The Kings are.. oof

[Bank Shot]

For all the smack talk Leafs got about consistently losing to Boston, and running back with the same core “the definition of insanity”..

This kings team is brutal. 4 straight years of losing to the oilers who have started sieves in net, including this year where career backup/AHL goalie Calvin Pickard 4-0’s them.

Since 2015 they have either missed the playoffs or lost in the first round.

At what point do we stop ignoring this teams faults and ask if they should blow it up?

The only teams the Oilers have lost to the last 3 seasons are the Cup winners.

It's not like the Kings have been losing to a team like the Leafs that has usually lost in the first round every season.

 

[Stephen]

No comment on playoff futility from a Leafs fan, but one oddball thing about the Kings, is that like the Rangers, they went into a youth movement for a few years and didn’t seem to get noticeably younger.

 

[Macheteops]

Sure, I'll play.

The Kings blow it up and trade away Kopitar, Doughty, Fiala, Kempe and Danault. All players who are old enough where they probably have either slowed down or retired when the team is ready to compete again.

What's step 2?

Step 2: Don't rush your rebuild (aka Faber for Fiala)

Step 3: Wait for McDrai to retire

 

[GoldenSeal]

Sure, I'll play.

The Kings blow it up and trade away Kopitar, Doughty, Fiala, Kempe and Danault. All players who are old enough where they probably have either slowed down or retired when the team is ready to compete again.

What's step 2?

Suffer

 

[BaileyFan]

The obvious best move for the Kings at any point over the past 4 years has been to blow it up and actually finish the rebuild that Blake and Robitaille abruptly cancelled in 2021. Outsider fans see the playoff appearances, they see them getting “unlucky” to face the Oilers, they see the 105 points and they think that the Kings must have done something right. They really seem to not understand just how much they stunted the development of their formerly top rated prospect pool and have built the epitome of a high-floor, low-ceiling roster.

The best move for the Kings currently is still to blow it up, and that probably includes Byfield too now.

 

[Bobby Ryan Getzlaf]

to be fair to the Kings if it wasn't for Chicago they would have 3. Same with Chicago having 7 if Kings didn't exist.

If we’re playing that game, the Ducks would’ve also had one in a 2003 if not for the Devils and 2015 if not for Chicago.

 

[Dust]

LA was one clear away from a series win.

One clear from being up 3-1, but the warts had started to appear already. Still no guarantee they close out the series.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

You got guys like kuzmenko and gavrikov not committing to signing. If they leave. It would leave a big void

 

[Martyros]

2 in 57
1 in 31
We still got 26 years to get a 2nd cup and be on the same pace as the kings

Imagine getting a 25 year head start, and still not being first team to bring cup to California, WILD.

sure, or you can be Buffalo and never get one.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Rebuilds suck. Fans are too willing to jump into a teardown rebuild just because things aren't working. It's basically a 7 year process when you get started. Tons of losing, tons of wasted draft picks, it sucks. If you're lucky!

Besides, the Kings are playing with house money at this point. They won their Cups with Doughty and Kopitar, now the fanbase gets enjoy watching them ride off into the sunset of their careers, occasionally seeing some playoff games. Same with the Penguins until recently. I wish as a Hawks fan I was able to see more of Toews, Kane, and Keith in the playoffs.

Maybe they sign Marner as a UFA and add more elite scoring to their team? Who knows. There are options out there besides just giving up and tearing it down

 

[La Bamba]

Rebuild or retool around byfield

I’d be very pleased as an Oiler fan if they built around Byfield

Kings are a strong team and are close to breaking through. They need a couple of big trades again this summer to retool a bit but they shouldn’t tear it down imo

 

[Raistlin]

they should be extremely disappointed in losing to an edm team without Ekholm and playing their backup. Esp beating them handily 4 times just in the month of April before their collapse. They are mentally weak. I dont think they are meant to do much until Kopitar and Doughty retires.

 

[Osprey]

 

[Lahey]

they should be extremely disappointed in losing to an edm team without Ekholm and playing their backup. Esp beating them handily 4 times just in the month of April before their collapse. They are mentally weak. I dont think they are meant to do much until Kopitar and Doughty retires.

Exactly my thoughts imo

 

[quackquackquack]

While they have a competitive roster now, they've obliterated their pipeline. Its basically just Byfield and Clarke. The Kings have some critical thinking to do.

 

[Bank Shot]

The obvious best move for the Kings at any point over the past 4 years has been to blow it up and actually finish the rebuild that Blake and Robitaille abruptly cancelled in 2021. Outsider fans see the playoff appearances, they see them getting “unlucky” to face the Oilers, they see the 105 points and they think that the Kings must have done something right.

If the King had gotten lucky and picked Seider, Stutzle, and Guenther instead of Byfield, Turcotte, and Clarke we would be talking about the Kings rebuild being completely textbook and how many more Cups they can potentially win.

That's the draft for you.

The Kings could have tore it all down and currently be a bad team trying to build around Kakko and Dach, while hoping to win the McKenna lotto. Would that really be any better?

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

While they have a competitive roster now, they've obliterated their pipeline. Its basically just Byfield and Clarke. The Kings have some critical thinking to do.

Well yea, if you disregard Spence, Laferriere, Turcotte, Helenius, etc, not to mention Anderson is only 25,

Is it high end talent, nope, but it's solid framework to work around, for under players 25 and under...

 

[King'sPawn]

Kings should have parted with Blake and Luc years ago. Most Kings fans (at least on here) aren't disillusioned.

Blake's finally gone. Luc can go down two paths - a nepotism internal hire where he promotes one of his buddies and perpetuates the country club atmosphere? Or does he bring in an outsider with vision and opportunity to make the necessary changes as the team prepares to break free from the last of its cup-winning core?

Lombardi got a LOT less leash than Blake did, despite Lombardi winning the cup twice. Luc and Blake's coup set the org back.

Toronto and other fans can keep mocking the ineptitude of the org. Guess what? We already know. So welcome to the party.

 

[BaileyFan]

If the King had gotten lucky and picked Seider, Stutzle, and Guenther instead of Byfield, Turcotte, and Clarke we would be talking about the Kings rebuild being completely textbook and how many more Cups they can potentially win.

We absolutely would not have been talking about that because they wouldn’t be playing on the Kings. That’s the whole point. You can’t “win now” without stunting prospect development or gassing them altogether in favor of veteran players.

Imagine intentionally tanking for only 2 years then complaining that the reason it didn’t result in a contender is that you just got unlucky in the draft. That’s essentially what has happened here. And this from a team that had Faber and Vilardi in the system too.

 

[hamzarocks]

Kings just don't have much high end talent or guys you can build a team around.

None of their high picks became Stars (byfield, turcotte, Bjornfoot, Clarke, Kupari)

Their old guard is mostly gone with Kopitar and Doughty being tier 2 or 3 players for a cup team at their ages and realistically not having too much left in the tank.

Fiala, Kempe, Moore, Foegele are nice players but not top 3 forward level for a cup winner.

The kings are built to be the NSH Preds of 2019-2024 where they were mostly a good reg season team but got out in R1 of playoffs.

They need to either find high end talent UFA (Marner + Eichel back to back UFAs type situation) or consider another 2-3 year rebuild

 

[me2]

The kings are built to be the NSH Preds of 2019-2024 where they were mostly a good reg season team but got out in R1 of playoffs.

They came closer to rolling Edmonton 4-0 in round one. They would have been ab happy team and Edmonton dealing with talk of McDavid demanding a trade. 2 bad 3rd periods and it's blow up the team and Edmonton are looking like the team to beat in the West.

It's a funny old world.

 

[hamzarocks]

They came closer to rolling Edmonton 4-0 in round one. They would have been ab happy team and Edmonton dealing with talk of McDavid demanding a trade. 2 bad 3rd periods and it's blow up the team and Edmonton are looking like the team to beat in the West.

It's a funny old world.

That's playoff hockey. You either find a way to push through or you don't

Leafs lost to the Bruins 4 times in 2013, 2018, 2019 and 2024 with all being G7 losses and 2 being in OT

Sens lost to the Leafs 4 times in late 90s and early 00s

The Kings core just can't compete in the playoffs. They have faced various versions of the Oilers now and they routinely choke and fail to defend vs them. Terrible defense and goaltending, failed PK and they end with 4 lost series

Kopitat + Doughty have probably 1-2 more seasons left. They will need to be replaced if the Kings will look to continue to try and be a contending team.

The Kings will play 1 of EDM or VEG next year and I can't see them beating either with only minor changes to their roster.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

The Kings original prime was cut a couple years short by the Voynov scandal, which not only robbed them of a critical #2 D but ruined all the vibes of the whole team.

After a few middling years, Luc “Littlefinger” Robitaille finally got to have lunch in the big kids room and got Lombardi fired.

This promptly ushered back in the same toxic country club atmosphere that had existed pre-Lombardi.

Luc hired all of his buddies and tried to contend with the same-ish core from 2012-2014. That failed spectacularly because Luc and all of his buddies are idiots and the team was quickly facing a rebuild.

They definitely made some good picks but insist on slow cooking everyone in the AHL from 7th rounders to bluechip lottery picks until they’re 24 and “learn how to check.”

And then Drew Doughty cried to the media about wanting to contend, and everyone hopped to because as covered previously Luc and all his buddies are idiots.

So the “rebuild” ended with its best picks
literally traded away.

This most recent push for relevancy has seen them run into prime Mcdavid and the funky bunch for four years in a row. And now we’re here.

Kopitar and Doughty’s legacies will likely take a hit from never winning anything outside of a small three year window in which they were surrounded by famously clutch playoff performers.

Once the wheels really fall off post-Kopitar, maybe Luc will actually face some accountability and they’ll need to bring in an outside guy like Lombardi and change the culture again. But until then we are a first round exit literally at our best.

Good times.

 

[Kennedys]

All I will say is 2026 isn't a bad year to suck.

Buffalo Sabres took note

 

[Hivemind]

A lot of posters tunnel visioning on the Kings' opponent being the Oilers, and using that as a justification for why the Kings shouldn't have to make substantial changes. But the thing is, the Kings' playoff ineptitude didn't start with these Oilers match-ups.

The Los Angeles Kings haven't won a playoff series since 2014. It's been eleven years since they won a playoff series. They have a grand total of nine playoff games won in eleven years. They've even missed the playoffs five times since they last won a playoff series. They've had four head coaches who were unable to win a playoff series.

Columbus, Ottawa, Montreal, San Jose, Seattle, and Arizona have won playoff series more recently than the Kings. The Kings are basically the Minnesota Wild of the Pacific division (and even the Wild make the playoffs more consistently than this Kings core).

At what point do you stop blaming the circumstances and the surrounding players and do you move on from a core that is simply past their expiration date?