Rumor: Planning Ahead: 2019 Off-Season Part 2

[johnjm22]

If you buyout Phanuef and trade Martinez, then the only left handed NHL defenseman we have is Forbort who's a pending UFA (and MacDermid I guess).

Doughty, LaDue, Walker, Roy are all righties.

 

[tomd]

I hope Blake makes some major moves at the draft so the fans get an idea what direction this team is heading. It's been a long time since Kings fans have argued what the LA Kings are. This summer we will find out what kind of GM Rob Blake is.

Excellent observation.

I agree with Bernstein that missing out on a top 2 pick in the draft lottery was a total gut-punch to the organ-eye-zation. They needed Hughes or Kakko in the worst way. The pick they make at #5 will be a good player but is almost certainly 3 years away from contributing in a major way.

I also believe that with a new coach and a summer to do some soul searching, the Kings core will be better than last year by a lot. Not playoff good but not bottom 5 bad. The black hole type of good. Again, a gut-punch for landing sure-fire elite talent in the draft unless they get lucky.

Finally, I don't think the current crop of prospects they have are as good as some people think. A couple may exceed expectations but some are going to bust outright. That always happens (Jared Aulin anyone?). Unless Vilardi can return to health, I see a lot of "middle" type players in the prospect pool and very few that will be contributing before 20-21.

Bottom line for me is that Blake does have to be bold and aggressive with this team. I think sitting back and letting the best remaining years of Doughty, Kopitar, Brown, and Quick slip away will be a disaster unless the team gets lottery ball lucky. Otherwise, this team could be in the worst possible position for the foreseeable future...not bottom 5 bad but not playoff team good...just my opinion based on almost 50 years of watching hockey.

 

[KINGS17]

What ufa defense man is coming here seriously I doubt we get anyone better then Forbort to come here short term. As far as Brickley goes I want to see him play and prove hes not a disaster in nhl before i get rid of Martinez which means no draft day trade of him as far as I am concern.

The trading of Martinez should happen as soon as someone pays the price Blake is asking. Again, who cares what kind of defense the Kings have next season, because it's time for a rebuild.

Here is a complete list of the NHL UFA defensemen this summer.

2019 NHL Free Agents Tracker

Bring in Lovejoy for one season, or Luke Schenn. Does it matter?

 

[Peter James Bond II]

If you buyout Phanuef and trade Martinez, then the only left handed NHL defenseman we have is Forbort who's a pending UFA (and MacDermid I guess).

Doughty, LaDue, Walker, Roy are all righties.

They have: Clague, Brickley and Mikey Anderson; all LHD.
I think one or 2 of them make it, especially if Martinez is dealt.
Clague was really improving his overall play and defensively, when he broke his foot.
He was going to get a late season callup. I think he'll be ready to challenge and possibly
take a spot. Brickley had a rough season, with a poor start, then his father died in December I think.
That had to be hard...and then he had an injury. He later started playing better as well.
I think he comes to camp, challenging for a spot.

Don't count out Mikey Anderson. He's exceeded expectations every year in every way.
2 years of college hockey since his draft and was as good or better than the #1 picks like
Bouchard, Quinn Hughes at the WJC. And is a yr older with more experience than them.
Bouchard and Quinn will make Edmonton and Vancouver...why can't Mikey make the Kings?

The Kings are entering a new era, where the playoffs are not the goal this year (or probably next)
and if young players are ready, they will get their chance and play.

 

[KINGS17]

Excellent observation.

I agree with Bernstein that missing out on a top 2 pick in the draft lottery was a total gut-punch to the organ-eye-zation. They needed Hughes or Kakko in the worst way. The pick they make at #5 will be a good player but is almost certainly 3 years away from contributing in a major way.

I also believe that with a new coach and a summer to do some soul searching, the Kings core will be better than last year by a lot. Not playoff good but not bottom 5 bad. The black hole type of good. Again, a gut-punch for landing sure-fire elite talent in the draft unless they get lucky.

Finally, I don't think the current crop of prospects they have are as good as some people think. A couple may exceed expectations but some are going to bust outright. That always happens (Jared Aulin anyone?). Unless Vilardi can return to health, I see a lot of "middle" type players in the prospect pool and very few that will be contributing before 20-21.

Bottom line for me is that Blake does have to be bold and aggressive with this team. I think sitting back and letting the best remaining years of Doughty, Kopitar, Brown, and Quick slip away will be a disaster unless the team gets lottery ball lucky. Otherwise, this team could be in the worst possible position for the foreseeable future...not bottom 5 bad but not playoff team good...just my opinion based on almost 50 years of watching hockey.

Good post, but I think the dye is already cast for Doughty's best years to be wasted. Maybe after a couple of seasons he will demand a trade.

Blake's job at this point it to do to this roster what the commissars in the book 1984 did to elite athletes, handicap them. Anyone who gets in the way of Blake's mission should become an "unperson".

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[kings11]

Excellent observation.

I agree with Bernstein that missing out on a top 2 pick in the draft lottery was a total gut-punch to the organ-eye-zation. They needed Hughes or Kakko in the worst way. The pick they make at #5 will be a good player but is almost certainly 3 years away from contributing in a major way.

I also believe that with a new coach and a summer to do some soul searching, the Kings core will be better than last year by a lot. Not playoff good but not bottom 5 bad. The black hole type of good. Again, a gut-punch for landing sure-fire elite talent in the draft unless they get lucky.

Finally, I don't think the current crop of prospects they have are as good as some people think. A couple may exceed expectations but some are going to bust outright. That always happens (Jared Aulin anyone?). Unless Vilardi can return to health, I see a lot of "middle" type players in the prospect pool and very few that will be contributing before 20-21.

Bottom line for me is that Blake does have to be bold and aggressive with this team. I think sitting back and letting the best remaining years of Doughty, Kopitar, Brown, and Quick slip away will be a disaster unless the team gets lottery ball lucky. Otherwise, this team could be in the worst possible position for the foreseeable future...not bottom 5 bad but not playoff team good...just my opinion based on almost 50 years of watching hockey.

This team has one thing going for them in what prospects and young players we do have and thats that they will solidify the bottom 6 and give us the type of depth this team hasnt had in years..

Somewhat agree with our prospects, its for sure a mixed bag but a guy like Mikey Anderson has the talent, makeup and motivation to quickly establish himself as a top 4 Dman.. Kale Clague seems like he'll be a Torey Krug type Dman with more size but less O... Brickley, Durzi, Phillips, Strand and a few more Dmen are all a crapshoot..
The Forward corps looks a little better but other than Vilardi and this #5 pick, we lack any clear top 6 let alone top 3 talent.. Kupari could end up being another 3rd liner although his scoring and playmaking indicate he'll be everything we hoped Kempe would be. JAD Has swagger about him but at most he's middle 6, and the same can be said of Carl Grundstrom...

This team sank and will continue to sink further not because of Kopitar, Doughty, Quick or even Brown but rather because the complementary pieces fell off or left and we couldnt replace them... Toffoli, Carter, Pearson, Gaborik, Lucic and Iafallo has no business on the top line.. Hopefully a new coach gives Kovalchuk more time on the top line and Prokhorkin becomes teh player we've all been waiting for... But even then our D is bad... Forbort has regressed terribly, Martinez should have been moved long ago, Phaneuf is great for tanking and then we have unknowns in Walker and Roy ... and then theres Paul LaDue, what to make of this guy??

 

[Perratrooper]

Would you guys consider a trade of:

4th overall+47th overall+63rd for 5th and 22nd?

 

[KINGS17]

This team has one thing going for them in what prospects and young players we do have and thats that they will solidify the bottom 6 and give us the type of depth this team hasnt had in years..

Somewhat agree with our prospects, its for sure a mixed bag but a guy like Mikey Anderson has the talent, makeup and motivation to quickly establish himself as a top 4 Dman.. Kale Clague seems like he'll be a Torey Krug type Dman with more size but less O... Brickley, Durzi, Phillips, Strand and a few more Dmen are all a crapshoot..
The Forward corps looks a little better but other than Vilardi and this #5 pick, we lack any clear top 6 let alone top 3 talent.. Kupari could end up being another 3rd liner although his scoring and playmaking indicate he'll be everything we hoped Kempe would be. JAD Has swagger about him but at most he's middle 6, and the same can be said of Carl Grundstrom...

This team sank and will continue to sink further not because of Kopitar, Doughty, Quick or even Brown but rather because the complementary pieces fell off or left and we couldnt replace them... Toffoli, Carter, Pearson, Gaborik, Lucic and Iafallo has no business on the top line.. Hopefully a new coach gives Kovalchuk more time on the top line and Prokhorkin becomes teh player we've all been waiting for... But even then our D is bad... Forbort has regressed terribly, Martinez should have been moved long ago, Phaneuf is great for tanking and then we have unknowns in Walker and Roy ... and then theres Paul LaDue, what to make of this guy??

Just wondering if any of the fans who watch Ontario Reign hockey see a lot of Torey Krug in Kale Clague? I don't see enough of it to judge.

 

[Reaper45]

Would you guys consider a trade of:

4th overall+47th overall+63rd for 5th and 22nd?

I wouldnt.

 

[kings11]

Just wondering if any of the fans who watch Ontario Reign hockey see a lot of Torey Krug in Kale Clague? I don't see enough of it to judge.

Clague looked like shit last season in the O ... but his play is somewhat similar as was/is his point production.... they are PPQBs, they can rush teh puck up ice, they are very good at getting the puck on net and will usually rack up tons of assists.. Defensively, Clague is much better at the same age/stage...
Expect to see Kale breakout offensively in Ontario this upcoming season.. Also, not sure where you live, but if you're close enough to Onatrio those Reign games are super fun.. Lots of Violent Gentlemen Kings fans in attendance!

 

[BigKing]

Excellent observation.

I agree with Bernstein that missing out on a top 2 pick in the draft lottery was a total gut-punch to the organ-eye-zation. They needed Hughes or Kakko in the worst way. The pick they make at #5 will be a good player but is almost certainly 3 years away from contributing in a major way.

I also believe that with a new coach and a summer to do some soul searching, the Kings core will be better than last year by a lot. Not playoff good but not bottom 5 bad. The black hole type of good. Again, a gut-punch for landing sure-fire elite talent in the draft unless they get lucky.

Finally, I don't think the current crop of prospects they have are as good as some people think. A couple may exceed expectations but some are going to bust outright. That always happens (Jared Aulin anyone?). Unless Vilardi can return to health, I see a lot of "middle" type players in the prospect pool and very few that will be contributing before 20-21.

Bottom line for me is that Blake does have to be bold and aggressive with this team. I think sitting back and letting the best remaining years of Doughty, Kopitar, Brown, and Quick slip away will be a disaster unless the team gets lottery ball lucky. Otherwise, this team could be in the worst possible position for the foreseeable future...not bottom 5 bad but not playoff team good...just my opinion based on almost 50 years of watching hockey.

This isn't a surprising take since you are firmly anti-tank.

Problem is that there is nothing to be bold with, outside of throwing ridiculous money at someone like Panarin to get him to come here. You'd have to move salary to make it work and then, still, Panarin doesn't make them a contender. They have to just eat it next season: it is on the current guys to be better, plus the young and hungry guys to progress further.

They already got the best Kopitar and Doughty years and will just have to live with rewarding them on their last contract for what they did in their 20s. As for Quick, we all expected him to slide around this age due to his playing style. I'm not totally sure that they are too worried about trying to capitalize on Quick for 1 or 2 more seasons.

Pretty sure that Management has intimated that they aren't contenders and don't plan on being one for at least a couple of seasons. They are going to ride this out, collect assets and hope for some legit players out of the prospect pool and--hopefully--a star/superstar level player at #5 and whatever they get next year. In a couple of years, they will know what they have and should have more cap space: then they can be aggressive and pounce on a trade or signing of an instant, legit contributor.

You were banging the drum for them to not trade Muzzin and thought they had a chance to make the playoffs in January. I don't know what you think this team can do "aggressively" to turn things around on a dime but I'm all ears. I understand more than anyone that tanking/rebuilding isn't fun since I pay for seats but I'll take short-term pain in the hopes of avoiding the 2003-to-end of DT years in favor of something closer to the start of the post-Crawford DL years. Pretty sure this is where Bluc is at and, more importantly, AEG. We can say that Kovalchuk only cost money but it isn't our money and Blake has now tossed big money to Doughty and Kovalchuk with nothing to show for it but one of the worst seasons in Kings history. They aren't going to be spending money.

I do agree with you regarding the prospects, however. This is easily the best prospect pool the Kings have had in years but that doesn't mean there are any guarantees. People just spouting off six prospect defensemen and 7-8 forwards like they are locks is just silly and takes me back to, well, the days of penciling in every 1st round DT flop. Steckel, Karlsson, Tukonen, Grebs. Aulin was going to be great. Lehoux was going to be rad. Fast forward to DL and we had people on here saying the WJC is trash and more apt to freestyling which is why Subban looked so good and Hickey looked so bad. Everyone hopes these guys pan out and are great players but it doesn't usually work out. Those that are trying to pencil in 3-4 never-even-played-AHL-before prospects on to the opening night roster are silly.

 

[crassbonanza]

I do agree with you regarding the prospects, however. This is easily the best prospect pool the Kings have had in years but that doesn't mean there are any guarantees. People just spouting off six prospect defensemen and 7-8 forwards like they are locks is just silly and takes me back to, well, the days of penciling in every 1st round DT flop. Steckel, Karlsson, Tukonen, Grebs. Aulin was going to be great. Lehoux was going to be rad. Fast forward to DL and we had people on here saying the WJC is trash and more apt to freestyling which is why Subban looked so good and Hickey looked so bad. Everyone hopes these guys pan out and are great players but it doesn't usually work out. Those that are trying to pencil in 3-4 never-even-played-AHL-before prospects on to the opening night roster are silly.

I do agree with your point in general about prospects panning out and fanbases being blinded by homer glasses regarding them. However, the Kings prospect pool is also getting respect from people outside of the organization. In the TSN top 50 affiliated prospects that was done in January the Kings had 4 players on it, which was tied with Florida for the most in the league. There is reason to expect some of those prospects to be impact players.

 

[The Tikkanen]

This team has one thing going for them in what prospects and young players we do have and thats that they will solidify the bottom 6 and give us the type of depth this team hasnt had in years..

Somewhat agree with our prospects, its for sure a mixed bag but a guy like Mikey Anderson has the talent, makeup and motivation to quickly establish himself as a top 4 Dman.. Kale Clague seems like he'll be a Torey Krug type Dman with more size but less O... Brickley, Durzi, Phillips, Strand and a few more Dmen are all a crapshoot..
The Forward corps looks a little better but other than Vilardi and this #5 pick, we lack any clear top 6 let alone top 3 talent.. Kupari could end up being another 3rd liner although his scoring and playmaking indicate he'll be everything we hoped Kempe would be. JAD Has swagger about him but at most he's middle 6, and the same can be said of Carl Grundstrom...

This team sank and will continue to sink further not because of Kopitar, Doughty, Quick or even Brown but rather because the complementary pieces fell off or left and we couldnt replace them... Toffoli, Carter, Pearson, Gaborik, Lucic and Iafallo has no business on the top line.. Hopefully a new coach gives Kovalchuk more time on the top line and Prokhorkin becomes teh player we've all been waiting for... But even then our D is bad... Forbort has regressed terribly, Martinez should have been moved long ago, Phaneuf is great for tanking and then we have unknowns in Walker and Roy ... and then theres Paul LaDue, what to make of this guy??

Iafallo would be a great 3rd liner. The Kings jut need 2 other 3rd liners to go with him.

 

[BigKing]

I do agree with your point in general about prospects panning out and fanbases being blinded by homer glasses regarding them. However, the Kings prospect pool is also getting respect from people outside of the organization. In the TSN top 50 affiliated prospects that was done in January the Kings had 4 players on it, which was tied with Florida for the most in the league. There is reason to expect some of those prospects to be impact players.

I stated this is the best pool they have had in years, but that still doesn't mean that Akil Thomas will be a 50-60 point 2C or that Clague/Phillips/Anderson/Durzi will all be playing for the Kings in the 2021 season.

Regarding the list, the first Kings player is Kupari at #30. I assume the 5OA will jump him but others on this list, like Vilardi at #34, will no longer be on it after this year's draft.

Anyways, it is just a list. I'm optimistic about the Kings current prospects and the upcoming draft, but I've been burned too many times to just put all my chips on the table because a guy is PPG in the OHL. As for that list, the 2015 version had Sam Bennett at #3 with Kempe and Scherbak at #21 and #26. I agree that it is cool to have a later round pick like Anderson ranked in the Top 50, along with Thomas, but then it appears that Craig Button makes the list so I'm not sure if we should are or not.

 

[kings11]

Iafallo would be a great 3rd liner. The Kings jut need 2 other 3rd liners to go with him.

Kempe, Amadio, Grundstrom, Wagner, Luff maybe even Prokhorkin... take your pick

 

[johnjm22]

They have: Clague, Brickley and Mikey Anderson; all LHD.
I think one or 2 of them make it, especially if Martinez is dealt.
Clague was really improving his overall play and defensively, when he broke his foot.
He was going to get a late season callup. I think he'll be ready to challenge and possibly
take a spot. Brickley had a rough season, with a poor start, then his father died in December I think.
That had to be hard...and then he had an injury. He later started playing better as well.
I think he comes to camp, challenging for a spot.

Don't count out Mikey Anderson. He's exceeded expectations every year in every way.
2 years of college hockey since his draft and was as good or better than the #1 picks like
Bouchard, Quinn Hughes at the WJC. And is a yr older with more experience than them.
Bouchard and Quinn will make Edmonton and Vancouver...why can't Mikey make the Kings?

The Kings are entering a new era, where the playoffs are not the goal this year (or probably next)
and if young players are ready, they will get their chance and play.

Brickley has been terrible. Clague hasn't done anything to warrant being in the NHL. Putting Anderson in the NHL next year is an awful idea.

If you actually care about these players development you leave them in the AHL. If you want to be like the Edmonton Oilers then sure pencil them into your NHL lineup.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Would you guys consider a trade of:

4th overall+47th overall+63rd for 5th and 22nd?

If the Kings didn't already have 10 picks, maybe. Not that they don't need all the youth they can get, but they also need higher end youth, and in theory, you get a better lottery ticket at 22 than 47 and 63. The potential difference between 4 and 5, from the sounds of it, isn't big enough to do it either.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Phaneuf - 34
Martinez - 32
Doughty - 29
Forbort - 27
LaDue - 27
MacDermid - 25
Walker - 24
Roy - 24
Brickley - 24
Lintuniemi - 24

Of the guys currently here, these are the only d-men that should be considered for spots next year. You can throw those 24 year old's out there all year long, no matter how bad the team is, who cares, none of them are likely to be anything at this point anyway.

 

[Reaper45]

Phaneuf - 34
Martinez - 32
Doughty - 29
Forbort - 27
LaDue - 27
MacDermid - 25
Walker - 24
Roy - 24
Brickley - 24
Lintuniemi - 24

Of the guys currently here, these are the only d-men that should be considered for spots next year. You can throw those 24 year old's out there all year long, no matter how bad the team is, who cares, none of them are likely to be anything at this point anyway.

I dont even think they're going to qualify Lintuniemi.

No one wants Phaneuf and his buyout is unrealistic.

I'd trade Martinez and see if anyone wanted Forbort or Ladue. Let the rest play.

 

[BigKing]

They owe it to the STH'ers to let the big rig diesel-power his way around the ice next season. His hit on Bennett was probably the highlight of the season for me.

 

[tomd]

This isn't a surprising take since you are firmly anti-tank.

Problem is that there is nothing to be bold with, outside of throwing ridiculous money at someone like Panarin to get him to come here. You'd have to move salary to make it work and then, still, Panarin doesn't make them a contender. They have to just eat it next season: it is on the current guys to be better, plus the young and hungry guys to progress further.

They already got the best Kopitar and Doughty years and will just have to live with rewarding them on their last contract for what they did in their 20s. As for Quick, we all expected him to slide around this age due to his playing style. I'm not totally sure that they are too worried about trying to capitalize on Quick for 1 or 2 more seasons.

Pretty sure that Management has intimated that they aren't contenders and don't plan on being one for at least a couple of seasons. They are going to ride this out, collect assets and hope for some legit players out of the prospect pool and--hopefully--a star/superstar level player at #5 and whatever they get next year. In a couple of years, they will know what they have and should have more cap space: then they can be aggressive and pounce on a trade or signing of an instant, legit contributor.

You were banging the drum for them to not trade Muzzin and thought they had a chance to make the playoffs in January. I don't know what you think this team can do "aggressively" to turn things around on a dime but I'm all ears. I understand more than anyone that tanking/rebuilding isn't fun since I pay for seats but I'll take short-term pain in the hopes of avoiding the 2003-to-end of DT years in favor of something closer to the start of the post-Crawford DL years. Pretty sure this is where Bluc is at and, more importantly, AEG. We can say that Kovalchuk only cost money but it isn't our money and Blake has now tossed big money to Doughty and Kovalchuk with nothing to show for it but one of the worst seasons in Kings history. They aren't going to be spending money.

I do agree with you regarding the prospects, however. This is easily the best prospect pool the Kings have had in years but that doesn't mean there are any guarantees. People just spouting off six prospect defensemen and 7-8 forwards like they are locks is just silly and takes me back to, well, the days of penciling in every 1st round DT flop. Steckel, Karlsson, Tukonen, Grebs. Aulin was going to be great. Lehoux was going to be rad. Fast forward to DL and we had people on here saying the WJC is trash and more apt to freestyling which is why Subban looked so good and Hickey looked so bad. Everyone hopes these guys pan out and are great players but it doesn't usually work out. Those that are trying to pencil in 3-4 never-even-played-AHL-before prospects on to the opening night roster are silly.

I am only "anti-tank" because I believe the team is in a uniquely poor position to actually do a successful tank...especially after losing out on one of the two elite players in this year's draft. Look at the teams that are drafting in the top 10 this year...which team would you LEAST like to be going forward tank-wise? LA would have to be 1st or 2nd on your list. The problem, of course, is that unlike Ottawa or the NYR the Kings have very few movable assets that have any value. The pieces that are movable (Toffoli, Carter, Quick, Martinez) have limited value and will not be much help towards getting prime assets for a tank rebuild. The prospect pool (as discussed) is ok but underwhelming if you are banking on them to lead the way. Hoping to get top 3 picks for the next 2-3 years is a fool's errand subject to the whims of lottery balls in addition to putting a dreadful product on the ice.

The problem with Blake/Luc is that they are sending decidedly mixed signals. If a full tank is the plan, why hire a higher profile coach on an expensive 5 year contract? TM is going to be motivated to gets this team into the playoffs if he has any pride in his work. I doubt he became the coach to oversee a 5 year tank. So if TM can get better performances from AK, DD, JQ, JC, DB, and TT (almost a layup given how they performed last year) the team will likely improve by 15-20 points. How does that help the tank? Will Blake sign some 2nd tier UFA's or make trades this summer to fill holes? If he does, how does that help the tank? If he doesn't, is he really being fair to the team and the coach who are trying to win?

IMO, Blake is trying to play the middle road which is the worst thing the team can do. That is the path into the black hole. He either needs to work with this core and make them into a playoff team or announce a tank and try to get Doughty and Kopitar to waive their NMC and get the best value he can for them NOW while they still have value. If the plan is just to "ride it out", they might as well hire one of the Laker towel boys as the GM and one of the beer league guys as coach. If I'm AEG, I see the "ride it out" option as a tremendous waste of money for the next five years (at least!) with no guarantee of having a better outcome.

 

[SFKingshomer]

It's going to be interesting to see what they have up their sleeve if they truly believe we can contend in 2-3 seasons. Quick is my favorite King but I will be pissed if they keep him around and lose a couple of good younger goalies in the process. It's not like they're 20 year old kids, they're ready for at least back up or split duty.

 

[LAKings88]

I do think this team has a bit of Boston/St. Louis in them.

Kovy must click this year.

Need Mikey Anderson/Kupari to steal a spot. A camp standout at least.

Kopi/Carts/Quick need to rebound big. If Quick is dealt the two goalies they have need to be solid.

Trade Toffoli and Lewis at the deadline. Time for Luff and Wagner to step up.

This team could compete for an 8th spot or could be another top 5 pick at this point.

 

[King'sPawn]

Would you guys consider a trade of:

4th overall+47th overall+63rd for 5th and 22nd?

Dropping 25 spots to move up one spot and to get an early 3rd round pick? I wouldn't be interested.