Rumor: Planning Ahead: 2019 Off-Season

[AzKing]

A 1st rounder “And” and good prospect is an overpay for Toffoli. They will be lucky to get just a 1st rounder.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

A 1st rounder “And” and good prospect is an overpay for Toffoli. They will be lucky to get just a 1st rounder.

I think it's a possibility on draft day. Take the Kevin Hayes trade as an example, as he's a soon to be UFA on July 1, with 14 goals on the season (and 42 points). Toffoli has 12 goals on an awful team, and I think some teams may take a gamble hoping he can rebound, especially if the UFA market is too rich to add a top six forward.

I'd liken it to the Cammalleri situation, who was within the same age as Toffoli when he was moved, and coming off a season where he scored 19 goals. I think there will be some teams who would consider acquiring Toffoli. I just don't know how high of a draft pick or quality of prospect we should expect in return for him.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Some Kings nuggets that could impact the off-season plans...

Toffoli scored 31 goals in 2015-2016, the second of his almost 5 full time NHL seasons. His next highest goal total was last year with 24. This year, in just over 60 games, he has 12 goals.

So if it’s true that the Kings set his price at this TDL as a 30 goal scorer, you just have to shake your head at the incompetence of Blake.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Well, in any negotiation, you want to start at the highest point and work your way down from there.

Given that Toffoli still has term on his contract and most of the names moved were rentals, I don't think Blake was too keen on selling Toffoli for the lowest offer he'd receive.

Things may change within the next couple of months as teams with departing UFAs will look to fill those holes without having to overpay for a free agent forward.

 

[johnjm22]

I think it's a possibility on draft day. Take the Kevin Hayes trade as an example, as he's a soon to be UFA on July 1, with 14 goals on the season (and 42 points). Toffoli has 12 goals on an awful team, and I think some teams may take a gamble hoping he can rebound, especially if the UFA market is too rich to add a top six forward.

I'd liken it to the Cammalleri situation, who was within the same age as Toffoli when he was moved, and coming off a season where he scored 19 goals. I think there will be some teams who would consider acquiring Toffoli. I just don't know how high of a draft pick or quality of prospect we should expect in return for him.

Hayes is scoring at a 67 point pace. Plus he's a center that's known for his 2 way ability and PK skills. Big versatile centers are always worth a lot. (Hanzal and Boyle got more than people expected)

Cammalleri may have only scored 19 goals that year, but he scored at a 25g/61pts pace and had 34 goals the year prior.

Toffoli is on track for 15g/36pts. If these are the kind of numbers he ends the season with his value will be pretty low. Might be best to hold on to him and hope he rebounds since players often do well in contract years.

 

[DoktorJeep]

Well, in any negotiation, you want to start at the highest point and work your way down from there.

Given that Toffoli still has term on his contract and most of the names moved were rentals, I don't think Blake was too keen on selling Toffoli for the lowest offer he'd receive.

Things may change within the next couple of months as teams with departing UFAs will look to fill those holes without having to overpay for a free agent forward.

I think Charlie Coyle is a good comparable for Toffoli when it comes to trades. Coyle went for a 22 yo forward with remaining upside and a 5th, possibly 4th round 2019 pick.

If Blake turned down Boston for something like Donato and a second for Toffoli, he’d probably regret it today.

 

[AzKing]

I think it's a possibility on draft day. Take the Kevin Hayes trade as an example, as he's a soon to be UFA on July 1, with 14 goals on the season (and 42 points). Toffoli has 12 goals on an awful team, and I think some teams may take a gamble hoping he can rebound, especially if the UFA market is too rich to add a top six forward.

I'd liken it to the Cammalleri situation, who was within the same age as Toffoli when he was moved, and coming off a season where he scored 19 goals. I think there will be some teams who would consider acquiring Toffoli. I just don't know how high of a draft pick or quality of prospect we should expect in return for him.

More power to them if they can get it. I hope that there will be more teams that may have a decent pick when you get near the draft than just some Cup contender before the deadline. If they could get a pick even at 15-20, I would think that’s a pretty good return. If it were something like the 29th or 30th then they would have to assess if it would be better to wait longer.

How Toffoli does in the last stretch of games could determine his value. If he lights it up then that’s going to bring the cost higher to acquire him.

 

[DoktorJeep]

So what’s the plan for the dead weight?

Buyout Phaneuf at the end of the season?

Trade Quick and Carter at the draft?

Let’s the remaining chips fall where they may?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I think it's a possibility on draft day. Take the Kevin Hayes trade as an example, as he's a soon to be UFA on July 1, with 14 goals on the season (and 42 points). Toffoli has 12 goals on an awful team, and I think some teams may take a gamble hoping he can rebound, especially if the UFA market is too rich to add a top six forward.

I'd liken it to the Cammalleri situation, who was within the same age as Toffoli when he was moved, and coming off a season where he scored 19 goals. I think there will be some teams who would consider acquiring Toffoli. I just don't know how high of a draft pick or quality of prospect we should expect in return for him.

I think it's also easier for teams to make that move when they know definitively what pick they're giving up as well. That Cammy trade was for a swap in 1st round spots IIRC.

 

[johnjm22]

No one wants Quick or Carter. Quick has about as much "value" as Lucic.

Kings should explore the market for Campbell this offseason if his numbers remain good. Toffoli, Martinez, Lewis, Forbort and Clifford should all be moved if they have any value.

 

[kilowatt]

From that SportsNet article, in case anyone doesn't feel like clicking:

21. There was hope Los Angeles would drop its price on Tyler Toffoli, but the Kings did not. It is believed they were asking for a first-rounder and a good prospect, at least. With another year remaining on his contract, they hope he can regain his 31-goal form.

22. One opponent was not surprised Jonathan Quick was the King to get upset during Tuesday’s ugly 6-1 loss in Carolina. “Don’t care how bad the season is going,” he said, “Quick is always going to demand the best of himself, and everyone around him. I don’t think that outburst was solely about not challenging goalie interference.”

 

[The Tikkanen]

The kings need to have state of the art diet, strength and conditioning coaches and all these players who are drifting out of NHL play need to be sent to them for the summer. To me this is where the Kings need to write the blue print and have the rest of the NHL follow them. Whatever is happening now isn't working and to be honest it's embarrassing watching Kings players show up flat, have low energy, low compete levels, look weak on the puck and show no emotion regardless of the outcome. The Kings are most likely gonna be an older team again next season, they will still be slow compared to the rest of the league and that cannot be changed. What can change is making them the best conditioned team in the league and these guys earned a summer of wind sprints, clean and jerks, power squats and kale shakes.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The Kings veterans probably rely on shake weights for their offseason training program.

 

[kovacro]

Drop them all off at Darryl Sutter’s farm for a long hard summer of honest work.

 

[johnjm22]

The kings need to have state of the art diet, strength and conditioning coaches and all these players who are drifting out of NHL play need to be sent to them for the summer. To me this is where the Kings need to write the blue print and have the rest of the NHL follow them. Whatever is happening now isn't working and to be honest it's embarrassing watching Kings players show up flat, have low energy, low compete levels, look weak on the puck and show no emotion regardless of the outcome. The Kings are most likely gonna be an older team again next season, they will still be slow compared to the rest of the league and that cannot be changed. What can change is making them the best conditioned team in the league and these guys earned a summer of wind sprints, clean and jerks, power squats and kale shakes.

Every team in the NHL has advanced nutrition and conditioning programs.

You can be in shape and still suck.

 

[Kingspiracy]

The Kings veterans probably rely on shake weights for their offseason training program.

You may be onto something here, they are playing like a bunch of wankers.

 

[ThreeOfAPerfectPair]

It'd be pretty cool if Toronto(7 points away) missed the playoffs and you guys won the lottery with their pick. heh.

 

[tny760]

Every team in the NHL has advanced nutrition and conditioning programs.

You can be in shape and still suck.

not to my knowledge when it comes to the offseason

not sure how much is prohibited by the CBA but yeah i'd like to see a bit more than "better show up to camp in shape boys" to guys that already have their beer on ice on their boats

 

[The Tikkanen]

Every team in the NHL has advanced nutrition and conditioning programs.

You can be in shape and still suck.

I'm thinking more along the lines of training with Apollo Creed, downtown LA. You see the look in their eyes man?

 

[Nickster]

I know Sturm might be a common name, but do we have an "in" on this:

30. There were approximately 20 NHL teams at the Hobey Baker rink in Princeton, N.J. last week to see the Tigers host the Clarkson Golden Knights. Princeton’s got a few players teams are looking at, although it has been a slightly down year for Max Veronneau — top on that list. The Golden Knights are led by centre Nico Sturm, a soon-to-be 24-year-old from Germany. He’s their captain, with 39 points in 32 games. He’s getting a lot of looks.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I know Sturm might be a common name, but do we have an "in" on this:

Not through Marco as far as I can find, but Sheldon Rempal was his teammate

 

[Peter James Bond II]

The trade deadline has come and gone, so the focus shifts on what many expect to be a very busy off-season for the Los Angeles Kings. I wanted to start a fresh new topic on what we think the direction of the team should be moving forward.

The following are key dates in the upcoming schedule that will impact some of those decisions:

- Season Concludes - April 6 (final game of the season will be against the Vegas Golden Knights).
- NHL Draft Lottery - April (Date is TBD according to the NHL Media site).
- 2019 NHL Draft Central Scouting Final Rankings - Week of April 15
- IIHF World Championships - May 10-26
- CHL Memorial Cup - May 17-26
- NHL Scouting Combine - May 27 - June 1
- NHL Buyout Window Opens - June 15 or 48 hours after the Cup is awarded (whichever is later)
- NHL General Managers Meeting - June 20
- 2019 NHL Draft - June 21-22
- NHL Buyout Deadline - June 30
- Free Agency Begins - July 1
- Arbitration Notification Deadline - July 5 (for player elected), July 6 (for team elected)

At the NHL Board of Governors Meeting in December, league commissioner Gary Bettman proclaimed that the projected salary cap for 2019-20 will increase to $83-million.


According to CapFriendly, the Kings have $70,346,894 in commitments tied to 17 players. The average age of those 17 players will be 30.1, among the oldest teams in the league.

With the projected cap ceiling in mind, and with no changes to the roster, that would leave the team with slightly over $12-million in cap space to fill out the rest of the roster.

It is a safe assumption that the team will manage to find a way to bring the team average age down and also clear up more cap space, whether it be by trades or buyouts. Big changes are ahead.

Awesome post and thread. I just want to respond so people can see your list again.
I just wanted to add one item, prior to April 6:

Possible signings - any players going pro:

Kupari finishing his season in Liiga and coming over? (if Karpat goes deep in playoffs, might not happen) Mikey Anderson signing watch? His brother turned pro last year, after his soph season. Hope Mikey signs. Markus Phillips and Sean Durzi finishing their Jr careers. Hopefully both sign. Potential Prokhorkin signing? His team is 0-2 in best of 7 playoff series. JAD finishing his season in Spokane and perhaps goes to Ontario or Kings? Hults - not sure if they would sign him and let him finish at least another year. He seems to be having another good season. Leading D scorer Penn St 26 pts in 33 games and second in +/- there. With Phillips and Durzi NEEDING to sign, I think they get those 2 locked up. And if Mikey Anderson signs, can't imagine they try to sign Hults, if 3 D coming in. Anyone else? Not sure about Sodergran and Shafigllin's contract situations. Wonder if they try to sign any other college free agents.

 

[kovacro]

I'm thinking more along the lines of training with Apollo Creed, downtown LA. You see the look in their eyes man?

 

[ru4reals]

I think Charlie Coyle is a good comparable for Toffoli when it comes to trades. Coyle went for a 22 yo forward with remaining upside and a 5th, possibly 4th round 2019 pick.

If Blake turned down Boston for something like Donato and a second for Toffoli, he’d probably regret it today.

Please tell me this is not true. Get rid of Blake if this is true. Not that Donato is anything special but I'd take that 2nd for Toffoli all day any day.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

During the last broadcast Jim Fox still talked up that big changes will occur during the summer, and that all the games from here on out is pretty much an audition for many players to make an impression and determine whether or not they'll be back next season.

During intermission they also ran the latest episode of Black & White, which placed a heavy emphasis on the future.
Black & White: Recreating the Kings

"We knew 18 months ago when Rob [Blake] took over the job that it was very important to get as many draft picks as possible," Kings President Luc Robitaille said.

With an aging roster that won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, it was clear that injecting youth and speed into the lineup would be critical in order to be competitive moving forward.

"You want to be as competitive as you possibly can. But you come to a point where you're not sure that group is capable of winning a Stanley Cup," Rob Blake.

I'd say that's a pretty telling quote about where Rob Blake stands with this team. He's clearly not pleased with these players.