Rumor: Planning Ahead: 2019 Off-Season

[KINGS17]

Here you go Anze and Drew, but I suppose there is only ONE Tom Brady.

Brady isn’t even in the top ten highest paid quarterbacks. In fact, of the top ten, only three have won a Super Bowl. But when asked why he’s been willing to give up millions of dollars over the years, Brady had the perfect answer.

“I think the thing I’ve always felt for me in my life, you know, winning’s been a priority,” Brady said, “and my wife makes a lot of money.”

“It’s a salary cap,” Brady said. “You can only spend so much and the more that one guy gets there’s less for others. And I think from a competitive advantage standpoint, I like to get a lot of good players around me.”

Tom Brady gives the perfect answer for why he's paid less than other QBs

Please NHL owners, end the era of the guaranteed contract in the next CBA. The fans, otherwise known as the people who pay the bills, deserve better hockey.

 

[johnjm22]

It's laughable that people think Stoll was a good leader. He was known as the party guy around the team. Vegas wasn't first time he ever had drugs on him. He liked to host "get togethers" at his place. He was preoccupied with chasing women and was more interested in the look of his physique than being in actual hockey shape.

Richards is another doozie. The guy let himself go. Lied to the team about getting his act together and will be costing us until 2032. Great leader.

Fact is Williams, Richards, Regehr, Stoll, Greene ect. were all here in 2015 when the Kings missed the playoffs.

Williams and Richards went to Washington and their "leadership" didn't make a lick of difference.

Leadership is something that's overrated by fans and media. It's nebulous, but makes for good articles. Meanwhile the obvious quantifiable reason why this team sucks is because the roster sucks.

 

[Fat Elvis]

I'd be interested in seeing LA inquire about Jesse Puljujarvi. Thinking the cost is very low at this point and LA has an abundance of dmen in the cupboard. Not talking high end prospects or 2nd round picks. Like LaDue+3rd.. Too much, not enough? No interest?
Curious what others think, might be worth a gamble, maybe not.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Here you go Anze and Drew, but I suppose there is only ONE Tom Brady.

Brady isn’t even in the top ten highest paid quarterbacks. In fact, of the top ten, only three have won a Super Bowl. But when asked why he’s been willing to give up millions of dollars over the years, Brady had the perfect answer.

“I think the thing I’ve always felt for me in my life, you know, winning’s been a priority,” Brady said, “and my wife makes a lot of money.”

“It’s a salary cap,” Brady said. “You can only spend so much and the more that one guy gets there’s less for others. And I think from a competitive advantage standpoint, I like to get a lot of good players around me.”

Tom Brady gives the perfect answer for why he's paid less than other QBs

Please NHL owners, end the era of the guaranteed contract in the next CBA. The fans, otherwise known as the people who pay the bills, deserve better hockey.

Ehh, I'm with you, but that's also because he's on the wrong side of 40. Brady was regularly in the top-5-10 range of QB contracts, generally guys would vault ahead of him with giant signing bonuses, but few also had his security (see comment about his wife) and ability to do such a thing. Only ones who (sometimes inexplicably, lol) regularly earned more than him on a consistent basis were Brees and Eli Manning IIRC. Like you said, there's only one Brady, that's a very unique situation. Sort of how like Crosby's contract looks nice right now--other salaries have surpassed his and he makes a ton on endorsements.

I agree with you 100% on guaranteed contracts, you and I for sure see eye to eye on that. But it's not the Drew Doughtys and Anze Kopitars that destroy salary structures.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

It's laughable that people think Stoll was a good leader. He was known as the party guy around the team. Vegas wasn't first time he ever had drugs on him. He liked to host "get togethers" at his place. He was preoccupied with chasing women and was more interested in the look of his physique than being in actual hockey shape.

Richards is another doozie. The guy let himself go. Lied to the team about getting his act together and will be costing us until 2032. Great leader.

Fact is Williams, Richards, Regehr, Stoll, Greene ect. were all here in 2015 when the Kings missed the playoffs.

Williams and Richards went to Washington and their "leadership" didn't make a lick of difference.

Leadership is something that's overrated by fans and media. It's nebulous, but makes for good articles. Meanwhile the obvious quantifiable reason why this team sucks is because the roster sucks.

They call them intangibles for a reason. You either believe them or you don't, not gonna change anyone's mind.

Meanwhile, I'll go on believing in Mr. Game 7.

 

[johnjm22]

They call them intangibles for a reason. You either believe them or you don't, not gonna change anyone's mind.

Meanwhile, I'll go on believing in Mr. Game 7.

I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm saying they're very exaggerated by fans/media. It's something we all want to believe in. We want heroes.

If you're going on a playoff run you're damn right I want JW on my team, but ask yourself how much of difference Williams would make if he was on the Kings right now. Most likely they'd still be a bottom feeder. That's because talent matters more than "leadership".

A teams' real leader is their coach anyways.

 

[DoktorJeep]

I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm saying they're very exaggerated by fans/media. It's something we all want to believe in. We want heroes.

If you're going on a playoff run you're damn right I want JW on my team, but ask yourself how much of difference Williams would make if he was on the Kings right now. Most likely they'd still be a bottom feeder. That's because talent matters more than "leadership".

A teams' real leader is their coach anyways.

Agree that the lack of leadership angle being pushed by management is a cynical ploy foisted on gullible fans. The best part of Coopers article was his contrast of Blake’s quotes on the day he was hired and this seasons exit interviews.

This team lacks enough prime, top end talent to be anything but an also ran at best. But BLuc keeps employing half measures in order to maintain a veneer of competence while the franchise goes off the rails.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm saying they're very exaggerated by fans/media. It's something we all want to believe in. We want heroes.

If you're going on a playoff run you're damn right I want JW on my team, but ask yourself how much of difference Williams would make if he was on the Kings right now. Most likely they'd still be a bottom feeder. That's because talent matters more than "leadership".

A teams' real leader is their coach anyways.

One of my real takeaways from that Athletic article citing Richards et. al. was the shared responsibility of the coach and leadership group and how they both have to lead. No leadership group is going to carry Willie D, and no coach is going to lead a lifeless bunch to the promised land alone. I don't disagree with you here either, just thought it was nice to see the previous 'leaders' discuss that nuance. Sutter was a badass, so was our leadership group. I'd actually argue Terry Murray was a really good leader, but the group wasn't ready (or talented enough) yet. But no coach is going to be able to substitute for Matt Greene, Stoll, et. al. enthusiastically keeping everyone around LA all summer for workouts and team building just like no leadership group is going to supersede the folly of a pathetic coach like Mustachio.

 

[fsanford]

I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm saying they're very exaggerated by fans/media. It's something we all want to believe in. We want heroes.

If you're going on a playoff run you're damn right I want JW on my team, but ask yourself how much of difference Williams would make if he was on the Kings right now. Most likely they'd still be a bottom feeder. That's because talent matters more than "leadership".

A teams' real leader is their coach anyways.

Talent does get you to the playoff's, but leadership, takes you through the playoff's. Canes are not the most talented team, I mean between the pipes. c'mon, they should be out based on that alone.

This year for the LA Kings , it was just as much about quit as it was quality.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Everything is relative. Kopitar will have made $131m by the time his current contract is done. If I'm finding the right numbers, Brady is up at $227m, and it seems like most of that has been made after turning 30. He plays offense only, at a position that has been increasingly protected by the rules. Not that playing QB is easy. Kopitar has to do things at both ends of the ice, but a top QB also has more impact on a game than damn near any center in the NHL.

Relative to others who play the same position, perhaps Brady is a saint in terms of taking less for the good of the team. However, if Brady does have those $227m to his name, let's not get too crazy. He's no Peyton Manning when it comes to shilling for a buck, but I'm sure Brady has at least some money coming in from elsewhere as well. The guy is maybe the #1 QB of all time. Yes, he's taking less to win within the NFL's salary cap system. He's doing that from a fairly high plateau though.

 

[johnjm22]

I'd be interested in seeing LA inquire about Jesse Puljujarvi. Thinking the cost is very low at this point and LA has an abundance of dmen in the cupboard. Not talking high end prospects or 2nd round picks. Like LaDue+3rd.. Too much, not enough? No interest?
Curious what others think, might be worth a gamble, maybe not.

I think a deal could be worked out but EDM would probably want Toronto's 1st, something I think the Kings would be unwilling to do.

Oilers need help in all areas and have little cap space. I might offer something like a 2nd round pick and Toffoli at 50% retention for Puljujarvi.

 

[kings11]

I think a deal could be worked out but EDM would probably want Toronto's 1st, something I think the Kings would be unwilling to do.

Oilers need help in all areas and have little cap space. I might offer something like a 2nd round pick and Toffoli at 50% retention for Puljujarvi.

If Toffoli is moving, its along with the TML pick to move up in the draft

 

[KingsFan7824]

Talent does get you to the playoff's, but leadership, takes you through the playoff's. Canes are not the most talented team, I mean between the pipes. c'mon, they should be out based on that alone.

This year for the LA Kings , it was just as much about quit as it was quality.

The Canes do have Slavin, Faulk, Pesce, and Hamilton as a top 4 though. Also, Warren Foegele has 5 goals and 8 points in 10 games for some reason.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

If Toffoli is moving, its along with the TML pick to move up in the draft

Would you trade the 5th overall pick for a later pick and a player with one year left on his contract at $4.6M who scored 13 goals and 34 points?

 

[KINGS17]

Everything is relative. Kopitar will have made $131m by the time his current contract is done. If I'm finding the right numbers, Brady is up at $227m, and it seems like most of that has been made after turning 30. He plays offense only, at a position that has been increasingly protected by the rules. Not that playing QB is easy. Kopitar has to do things at both ends of the ice, but a top QB also has more impact on a game than damn near any center in the NHL.

Relative to others who play the same position, perhaps Brady is a saint in terms of taking less for the good of the team. However, if Brady does have those $227m to his name, let's not get too crazy. He's no Peyton Manning when it comes to shilling for a buck, but I'm sure Brady has at least some money coming in from elsewhere as well. The guy is maybe the #1 QB of all time. Yes, he's taking less to win within the NFL's salary cap system. He's doing that from a fairly high plateau though.

As you said it's all relative. The NFL generates hundreds of millions of dollars more than the NHL does every year.

An athlete wants to make that kind of money? Learn how to throw a football like Tom Brady, or a baseball like Clayton Kershaw.

 

[kings11]

The Canes do have Slavin, Faulk, Pesce, and Hamilton as a top 4 though. Also, Warren Foegele has 5 goals and 8 points in 10 games for some reason.

Faulk and Dougie suck ass defensively, but are good on O... That whole team has bought in and having guys like JDub obviously helps.. Look at our team, we have talent but you'd think they were playing a pick up game... zero structure and accountability

 

[kings11]

Would you trade the 5th overall pick for a later pick and a player with one year left on his contract at $4.6M who scored 13 goals and 34 points?

It was a general commnet, but the fact remains that while you keep crying about the 13 goals, GMs could see a 27 YO who score 24 goals the season prior.. So if he's getting moved why not package him with a TML pick that likeyl to fall in the 20-23 range and maybe even the 33OA to move up 10 spots or more..

 

[Herby]

Would you trade the 5th overall pick for a later pick and a player with one year left on his contract at $4.6M who scored 13 goals and 34 points?

This was kind of discussed in the other thread with moving TT and the TOR pick for #7 or #8. But as you said there is no incentive for either EDM or BUF to trade for Toffoli. I think the best thing to do with TT is to hope like hell he can find his game and then trade him for the best offer at the deadline. My biggest worry is Toffoli rebounds and Blake gives him an extension based on whatever he produces this year

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

It was a general commnet, but the fact remains that while you keep crying about the 13 goals, GMs could see a 27 YO who score 24 goals the season prior.. So if he's getting moved why not package him with a TML pick that likeyl to fall in the 20-23 range and maybe even the 33OA to move up 10 spots or more..

You think a GM also isn't going to consider that this 27 year old player is about to become a UFA a year from now and is making close to $5M and has been an underachiever the past three seasons?

Take off the homer glasses.

This was kind of discussed in the other thread with moving TT and the TOR pick for #7 or #8. But as you said there is no incentive for either EDM or BUF to trade for Toffoli. I think the best thing to do with TT is to hope like hell he can find his game and then trade him for the best offer at the deadline. My biggest worry is Toffoli rebounds and Blake gives him an extension based on whatever he produces this year

I don't know how he'll respond under Todd McLellan, but Toffoli was one of the biggest malcontents, whining about practice when he himself barely showed up most nights. He's been one of the biggest disappointments on this team. A winger who was once thought to be ready to break out as a potential 30+ goal, 60+ point producer has come nowhere close to those numbers over the past three seasons.

 

[kings11]

You think a GM also isn't going to consider that this 27 year old player is about to become a UFA a year from now and is making close to $5M and has been an underachiever the past three seasons?

Take off the homer glasses.



I don't know how he'll respond under Todd McLellan, but Toffoli was one of the biggest malcontents, whining about practice when he himself barely showed up most nights. He's been one of the biggest disappointments on this team. A winger who was once thought to be ready to break out as a potential 30+ goal, 60+ point producer has come nowhere close to those numbers over the past three seasons.

NHL draft picks just like NFL picks are based on a point/value system and given the value of the TML being in the 20-23 range (315-350pts) + 33rd (237pts) + Toffoli is about equal value, now add in the fact that we likely take back a Sekera and its very enticing to a team like the Oilers who were built to fail..

 

[KingsFan7824]

I think the best thing to do with TT is to hope like hell he can find his game and then trade him for the best offer at the deadline. My biggest worry is Toffoli rebounds and Blake gives him an extension based on whatever he produces this year

My guess is big contract extensions are done for a while. Doughty was the last one, because he's one of the 4 core guys from the Cup days, and despite anything else, they can sell his name for tickets. They've already moved on from Pearson and Muzzin, despite not having anything close to Muzzin ready to play on D. Not sure there's much Toffoli can do, outside of maybe 40+ goals, that gets him another contract here. Of course if he had 40+, it would still be a bad signing, because he's not going to get better even if he hit that number, but if they were going to be stupid, it would have to be under those conditions. If Toffoli does his usual slow, dependent winger stuff, and hits 25 goals, that's not fixing any real problems.

 

[Herby]

My guess is big contract extensions are done for a while. Doughty was the last one, because he's one of the 4 core guys from the Cup days, and despite anything else, they can sell his name for tickets. They've already moved on from Pearson and Muzzin, despite not having anything close to Muzzin ready to play on D. Not sure there's much Toffoli can do, outside of maybe 40+ goals, that gets him another contract here. Of course if he had 40+, it would still be a bad signing, because he's not going to get better even if he hit that number, but if they were going to be stupid, it would have to be under those conditions. If Toffoli does his usual slow, dependent winger stuff, and hits 25 goals, that's not fixing any real problems.

I think the only way TT could have a really big year would be spending the entire season on Kopitar's wing and Kopitar playing like he did in 2018. I don't expect either of those things to happen.

 

[cyclones22]

While I agree that leadership on a player level is lacking to some extent, the question that needs to be asked is if the Kings replaced Justin Williams, Willie Mitchell or any of the other guys who are missing from 2014/2015 from a talent perspective. The answer is a resounding NO. I'm not even asking about replacement players playing at the heyday level of those players while with the Kings. I'm talking about new players replicating the last season the veterans were here. Nobody replaced Williams production, let alone his leadership. Or Mitchell's defense and intelligence. Or Regehr's ferocity and battle. Or Voynov's talent and skill. When you bleed that much talent and replace it with marginal players at best, your team is going to trend down.

Most of the talent loss was on defense and it's so important to be able to have players who can extract the puck from the opposition and then execute zone exits quickly. Offense starts with a break out pass from a defensemen. To start this past season, the Kings had maybe 3 of those guys to start and 2 of them (Martinez and Muzzin) have never really showed good chemistry together yet continually have been force fed that partnership. If the Kings turn it around, it's going to be because the young defensemen break out. A couple of Roy, Walker, Clague, Anderson or Brickley are going to have to show they're legit #3 to #5 defenders. If the Kings trot out Doughty, Martinez and 4 #6 /#7 defenders, then it's not going to be a palatable year at all. I REALLY hope that McLellan shows an ounce of creativity and courage in his defensive pairings. Someone else should get a shot to be paired with Doughty. Doughty's been playing with a piano on his back for awhile now and I'm sure that frustration had a part in his performance last season.

 

[johnjm22]

While I agree that leadership on a player level is lacking to some extent, the question that needs to be asked is if the Kings replaced Justin Williams, Willie Mitchell or any of the other guys who are missing from 2014/2015 from a talent perspective. The answer is a resounding NO. I'm not even asking about replacement players playing at the heyday level of those players while with the Kings. I'm talking about new players replicating the last season the veterans were here. Nobody replaced Williams production, let alone his leadership. Or Mitchell's defense and intelligence. Or Regehr's ferocity and battle. Or Voynov's talent and skill. When you bleed that much talent and replace it with marginal players at best, your team is going to trend down.

We miss their play on the ice more than anything.

I've said it many times but it bears repeating; Willie Mitchell is one of the best defensive players of his generation. He's massively underrated. Williams was a great forward that could be used in any game situation.

These were secondary players, who at times could be your best players on the ice. You don't just replace guys like that.

 

[verbalkint47]

I'd be interested in seeing LA inquire about Jesse Puljujarvi. Thinking the cost is very low at this point and LA has an abundance of dmen in the cupboard. Not talking high end prospects or 2nd round picks. Like LaDue+3rd.. Too much, not enough? No interest?
Curious what others think, might be worth a gamble, maybe not.

I think it would be smart for Blake to pursue 1 or 2 trades like this. A struggling player with some pedigree, low-risk high-reward. He shouldn't be trading a 1st or 2nd or good prospect tho. Whether those other teams GMs would sell low however..