that team two years ago...

[Axl Rhoadz]

What's really that different about the roster now and the roster two years that ended the season with 98 points?

I really think last year was a bit of a fluke...yes the Kings are on the 'decline', but not to that level...it just didn't make sense when you looked at the year prior.

If our key players play at the level they should...not last year's level, I don't see why we can't be battling for 7th or 8th spot.

Click to read more...

 

[Bandit]

Let me introduce you to our defense...

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

There's about a dozen names from that team who are no longer Kings. On top of that, guys like Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Trevor Lewis have all regressed and look slower than ever.

There just isn't a whole lot of depth beyond the top line, which was a big issue they overcame in 2017-18 (and a big reason why Vegas easily dispatched the Kings).

Just look at the huge drop off in points after the top line guys, Kopitar and Brown, and you'll find your answer.

 

[Lt Dan]

We wont finish 16th in the west but will probably finish 10-12

 

[Jericho111091]

If half of the team goes back to playing like their average we shouldn't be nearly as bad as last year. I don't expect us to be good but we should at least not be painful to watch.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

They'll likely fall short, but I agree.

Especially with the youth taking steps forward. Amadio is poised to breakout. Lizotte is a youthful infusion. The D has some wildcards, and other guys are likely ready for callups, as well.

I also think it's still funny that some folks are on board with the idea that all the guys over 27 sucking at once is a sign of decline rather than something else and that they're unlikely to bounce back when they spent the whole previous year talking about outlier performances (ie player does historically bad="I knew it all along, he's toast." player does well="no way, they're toast next year," repeat until correct). It's actually very likely we'll see good--not great or renaissance--years from even guys like Carter and Toffoli.

It's gonna be a lot more fun to watch as the youth come on board and energize some guys, but this is still a transitional year, even if a better one.

 

[bland]

One playoff game won in five years with this group of guys, that's why. Has nothing to do with last year or bounce backs. This group of guys has run it's race and could no longer hack it whether the top guys were performing well or not. They were done, but they had also contracted themselves into a tight corner, so it has taken a long, long time to recover.

And they haven't recovered yet. They have amassed some damn fine building blocks and we get to be very optomistic about their development. Four of them in particular, Turcotte, Peterson, Bjornfot and Anderson-Dolan have me very excited. Only one of them broke camp, which is a pretty good comparison to their team right now: tomorrow looks great, today ain't that different than yesterday.

 

[Steve Zissou]

We have a bunch of youngin's just barely making the big club and a bunch of older vets who don't know how to lead... If 2012 and 2014 taught us anything, it's that the middle tweeners need to carry the load.

 

[kilowatt]

The difference is that in 2017-18, we had most of a second line. Pearson and Toffoli were still playing like top six wingers. Before and after his injury, Carter was playing well. Kempe filled in admirably for a while, but ultimately faded. But we had depth.

Iafallo - Kopitar - Brown
Pearson - Carter - Toffoli

We also had Muzzin, Forbort, and a surprisingly steady Christian Folin. Hopefully Hutton can play that role this season.

If we want to be close to competing, we’ll need some guys to step up. Even two years ago, with Kopitar playing at an MVP level, his line wasn’t a great top line in the league. It was arguably the worst last year. Do we have anyone that can score at a second line pace? 40+ points from two forwards not named Kopitar or Brown would be absolutely huge.

If we can somehow manage that while being a top ten team in goals against and top half for special teams, we’ll be good. But we either need Carter and Kovalchuk to play like second line players, or we better pray that guys like Wagner, Lizotte, Amadio, and Grundstrom force the issue.

This season probably lives or dies with Adrian Kempe, unfortunately. Can he turn a corner and be a 50-point second-line center? If not, can Amadio, Lizotte, or Carter? If the answer to all of those are no, we’re going to be arguing draft picks in April, not playoffs.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

The difference is that in 2017-18, we had most of a second line. Pearson and Toffoli were still playing like top six wingers.

Pearson had a whopping 15 goals...Kempe had more.

Oh, and we still have Forbort.

If Bjornfot plays well and sticks, that will be an upgrade over Muzzin.

 

[lumbergh]

This is exactly the kind of thought process that brings down a team. We were okay last year, so let's just do the same thing we did. Maybe if we patch a hole we'll be even better! This type of thinking brings you Kovalchuk, a player so ill-fitted to this team he actually makes it worse.

The fact is the vets are two years older, and certainly not two years better. After years of stagnation and few high picks, the Kings were due for a fall. The core, outside of Brown, all struggled simultaneously. You might think that's an anomaly, but you should also consider the possibility that the team two years ago was an anomaly as well. The Kings were a boring team playing boring hockey, bailed out by Kopitar and Brown's strong year.

Thankfully, management realized this, although a year too late. It's time for fresh blood and a renewal on this team. Gotta cut out the moldy bits off the stale bread and try something new. I honest don't think the Kings are as bad as they were last year, but they're not good. Will they be competitive? Maybe, but so what? The Kings are almost irrelevant in the league right now.

To me as a fan this year, competitiveness doesn't matter as much as freshening up the team and making the product fun to watch again. This year is as much about better coaching and a better system as it is about wins and losses. Once the Kings become a team worth cheering for, I'll care a lot more about the wild card position.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

This is exactly the kind of thought process that brings down a team. We were okay last year, so let's just do the same thing we did.

Actually, that's not my point with this thread at all. I'm not satisfied with the current state of the team...my point is that I'm not sold (AT ALL) that this team is going to be as bad as all the experts are predicting. My thought is that they have just as much of a chance as performing the way they did two years ago as they performed last year. I think last year was a f***ing anomaly and snowballed from the start.

if our core plays to the expected level they've performed at mostly over their careers, we're going to be a lot closer to a playoff team than anyone is expecting. Add in a competent coach, like we did, just might be interesting...

 

[KINGS17]

We wont finish 16th in the west but will probably finish 10-12

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I don’t know about these so called experts, but most here are saying that the Kings won’t be as bad as they were last season.

Many predictions I’ve seen have Ottawa and Detroit as the bottom two teams.

 

[BigKing]

2018 was a fluke for reasons that have been stated several times, such as Kopitar's career year, back-up goalies losing only one game, numerous 3rd period come backs etc. The fact is that team wasn't very good from the end of December through to the playoffs.

Now, last year isn't the norm either as an increase in effort alone will lead to more points. That being said, this is probably more like Doughty's first season where they wound up with 79 points. Something in that range. I think that is probably the floor, assuming Kopitar/Doughty are healthy all year.

Scoring looks like it will still be an issue and, Bjornfot or not, the defense is rough. I'm also leaning towards "not" on Bjornfot since it is stupid to waste a year of his contract on an 80 point team. He isn't Doughty and even Doughty might have been sent back to play in a mens league if that was a possibility for him. Hell, Kopitar was ready to play coming out of his draft year as well but they kicked the contract down the road since he could go play in the SEL.

Bjornfot can get great development this year in Sweden and then still be on an ELC when this team is supposed to be good. That is more important than our entertainment value this season. As someone paying to see this trash, it sucks but it is the smart thing to do.

 

[kilowatt]

Pearson had a whopping 15 goals...Kempe had more.

Oh, and we still have Forbort.

If Bjornfot plays well and sticks, that will be an upgrade over Muzzin.

Yeah. Pearson was never the driver on that line, but he still managed 15 goals and 40 points. Kempe benefited by playing with Pearson and Toffoli. Kempe’s last goal in 2017-18 came in February, and coincided with Carter returning to the lineup.

I hope Bjornfot sticks with the team, but I don’t think he’ll be a physical presence like Muzzin was. He may or may not be better, but he is a rookie and he will at times play like a rookie. And if he doesn’t stick, then our defense looks real bad.

Hutton - Doughty
Martinez - Roy
MacDermid - Walker

 

[YP44]

I think that best case scenario LA is a 90 point team but more likely 80-85.

 

[Bandit]

Let me introduce you to our defense...

As I was saying...

 

[Herby]

The 2017-18 season was one of the worst things to ever happen to the Kings.

Completely flukey season prevented them from getting a top 8 pick, caused them to hang onto guys like Carter and Toffoli who otherwise may have been moved and then made them think signing Ilya was a good idea.

2017-18 is going to probably set the rebuild back atleast a year or two.