Rumor: Planning Ahead: 2019 Off-Season

[kingsholygrail]

If you actually read the article though, it's not like Doughty doesn't give Tkachuk any credit. He does and says Tkachuk has successfully gotten under his skin and gotten him off his game in the past and compares him somewhat to Marchand. But that doesn't fit into a convenient tweet that lights everyone up.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Drew has the IQ of an amoeba.

He needs to shut the f*** up and play better hockey.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

If you actually read the article though, it's not like Doughty doesn't give Tkachuk any credit. He does and says Tkachuk has successfully gotten under his skin and gotten him off his game in the past and compares him somewhat to Marchand. But that doesn't fit into a convenient tweet that lights everyone up.

I agree, it was definitely a sensationalist headline and selective, misrepresentative quoting.

He said a lot of really flattering things baout other players in there too

 

[kingsholygrail]

I agree, it was definitely a sensationalist headline and selective, misrepresentative quoting.

He said a lot of really flattering things baout other players in there too

But, not gonna blow Doughty too hard. He should know better in the world of tweets.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

But, not gonna blow Doughty too hard. He should know better in the world of tweets.

OH for sure, he knew exactly what would happen. He's dumb as bricks but he's media saavy.

 

[BigKing]

You can single me out if you want. I definitely said that. It's dumb as **** that he should have to fight someone because he got elbowed.

Now we're what, 2.5 years past that? And this is his answer to that question after giving zero ****s all year?

There's nuance here. Mouthing off when being questioned for the first time after the incident, fine. Sounding off like this for pretty much no reason? Nope. Dumb.

Oh, there is definitely nuance. That is part of my argument: leaders lead and this team needs Doughty to act like one. He allowed Tkachuk to run him in their first meeting after the elbow and then looked like a complete ass hole in their first game at Staples last season. Now he continues to run his mouth in the press as opposed to actually doing anything about it.

This could have been squashed multiple times but he keeps allowing himself to look like a clown: a $12MM a year clown v. a kid that everyone hates but actually somehow respects more than the 2-time Cup winning, Norris defenseman in this particular situation.

It just reflects poorly and, by not handling it when he should have, here we are with today's embarrassment that actually seems to be a fitting encapsulation of where this franchise is right now.

I'm not saying that those that thought it was dumb for him to fight back then will change their mind about it as it relates to that moment in time. That's fine. I think they should, however, since today's garbage leads right on back to the original elbow and the lack of response(s) following.

I just quoted your post because it is even over the top for me hahaha. I just want him to finally back up his mouth and you are saying you hope he gets the piss beat out of him. No judgment: just thought it was funny and a total 180 from most of the thought process on here when it pertains to Tkachuk/Doughty.

For the record, I'd like Doughty to fight him, actually do well and then try to carry over some cache in to next season. Maybe he'll like the way leadership fits him after he tries it on.

 

[LAKings88]

Doughty won’t fight.

Doughty is a cocky sob.

Still a great dman and and he is right about Giordano.

Doughty is a tool tho. I guess he is our tool tho.

 

[lumbergh]

Whatever. Drew being Drew. You have here one of the best defensemen in the world who talks all game. He's supremely talented, and needs to get himself juiced up for a game. No one is going to get Drew Doughty to not trash talk. He's trying to get to Tkachuk's head before the game this way.

I can't even imagine Drew Doughty if he wasn't a total prick.

 

[Herby]

Whatever. Drew being Drew. You have here one of the best defensemen in the world who talks all game. He's supremely talented, and needs to get himself juiced up for a game. No one is going to get Drew Doughty to not trash talk. He's trying to get to Tkachuk's head before the game this way.

I can't even imagine Drew Doughty if he wasn't a total prick.

I think someone is in someone’s head. But it’s not Drew in Tkachuk’s head it’s the other way around.

 

[kingsboy11]

I don't care about the Tkachuk comment. I'm still sour about it 2 years later. But his comment about Burns was stupid considering the season he's having.

 

[Bandit]

I don't care about the Tkachuk comment. I'm still sour about it 2 years later. But his comment about Burns was stupid considering the season he's having.

I care only because it's going to inspire a whole new generation of tough talking 12 year old Calgary fans.

 

[KINGS17]

If Doughty won't fight Tkachuk at least run him. Hell, sit down with Forbort before the game and tell him to pass the puck to Tkachuk when Doughty has him all lined up.

It will look natural and no one will suspect a thing. And if it works once do it again just like Paul Crew did it to Bodanski in The Longest Yard.

 

[Reaper45]

Doughty looks like a puss by not fighting Tkachuk. Said it when the elbow happened, still true today.

 

[Maynard]

I’m no hockey historian but I’ve never heard of active roster players being left off of a road trip so they can get special coaching.

That’s the coach saying, “You don’t have a prayer of getting in a game, even if someone else’s game goes to hell you will not play. I would rather have NO options to change the line up than have you on the trip.”

Willy and Blake have to know it will be covered in the press, especially with Kovy’s recent comments. To me, it seems like a deliberate “f*** you”.

 

[kingsfan28]

How I read that is Blake is emphatically denying that Kovy is being disciplined.

Coach doesn't want to play him.

Not going to make him travel to Canada just to be scratched 3 times and potentially embarrassed in the Canadian press.

So Blake is standing by the bum he hired, in favor of the 6 mil per year player he signed in the off season? Got it.

 

[kingsfan28]

If you actually read the article though, it's not like Doughty doesn't give Tkachuk any credit. He does and says Tkachuk has successfully gotten under his skin and gotten him off his game in the past and compares him somewhat to Marchand. But that doesn't fit into a convenient tweet that lights everyone up.

A lot of the quotes were cherry pick pretty good and turned into sound bytes. He's not far off on the Burns quotes. Hell, he's done it his entire career , yet he get praised as this great defender.

 

[KingsFan7824]

The situation is so ridiculous that I really have to believe at this point that the only possible explanation is that Blake is making WD be the fall guy here, trying to get Kovalchuck to hate the situation so badly that he asks to get out and save Blake from the remainder of his contract.

Another GM has to want to have Kovalchuk for the next 2 years. Doesn't seem like the Kings want to retain for years on end. He's pretty much stuck with the Kings if he wants to play in the NHL. The only benefit to the Kings if IK retires is they don't have to pay him whatever money they still owe him.

I think the relationship between the player and the coach is just toxic, and Blake is doing his best to keep IK sailing smoothly. If it really was his own choice not to go, he and Blake seem to be on the same page. I also have no problem if Blake isn't dictating what the lineup should or should not be, regardless of how bad of a coach WD may be. That's not a GMs job, and he's just working around what is a bad situation.

I’m no hockey historian but I’ve never heard of active roster players being left off of a road trip so they can get special coaching.

That’s the coach saying, “You don’t have a prayer of getting in a game, even if someone else’s game goes to hell you will not play. I would rather have NO options to change the line up than have you on the trip.”

Willy and Blake have to know it will be covered in the press, especially with Kovy’s recent comments. To me, it seems like a deliberate “**** you”.

I think Blake is being realistic about the whole thing. WD and IK clearly don't see eye to eye.

So Blake is standing by the bum he hired, in favor of the 6 mil per year player he signed in the off season? Got it.

Nah, Blake just isn't making game day lineup choices. He shouldn't. Ever. No GM should. A GM should manage the team in a general way though, so instead of punishing IK by forcing him to go on a road trip where it's pretty clear he won't play outside of multiple players going down during the pre-game skate, he lets him hang at home. I have no problem with that.

 

[Bandit]

Another GM has to want to have Kovalchuk for the next 2 years. Doesn't seem like the Kings want to retain for years on end. He's pretty much stuck with the Kings if he wants to play in the NHL. The only benefit to the Kings if IK retires is they don't have to pay him whatever money they still owe him.

I think the relationship between the player and the coach is just toxic, and Blake is doing his best to keep IK sailing smoothly. If it really was his own choice not to go, he and Blake seem to be on the same page. I also have no problem if Blake isn't dictating what the lineup should or should not be, regardless of how bad of a coach WD may be. That's not a GMs job, and he's just working around what is a bad situation.



I think Blake is being realistic about the whole thing. WD and IK clearly don't see eye to eye.



Nah, Blake just isn't making game day lineup choices. He shouldn't. Ever. No GM should. A GM should manage the team in a general way though, so instead of punishing IK by forcing him to go on a road trip where it's pretty clear he won't play outside of multiple players going down during the pre-game skate, he lets him hang at home. I have no problem with that.

The only part you're leaving out though is that Blake created this whole mess by hiring this assclown in the first place.

 

[Multigrain]

LA should not buy anyone out next year. As brutal as Dion is if the Kings can stomach at least one more year with him then it helps the buy out term.

I would buy him out and move Martinez

 

[kingsholygrail]

Doughty looks like a puss by not fighting Tkachuk. Said it when the elbow happened, still true today.

Neither of them dropped their gloves and Tkachuk waited for a ref to be near him to do the "hold me back!" routine.

 

[CowMix]

Maybe Blake decided they don't want to put more mileage on
Kovalchuk's body and risk injury in a lost season and want to give him another shot next year with a new head coach or healthy for a draft day trade.

 

[Matt13]

Neither of them dropped their gloves and Tkachuk waited for a ref to be near him to do the "hold me back!" routine.

The kid has 7 fighting majors in the NHL. I highly doubt he was intimidated nor scared to fight the Yorkie of Manhattan.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

3. I wondered if the decision to keep Ilya Kovalchuk at home during Los Angeles’s trip to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver meant he would be kept off the roster the rest of the season. The Kings say no, that’s not the case.

4. When Ottawa contacted Philadelphia about Dean Lombardi’s availability (first reported by John Shannon), the Senators indicated the open position was going to be more of a Senior Advisor role. Now, they are calling it a President of Hockey Operations, so we’ll see how this evolves. The team made sure to indicate GM Pierre Dorion is safe.

6. Lombardi has now rebuffed overtures from two Canadian teams. (Someday, we’ll discover the truth about Vancouver.) We’re not that bad, Dean.

9. Last week, I mentioned Todd McLellan as a high-level candidate for Los Angeles’s permanent coaching job. Add Dave Tippett. Four months ago, he said, “I’m happy in Seattle, and I will be staying here.” But there is word the coaching bug has bit him again, and it is believed at least one team this season asked him about a return.

 

[AzKing]

I feel bad for Kovalchuk in that he came back and wanted to be a legit player and frankly, he should be playing every night. This guy would have at least 20 goals this year and he absolutely still has enough in his tank. Only a coach this stupid would keep a guy who has 14 goals in 60 games on the sidelines.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

The kid has 7 fighting majors in the NHL. I highly doubt he was intimidated nor scared to fight the Yorkie of Manhattan.

Which is why it's all the more curious he doesn't do it. Instead his usual routine--which we saw at least three times last night--is wait for ref intervention then stick and punch people over and between the stripes.

He's a f***ing coward. Still.

I feel bad for Kovalchuk in that he came back and wanted to be a legit player and frankly, he should be playing every night. This guy would have at least 20 goals this year and he absolutely still has enough in his tank. Only a coach this stupid would keep a guy who has 14 goals in 60 games on the sidelines.

Yep, as I posted elsewhere, he was on higher than his Devils P/60 before willie d, and now he's at it, which would be good for--pretty much above expectations, actually--30-35 goals, 70 points across the full season as per his past usage.