Rumor: Planning Ahead: 2019 Off-Season

[KingPuckChoo]

Lottery results aside...I miss Dean Lombardi...

Lombardi had two distinct eras

pre-2014 cup
post-2014 cup

obviously pre-2014 DL is the best era of a General Manager LA's ever had

post-2014 is what i call Depressed Dean, that's not a good Dean

 

[Cook24]

Lombardi had two distinct eras

pre-2014 cup
post-2014 cup

obviously pre-2014 DL is the best era of a General Manager LA's ever had

post-2014 is what i call Depressed Dean, that's not a good Dean

The guy admitted he wasn’t sure how to maintain a winning team. He made some mistakes. We never gave him a chance to correct them...I think he should’ve had another year or two. Just my opinion...

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

The guy admitted he wasn’t sure how to maintain a winning team. He made some mistakes. We never gave him a chance to correct them...I think he should’ve had another year or two. Just my opinion...

He couldn't separate the business side from the personal side. There was not one single reason why Richards shouldn't have been bought out. And then every single player wanted Sutter gone but he gives him an extension. Makes no sense.

 

[kovacro]

No! Unless there is secret hidden footage I haven't seen. 7 goal scorer last year and scores only 25 this year. No quickness.
Zegras and Krebs much better picks at 5. Better skaters and more talented.
2 or 3 of Turcotte, Cozens, Byram, Zegras, Krebs should still be on the board at 5.

He’s looking pretty fast tonight for a big guy.

He’s made some nice plays and had Saskatoons only goal at the end of 40 as they were leading Prince Albert (Ranked #2 in the CHL).

I do like his compete level. He certainly doesn’t seem to shy away from contact and if he takes a good shot, he bounces right back up and keeps working.

That’s a pretty good jump in goal production for a kid playing in the WHL which is arguably the toughest CHL league to play in of the 3.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

The guy admitted he wasn’t sure how to maintain a winning team. He made some mistakes. We never gave him a chance to correct them...I think he should’ve had another year or two. Just my opinion...

i agree with that too, but he also confessed that he started to develop trust issues with players, so that kinda fed in his paranoia, and it paralyzed him in his future transactions, the man had to go... but not because he was a bad GM, he was a pretty underrated GM

 

[Cook24]

He couldn't separate the business side from the personal side. There was not one single reason why Richards shouldn't have been bought out. And then every single player wanted Sutter gone but he gives him an extension. Makes no sense.

I think when we let him go was the moment he realized what needed to be done...

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

I think when we let him go was the moment he realized what needed to be done...

Too late.

Also, his team USA thing at the World Cup was icky. I agree that the Kings shouldn't cater to the "flavor of the month" but he was way too rigid in his thinking. Skill is skill regardless of the size of player.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Lombardi had two distinct eras

pre-2014 cup
post-2014 cup

obviously pre-2014 DL is the best era of a General Manager LA's ever had

post-2014 is what i call Depressed Dean, that's not a good Dean

There's pre-Penner Lombardi. There's pre-Carter Lombardi. Then post-2014 Lombardi.

Penner was the first larger reach that wasn't working right away. 2 goals and 6pts in 19 games. Then he doubled down on that with Richards, which didn't get the team anywhere, until Carter was brought in at a discount. 2014 was this close to not happening, on multiple occasions. Because of that run, Lombardi ended up with too much hope in 14-15. Had they at least made the playoffs and lost in 2015, maybe he doesn't go after Lucic, because Carolina would've had the 2015 pick instead. Although without the hope, maybe Lombardi doesn't trade for Sekera to begin with.

Overall though, Lombardi post-2014 wasn't really all that different from Lombardi pre-2014. He was a gambler in either scenario. Going for Hickey in 2007 isn't all that different than taking a chance on Lucic. The Penner deal isn't all that different from Lucic. Trading 1st's in 2015 and 2016 isn't all that different from going all in with Richards, who was already showing signs of decline with the Flyers. Not every injured guy that Lombardi took a chance on worked out. They got very lucky that Mitchell didn't get another serious concussion. Eventually Williams paid off, but he was limited to 49 games in his first full year with the Kings, which at that point was 3 consecutive seasons where he was hurt for extended periods of time. Not much different than Gaborik in that regard. Younger than Gabbo, but still hurt all the time.

One set of gambles worked, the other didn't. Lombardi was pretty much Lombardi, in whatever year you want to choose. It's amazing they did win in 2012, considering all the missed picks they had between 2006 and 2010, and the amount of future that had to be dealt just to get out of the 1st round by 2012.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Dean Lombardi’s “flavor of the month” comment about a team that went on to win back-to-back Cups shows how out of touch he had become.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

He’s looking pretty fast tonight for a big guy.

He’s made some nice plays and had Saskatoons only goal at the end of 40 as they were leading Prince Albert (Ranked #2 in the CHL).

I do like his compete level. He certainly doesn’t seem to shy away from contact and if he takes a good shot, he bounces right back up and keeps working.

That’s a pretty good jump in goal production for a kid playing in the WHL which is arguably the toughest CHL league to play in of the 3.

I'm scouring web for any footage I have not seen...when Dach was scoring 7 goals, Cozens was rookie of the year in same WHL. Cozens is quicker,
as good as a playmaker and scored 34 goals to Dach's 25. Cozens led Lethbridge in scoring. Dach was 3rd on his team.

I found this stuff and watching. Still prefer Turcotte, Cozens, Byram for sure and Zegras as well. Krebs looks very good, but Kings can do better at 5

 

[AzKing]

I'm scouring web for any footage I have not seen...when Dach was scoring 7 goals, Cozens was rookie of the year in same WHL. Cozens is quicker,
as good as a playmaker and scored 34 goals to Dach's 25. Cozens led Lethbridge in scoring. Dach was 3rd on his team.

I found this stuff and watching. Still prefer Turcotte, Cozens, Byram for sure and Zegras as well. Krebs looks very good, but Kings can do better at 5

One thing that makes me a bit uncomfortable about Krebs are the descriptions of him being a slightly built player. The question is whether he can build it up to withstand the rigors of the NHL because even shorter guys who have a strong build can succeed but guys who are slightly built and not able to get bigger can get knocked off the puck easily in the NHL. Supposedly Zegras is another guy who while very talented can be knocked of the puck pretty easily. I don't see the same issues with Turcotte, Cozens or Dach.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

One thing that makes me a bit uncomfortable about Krebs are the descriptions of him being a slightly built player. The question is whether he can build it up to withstand the rigors of the NHL because even shorter guys who have a strong build can succeed but guys who are slightly built and not able to get bigger can get knocked off the puck easily in the NHL. Supposedly Zegras is another guy who while very talented can be knocked of the puck pretty easily. I don't see the same issues with Turcotte, Cozens or Dach.

I agree. Zegras is built like Kyle Connor...and Kyle got bigger, stronger and put on some weight / muscle. Wish DL didn;t make the Lucic trade and drafted Connor or Barzal. Kings may just be in the playoffs. Jon Rosen posted a Kyle Connor feature store day of draft and Mayor posted something about Barzal being coveted by Kings. Seems one of those would have been a King.

Zegras is highly skilled and lots of upside. Think he will be very good...just take an extra year or 2.

 

[KINGS17]

No matter what, the Kings cannot afford to miss with this pick.

 

[kilowatt]

Byram, Cozens, Turcotte

I would be excited for any of these three

Would love Caufield, Newhook or Suzuki with the Toronto pick

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Grundstrom, Wagner, Vilardi, JAD, Kupari, Walker, Anderson, Clague, Petersen...Turcotte.

Let's turn this thing around! and others - Lizotte? Brickley? Prokhorkin?

and players like Thomas, Durzi, Dudas, Phillips, Hults, Strand, and Tor #1 and #33 keeping the pipeline hot.

 

[kilowatt]

we werent gifted anything in the past and thats okay. we couldnt even figure out how to get #1 in 2008. we knew it was a long shot to get #1, and the most likely scenario was always #5. blame it on the stupid draft rules.

i think it will be priority #1 to get another first round draft pick, either this year or next, for a guy like toffoli and some other pieces

 

[ru4reals]

I'm scouring web for any footage I have not seen...when Dach was scoring 7 goals, Cozens was rookie of the year in same WHL. Cozens is quicker,
as good as a playmaker and scored 34 goals to Dach's 25. Cozens led Lethbridge in scoring. Dach was 3rd on his team.

I found this stuff and watching. Still prefer Turcotte, Cozens, Byram for sure and Zegras as well. Krebs looks very good, but Kings can do better at 5

After viewing this video Kids gonna fit right in with the Kings. All I see is a kid who can't finish and shoots like every current member of this team.

 

[Eagle Fang]

Dont really get the hype on Dach. Obv im no scout but jus on my limited viewings he seems blah. Hes got some nice dangles, but other than that seems pretty disengaged.

Always been a fan of players who compete. Guys like Grunstrom, Wagner, Clifford, Kempe, Luff... even Lizotte.

Dach reminds me of Carter in that sense.

Personally I hope they nab Turcotte, Cozens or Byram. Pod wouldnt be bad either.

 

[kovacro]

Dont really get the hype on Dach. Obv im no scout but jus on my limited viewings he seems blah. Hes got some nice dangles, but other than that seems pretty disengaged.

That's the thing. Likely +/- 90% of us on here are watching video clips of these kids to make a judgement on them.

We don't get a chance to see them live and watch them away from the play or really watch their defensive game, how they compete and the little things they do.

To your point about Dach being disengaged. I saw a highlight pack of him that Sportsnet put together last night from his previous 2 games in the current series they are playing in versus a very strong Prince Albert club and he seemed very engaged, takng on contact, being aggressive and playing to the crowd after he had scored a goal in Prince Albert. Again, it's only a highlight package.

I can honestly say, there is no way I can formulate a solid opinion on most of these kids as I have never had a chance to watch them live. I can try to comment on some OHL kids as I go to games regularly, especially a kid like Kaliyev who plays in Hamilton.

I always appreciate people chiming in who have actually gone to a few of the games to see these kids because they can provide more of an assessment. Always enjoy reading stuff on how our guys are doing in Ontario as there are people on here who go to the games and watch certain players and report back with their opinion.

 

[AKAY47]

Bernstein saying McLellan is coming to LA. Rejoice. Drop to 5th in the draft and now hiring Todd McLellan, who literally hasn't done a single thing in the NHL. Amazing time to be a Kings fan.

 

[TopT]

Byram, Cozens, Turcotte

I would be excited for any of these three

Would love Caufield, Newhook or Suzuki with the Toronto pick

add Brink for Toronto pick

 

[LAKings88]

Bernstein saying McLellan is coming to LA. Rejoice. Drop to 5th in the draft and now hiring Todd McLellan, who literally hasn't done a single thing in the NHL. Amazing time to be a Kings fan.

Never liked him. That could be mostly my hate of the Sharks coming through tho.

 

[ibleedkings]

I’ll take Mclellan. I think he’s a players coach but will also get everything out of our guys. I’m not judging him on his time in Edmonton.

 

[Scottkmlps]

I'll wait until I see results with McLellan as head coach of the team the Kings put on the ice, after what should be an eventful summer, before I start lambasting the decision to hire him.

 

[AlphaBravo]

Bernstein saying McLellan is coming to LA. Rejoice. Drop to 5th in the draft and now hiring Todd McLellan, who literally hasn't done a single thing in the NHL. Amazing time to be a Kings fan.

Even if you hate McLellan there are no other good options available. For me, I wouldn’t mind a year or two of Roy to spark some life and accountability in this team, but I don’t know how effective Roy is in developing some of the younger players.

McLellan is going to be our new Terry Murray. Just a coach for 2-3 years to put some structure back in the team until the team is ready to compete for cup.