Choralone
Registered User
Not sure why you are singling out Kempe - he's a stud and a gamer. Ask fans of other Pacific Division teams who play against him regularly what they think of him - I'm sure you'll hear praise.
The Kings are.. oof
- Thread starter Lahey
- Start date
Not sure why you are singling out Kempe - he's a stud and a gamer. Ask fans of other Pacific Division teams who play against him regularly what they think of him - I'm sure you'll hear praise.
Osprey
Registered User
- Feb 18, 2005
- 27,364
- 11,796
Beating the Oilers isn't easy, but that bit of trivia doesn't really prove it. In 2022, the team that beat the Oilers had a 50% chance of winning the Cup after that. In 2023, it was a 25% chance. In 2024, it was a 100% chance. Those are good odds. As you go further in the playoffs, your chance of being or losing to the eventual Cup champion skyrockets. The Oilers have consistently gone far, and that's what proves that they're good, not what the teams that beat them went on to do. The same goes for the Kings, who shouldn't use the Oilers' success as an excuse or comfort for the last 4 years, either.
This to me is why the draft needs to he done away with.
Force teams to recruit their rookies, to woo them. Especially so that tanking is not a gateway to a rebuild.
Raccoon Jesus
Jim Hiller is point shaving games
They are a 'pretty good' team
But unfortunately firmly in the 'not talented enough to out-talent you' category with no help on the way there unless Greentree is Mario Lemieux and
Also unfortunately not firmly in the "tough/dirty enough to run you thru the walls in a 7 game series" category
So they're good enough to rack up good regular seasons--it's a talented roster with a great defense--but not good enough OR tough enough to go further. It's not a good place for the GM to be in. They're still identity-less. They are exactly who we said they'd be at the beginning of any season since 2022, a wild card or low divisional seed that's first-round fodder. They just do a slightly better job of fooling us almost every year.
Dr Jan Itor
Registered User
lol, and then the entire top 10 goes to Florida, Dallas and Vegas. Not very fun either.
Herby
Now I can die in peace
The 2025 Kings had three second lines, two 2nd pair d-pairs and very little in what would be considered aggressive, tough or agitating players among those 13 players. And I don't think that was by accident, they want system players above all else, and if someone emerges more beyond that, great. But it can't be at the expense of the defensive system.
This type of roster construction is just doomed to fail every year with the arms race in the Western Conference.
This is the frustrating thing about out a lot of our fanbase (not you). I just don't know how people got fooled this year (for a fourth time), when the same foundational problems that existed the three previous years were still around. I was absolutely shocked with how many "Kings in a sweep" and "Kings in 5" posts there were.
None of the people who drank the Kool-Aid ever wanted to answer a simple question, how many teams that had neither a top 15C or a top 15D have had success in the western conf playoffs in this decade? I still can't get any of them to give me examples. The immediate retort was to say how this Kings team was "different" and they were ready to make a run because "Insert some lame canned cliche" , some of the shit was hilarious.
"Tougher to play against"
"Will steamroll the Oilers with depth"
"More committed to winning board battles"
"Tighter lockerroom this season"
"Young players taking ownership" (and then Hiller proceeded to bench or scratch most young players)
"Everyone buying into the system"
"They just really care about each other this season"
And then they still lose, even with the Oilers #1 d-man being out.
None of these "little things" and "intangibles" that messageboard fans drastically overrate are going to be enough for the Kings to beat the great teams in the west. And I think this year the Oilers were worse than Dallas and Colorado, and probably a toss-up with a healthy Winnipeg. If the Kings had played Dallas or Colorado they would have been slaughtered.
And the real kick in the balls, because of this playoff system, there is a very good chance that we will be subject to this again next season, at least it will be interesting to see what Jamie Kompon like cliches people can come up with as to why the 5th time will be a charm as Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty assume their regular roles as 1C and 1D in their age 38 and 36 seasons.
Dr Jan Itor
Registered User
If that's a priority, then good riddance
Reminds me of a story about Mike Palmateer when he played for Washington; he asked the coach for a day off to go skydiving or something like that
Dr Jan Itor
Registered User
Talent without commitment is a Pierre Larouche....a Kenr Nilsson...an Alexei Kovalev...
Raccoon Jesus
Jim Hiller is point shaving games
The Leafs are.. oof
At what point do we stop ignoring this teams faults and ask if they should blow it up?
0-3 with 5 goals for and 13 against since OP started this laugher, hope he's got the good whiskey out tonight.
So to answer the question...THIS is why.
At what point do we stop ignoring this teams faults and ask if they should blow it up?
0-3 with 5 goals for and 13 against since OP started this laugher, hope he's got the good whiskey out tonight.
So to answer the question...THIS is why.
Dr Jan Itor
Registered User
lol, if you don't think that non-hockey stuff wouldn't matter to 18 year olds with complete freedom of choice, I don't know what to tell you.
Raccoon Jesus
Jim Hiller is point shaving games
I don't suppose we're going to be seeing that guy who was mocking Kempe to pump Matthews' tires again anytime soon are we
Send him a gift card for me
Send him a gift card for me
ole ole
Registered User
- Oct 7, 2017
- 12,161
- 6,556
They are stuck in a middle of a black hole. It will be yrs before they realize what's going on.
Raccoon Jesus
Jim Hiller is point shaving games
bland
Registered User
- Jul 1, 2004
- 7,388
- 13,557
This is actually all nonsense.
There is no right or wrong way to win and series, and whether or not Kopitar and Doughty are top 15 in productuon was totally irrelevant.
The Kings lost due to the same mental weakness that has plagued them since the departures of the REAL leadership of the 12-14 Cup runs. Their leaders are front runners who collapse the second they are challenged.
This was an easily winnable series for the Kings. They did have the depth, the offense, the defense, the board play - all the right boxes checked off to sweep Edmonton. They lost because their best players play not to lose instead of playing to win. There isn't anybody in that room with the clout to grab the team, put them on his back and respond to shifts in momentum properly.
avocadosmoothie
Canada's Team B2B
- Jan 13, 2023
- 771
- 2,962
Kempe is genuinely levels above Matthews in the playoffs. He's done more damage against the Oilers in one series than Matthews has in his entire playoff career.
Herby
Now I can die in peace
I know, it's always the blame of two of the best players in franchise history. They get none of the credit for the good, and all of the blame for the bad.
We know you thought it was an easily winnable series, were you shining them up so that if they won you could give all of the credit to guys like Warren Foegele and Joel Edmundson?
The Top 15 D and Top 15C is just simply asking a question, if it's such a common way to win, surely there would be plenty of teams in history who have won that way. But hey props to you for at least acknowledging the question, that is more than most of the "we are right there" fans will do.
