management’ and getting rid of a former first rounder for low value. Well just because a ‘asset’ is former first rounder dosnt entitle anyone to high compensation especially with that first round ‘asset’ playing like a NHL/AHL tweener.

 

[Pandaman11]

Thanks for everything Tanner, but he was part of the problem. He was a 40-point player playing top-6 minutes. He'll be fine in PIT if he plays 3rd line minutes.

The cap space next summer will help and we're getting again a little closer to Hughes.

Obviously, we still have top-6 players who can't score more than 50 points.

 

[johnjm22]

Blake has to do something! What about asset management! People have to pick one or the other. Can't rip him no matter what he does. Rip if he makes a move. Rip him if he doesn't make a move. Rip him if he makes the move he can make. Rip him if he doesn't make the move people think he should make.



Can't have both. Keep Pearson and hope he improves while playing for LA where nobody is producing. Don't trade for Hagelin because he'll be trying to improve while playing for LA where nobody is producing. Blake has to wake these guys up. No, not that way!

Blake has to asses the roster better. Get rid of guys before they lose (even more) value. But lets keep Pearson while he's playing like he doesn't belong in the NHL instead of just ripping the damn band aid off?

Good asset management is trading Quick in June 2012, not signing him to a 10 year deal. Good asset management is keeping Schenn and Simmonds, not trading them both for Richards before the team ever got out of the 1st round. It's trading Brown in June 2012, because he hasn't gotten better than he was in those playoffs. Why is Lombardi trading a 1st for Penner? Good asset management does not involve struggling to the 8th seed, and lucking out that Carter happened to be available. It's not plucking your friend off the farm in a last ditch effort to save your own ass. That 2nd Cup was a miracle. Teams don't do what the Kings did.

Lombardi happened to win though, almost despite himself. Basically everything after the O'Sullivan trade was a mess. The pick ended up Lewis instead of Giroux. Right off the bat things got dumb.

Most GM's are out there winging it. They do A, B, or C, and hope for the best. You're counting on like 25-30 other people to succeed, and they may or may not feel like doing it.

No, he doesn't have to do anything with Pearson right now. Doing nothing is often the best course to take.

Pearson has produced at every level. Now for 17 games he's playing like he doesn't belong so we have to trade him. Childish logic. If we're going to use that logic nearly every player in the NHL has to be traded at some point during the season.

Your posts are too long. They're repetitive and re-hash things that everybody already knows.

 

[mrkolice]

until kopi, dd & quick all stay, it's pretty much cosmetics.