Kings Article: Should We Really Be Surprised That Dustin Brown Remains Goalless?

[damacles1156]

Kopitar and Gabo have been lackluster all season so far, Kopitar has had maybe a couple of games, he looked good.

Brown's effort is fine, but at some point he needs to put the puck in the net. He has always been a streaky winger, so at some point that puck will go in.

Brown is way better than he was last season, he is doing everything right to score goals and produce. Also not a liability on the ice, like he was last season.

But again, talk is cheap, he has to start putting up some goals. Just like Kopitar/Gabo have to start playing better , and more consistent.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Kopitar and Gabo have been lackluster all season so far, Kopitar has had maybe a couple of games, he looked good.

Brown's effort is fine, but at some point he needs to put the puck in the net. He has always been a streaky winger, so at some point that puck will go in.

Brown is way better than he was last season, he is doing everything right to score goals and produce. Also not a liability on the ice, like he was last season.

But again, talk is cheap, he has to start putting up some goals. Just like Kopitar/Gabo have to start playing better , and more consistent.

Well said.

Brown's play is passing the eye test as far as effort and execution, but production matters and soon.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Working on net-front scoring allegedly.

 

[Face Wash]

Yeah.

Let's just go ahead and **** our players for the sacrifices they made over their careers to stick it out with this team. That should give us a GREAT reputation at retaining and recruiting free agents in the future.

Recruiting Free Agents? We don't have cap space to recruit free agents because of Brown so that's pretty moot. Look..I have one Kings jersey in my closet...it's purple and black with silver and it has Brown's number ans signature on it. No one has loved him over the years more than I have...

I appreciate how much he's worked and is working to get better...to be better, but he's not producing AT ALL and hasn't for a very long time now. We all know this. We also know that in a salary cap world you can't afford "Thank You" contracts. Every DL GM breakfast I went to, 4 to be exact, he said over and over that you don't pay a player for what they've done, you pay them for what you think they're going to do based on their skill set and within the limits of a salary cap. It's part of why long term deals are STUPID!

Brown has long since turned this contract into a mess for the Kings. I'm supposed to remember how good he was as a 25 y/o when as a 30 y/o he hasn't scored more than 1 PPG in 160+ games (over 2 seasons worth!).

If we weren't in a salary cap environment I wouldn't give a ****. But this just in, we are and we have been for quite some time. This isn't new. Brown's so bad his contract isn't even tradeable w/o holding back a lot of money...

You can criticize the fans for their lack of loyalty without criticizing a multi-millionaire for the extreme drop off in his game over 3 years, but we're still not the problem...He is.

 

[Face Wash]

The two groups are not mutually exclusive. Since Richards isn't around anymore, some of the same posters have moved on to Brown.

disdain is a heat seeker...and it's attached itself to Brown.

but 3 goals in 47 games from a guy who from age 23 to age 27 avg'd 26.2 goals a year, as well as a goal total that has gone down each of the last 4 seasons, as well as a guy who was a (-17) last season, has a tendency to do that.

 

[Face Wash]

Do people want him bought out? Because he's not tradeable.

Not even remotely, I want him to find a way to produce or I want him put in a position that suits his skill set (3rd or 4th line) so that my expectations are lowered. as long as he's on Kopi's line he should produce like a $5.88M cap space player.

When Jimmy Rollins got off to a poor start this year Donnie finally slid him down in the lineup...expectations were lowered, criticism died down. He actually began playing better.

Same can be the case for Brown. He needs to play less and in less "production-oriented" roles or the criticism won't end unless he starts scoring the occasional goal.

 

[jimmy1100]

Well said.

Brown's play is passing the eye test as far as effort and execution, but production matters and soon.

That would summarize my feelings exactly. I like what I see from Brown and I'm surprised it has not translated into points. As long as the effort and execution continue, the points will follow.

Also, it's not like Brown is the only guy on his line not producing right now. If he was playing with Carter/Toffoli you'd have a different argument.

 

[tsanuri]

That would summarize my feelings exactly. I like what I see from Brown and I'm surprised it has not translated into points. As long as the effort and execution continue, the points will follow.

Also, it's not like Brown is the only guy on his line not producing right now. If he was playing with Carter/Toffoli you'd have a different argument.

Even Toffoli didn't help Brown out the other night. He made a perfect pass to him and got stoned. Almost like he can't score unless Carter gives him the puck.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Even Toffoli didn't help Brown out the other night. He made a perfect pass to him and got stoned. Almost like he can't score unless Carter gives him the puck.

Brown's shooting % is so bad, a perfect pass to Toffoli brought Toffoli's shooting % back to earth!

 

[KingsFan7824]

Recruiting Free Agents? We don't have cap space to recruit free agents because of Brown so that's pretty moot. Look..I have one Kings jersey in my closet...it's purple and black with silver and it has Brown's number ans signature on it. No one has loved him over the years more than I have...

I appreciate how much he's worked and is working to get better...to be better, but he's not producing AT ALL and hasn't for a very long time now. We all know this. We also know that in a salary cap world you can't afford "Thank You" contracts. Every DL GM breakfast I went to, 4 to be exact, he said over and over that you don't pay a player for what they've done, you pay them for what you think they're going to do based on their skill set and within the limits of a salary cap. It's part of why long term deals are STUPID!

Brown has long since turned this contract into a mess for the Kings. I'm supposed to remember how good he was as a 25 y/o when as a 30 y/o he hasn't scored more than 1 PPG in 160+ games (over 2 seasons worth!).

If we weren't in a salary cap environment I wouldn't give a ****. But this just in, we are and we have been for quite some time. This isn't new. Brown's so bad his contract isn't even tradeable w/o holding back a lot of money...

You can criticize the fans for their lack of loyalty without criticizing a multi-millionaire for the extreme drop off in his game over 3 years, but we're still not the problem...He is.

Reality is always tougher than theory. I'm going to guess Lombardi said that before the first Cup too.

Brown signed his deal in the summer of 2013. In the lockout year, he ended up 2nd on the team in goals behind Carter, and tied with Carter for the lead in PP goals. Tied for the team lead in shots. 3rd in shooting%. Had a poor playoff that year, but so did Kopitar and Doughty. There was no reason to think he'd barely be averaging double digit goal totals over the next 2+ seasons. Maybe not a 50 point player, but not a 25 point player either.

Like a lot of free agents, Brown had the leverage at the time. It was also good timing. If that contract could've been signed in the summer of 2014, and especially in 2015, with the way things have gone, tough to think he ends up with the same deal.

His contract sucks because he can't score anymore, but at the time, how do you not sign him? Captain of the team for their first Cup in franchise history, has a great playoff in 2012 on top of that. Still the captain of the team that went to the 3rd round in 2013, and those are the best two consecutive seasons the franchise ever had up to that point. Would anyone have guessed he would have just 26 regular season goals since signing that contract?

 

[Telos]

I've been fine with Brown so far. Things are bound to rebound for him, he is doing everything right. There are bigger problems on the roster than Brown. Kopitar needs to get back on track and our top 4 defense needs to either step way up or get better if we want to take things deep into the postseason.

 

[Face Wash]

Reality is always tougher than theory. I'm going to guess Lombardi said that before the first Cup too.

Brown signed his deal in the summer of 2013. In the lockout year, he ended up 2nd on the team in goals behind Carter, and tied with Carter for the lead in PP goals. Tied for the team lead in shots. 3rd in shooting%. Had a poor playoff that year, but so did Kopitar and Doughty. There was no reason to think he'd barely be averaging double digit goal totals over the next 2+ seasons. Maybe not a 50 point player, but not a 25 point player either.

Like a lot of free agents, Brown had the leverage at the time. It was also good timing. If that contract could've been signed in the summer of 2014, and especially in 2015, with the way things have gone, tough to think he ends up with the same deal.

His contract sucks because he can't score anymore, but at the time, how do you not sign him? Captain of the team for their first Cup in franchise history, has a great playoff in 2012 on top of that. Still the captain of the team that went to the 3rd round in 2013, and those are the best two consecutive seasons the franchise ever had up to that point. Would anyone have guessed he would have just 26 regular season goals since signing that contract?

You wrote that entire post assuming I'm blaming Lombardi for this...I'm actually blaming Brown. I'm blaming Sutter more than Dean. Dean had a reasonable expectation that Brown was worth the money/term. It's up to Brown to prove him right. He hasn't.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

From Sutter, via Rosen.

"On Dustin Brown being “close” to scoring:
Hasn’t played really well lately. Hopefully, if Kopi plays tonight, then he gets the opportunity to play with a special player, and he’s got to perform there. We’re getting into regular season performances. They’re based on not just this year, but over the last couple seasons. He needs to be a better player. [Reporter; Along those lines, did you see some positive signs from him early, like in the first week or so?] Yeah, I mean, it’s what we talked about. We had six months off, and he got on the ice and he trained really hard and he came in really good shape. He’s getting lots of shots. We’ve put him in power play situations, we’ve put him in penalty killing situations to regain his 200-foot game. We’ve shown a lot of confidence in him. Now he’s got to produce. That would pretty much cover it all. We’re counting on him to have a really good regular season based on last year."

Emphasis mine. **** or get off the pot time, but encouraging signs.

 

[KingsFan7824]

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1471401&highlight=brown+signs

That's probably about as close to a unanimous opinion as you can get.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

My biggest concern with Brown is that with age, he isn't going to get better. Including this season, he has seven years remaining on that contract that carries a $5.875M cap hit, and he just turned 31.

Can you imagine how much worse he'll be in his mid to late 30s? Brendan Shanahan he is not. Hell, I'd be happy if he performed more like Trent Klatt when he was a King. At 33, Klatt was still a damn useful player who put up respectable numbers.

And now that we see Darryl Sutter flat out saying that Brown has not played well, maybe some of you can start admitting it is time to be concerned about Brown and his lack of production.

 

[KingsFan7824]

You wrote that entire post assuming I'm blaming Lombardi for this...I'm actually blaming Brown. I'm blaming Sutter more than Dean. Dean had a reasonable expectation that Brown was worth the money/term. It's up to Brown to prove him right. He hasn't.

Of course he hasn't. I don't know where any specific blame goes though.

Alright, you got Lombardi. Sutter, what is he supposed to do if Brown isn't scoring? Put him on a different line? Did it. Put him back with top players? Did it. Brown, as you say, can probably have the most blame, but, it's always tricky. Can he not do it anymore for whatever reason, or is he choosing not to do it?

 

[Face Wash]

Of course he hasn't. I don't know where any specific blame goes though.

Alright, you got Lombardi. Sutter, what is he supposed to do if Brown isn't scoring? Put him on a different line? Did it. Put him back with top players? Did it. Brown, as you say, can probably have the most blame, but, it's always tricky. Can he not do it anymore for whatever reason, or is he choosing not to do it?

I'm not anywhere near that cynical to think Brown is "choosing" not to score goals. Cynical and ignorant would be a more apt description of someone who thinks that way about him. He cares a ton! Brown needs to work on his "inside game". He needs to play 7 feet or less from the net...even if it means he misses an assignment or two during a game. He has to be ready to score the ugly ones.

Kings get enough shots on net... they get enough rebound chances, they don't get enough put backs. He has to be getting more shots from "inside". This can be said about virtually ANY player you expect to score but isn't in the NHL. He needs more layups. You can't score a layup from 30 feet out (unless you're Shea Weber).

 

[KingsFan7824]

I'm not anywhere near that cynical to think Brown is "choosing" not to score goals. Cynical and ignorant would be a more apt description of someone who thinks that way about him. He cares a ton! Brown needs to work on his "inside game". He needs to play 7 feet or less from the net...even if it means he misses an assignment or two during a game. He has to be ready to score the ugly ones.

Kings get enough shots on net... they get enough rebound chances, they don't get enough put backs. He has to be getting more shots from "inside". This can be said about virtually ANY player you expect to score but isn't in the NHL. He needs more layups. You can't score a layup from 30 feet out (unless you're Shea Weber).

Is he choosing not to be ready or willing to score the ugly goals? Same with Gaborik this year. And Kopitar. Toffoli does it, so I can't blame the system Sutter puts in. I don't think he's telling anyone not to go to the net.

The Hawks series, the Rangers series, Brown is in front, scoring goals. Tips, digging, whatever. Is there a regular season Brown at this point? Are there too many miles on the body to go where Toffoli goes?

Then again, in the 2014 playoffs, he had 6 goals in 26 games. Two of those goals were EN goals, so that's 4 real goals in 26 games, which would be an average of 12.6 over 82 games. He's got 26 goals(don't know how many, if any, were empty nets) in the last 173 regular season games, which is 12.3 over 82 games.

Maybe he's just going to struggle to score 10+ goals from here on out, no matter how much he trains, wants to do it, can do it, who he plays with, what Sutter is doing, etc.

 

[tsanuri]

Is he choosing not to be ready or willing to score the ugly goals? Same with Gaborik this year. And Kopitar. Toffoli does it, so I can't blame the system Sutter puts in. I don't think he's telling anyone not to go to the net.

The Hawks series, the Rangers series, Brown is in front, scoring goals. Tips, digging, whatever. Is there a regular season Brown at this point? Are there too many miles on the body to go where Toffoli goes?

Then again, in the 2014 playoffs, he had 6 goals in 26 games. Two of those goals were EN goals, so that's 4 real goals in 26 games, which would be an average of 12.6 over 82 games. He's got 26 goals(don't know how many, if any, were empty nets) in the last 173 regular season games, which is 12.3 over 82 games.

Maybe he's just going to struggle to score 10+ goals from here on out, no matter how much he trains, wants to do it, can do it, who he plays with, what Sutter is doing, etc.

Think you need to look at where Brown it taking shots from. He has a very similar shot number from the same places that Toffoli is scoring from. And Gaborik is also quite similar. They both just can't buy a break right now and Toffoli almost can't not score. I'll feel much better when Toffoli's shooting percentage gets down into the lower teens, since that is a sustainable number.

 

[HYORI 1963]

I guess he should also thank Kopitar for 2012 and 2014 by giving him a ludicrous contract as well since apparently players are going to get retirement contracts for what they accomplished in the past.

Too bad he couldn't give a thank you contract to Williams and Mitchell as well eh?

These lame ass excuses justifying Brown's contract are laughable. It's a bad contract for a sever key depreciating player.

You guys would be laughing if another team was spending that kind of money for a player who produces like a fourth line plug.

To me, this is all about character. Brownie did a wonderful thing by taking less money in his previous contract, so that we may build a winning culture. And thus Lombardi overpaid him on his current contract, as an appreciation. I suppose you would prefer a GM who ONLY cares about production out on the ice. I don't. I LOVE that Lombardi's a man of great character, and he has a captain, who is also of great character.

Your Kopi, JW and Mitchell comparisons are silly, because these guys DIDN'T give Lombardi a HTD, which you seem to be confused by. These guys had great year(s), but didn't offer a HTD.

 

[damacles1156]

Frankly I am more worried about Kopitar. If you think Brown's contract is bad, wait till Kopitar signs for Eight years.

Kopitar is not known to be a gym rat, will he make the commitment Brown did this off-season to get into TOP SHAPE ? Kopitar looks out of shape this season already, and looks to be playing himself into shape.

Brown knows his lack of production is not acceptable, he is working to correct it. Or else Brown wouldn't be doing all this extra work.

 

[damacles1156]

Working on net-front scoring allegedly.

Frankly this picture is missing Gabo and Kopitar. Their play and level of fitness this season is unacceptable.

 

[SFKingshomer]

Frankly I am more worried about Kopitar. If you think Brown's contract is bad, wait till Kopitar signs for Eight years.

Kopitar is not known to be a gym rat, will he make the commitment Brown did this off-season to get into TOP SHAPE ? Kopitar looks out of shape this season already, and looks to be playing himself into shape.

Brown knows his lack of production is not acceptable, he is working to correct it. Or else Brown wouldn't be doing all this extra work.

Agreed. Kopitar looks like a shell of his former shelf and so does Gaborik...definitely concerning.

 

[tsanuri]

Frankly I am more worried about Kopitar. If you think Brown's contract is bad, wait till Kopitar signs for Eight years.

Kopitar is not known to be a gym rat, will he make the commitment Brown did this off-season to get into TOP SHAPE ? Kopitar looks out of shape this season already, and looks to be playing himself into shape.

Brown knows his lack of production is not acceptable, he is working to correct it. Or else Brown wouldn't be doing all this extra work.

Kopi isn't where I'd like him but he's still on pace for 27 goals this year. And until his line mates and our D can start to score he isn't going to get any assists.

 

[damacles1156]

Kopi isn't where I'd like him but he's still on pace for 27 goals this year. And until his line mates and our D can start to score he isn't going to get any assists.

I am not worried about Kopitar's current lack of production(yet).

I am more worried about how Kopitar, seems not committed too fitness. He looks out of shape, and seems to be playing himself into shape.

That is going to be a huge problem going forward, especially as Kopitar ages into his 30's. Will Kopitar make the same commitment like Brown has made too fitness ?
Cause if Kopitar doesn't, then it will effect his production adversely.