The Mayor John Hoven joined host Jonathan Davis on the Two Man

[Raccoon Jesus]

To be fair, I think he does both--clearly takes chances as evidenced by his trades, but also clearly gets emotionally married to his players to a great degree.

This is a guy whose favorite player was Mike Ricci IIRC, so it makes sense that he hung on to the corpse of Mike Richards, for example. For better or for worse (and results show both, to be fair), he romanticizes the notion of grit and experience more than many other GMs.

From DL down, this organization is bullish on their beliefs.

 

[Fishhead]

To be fair, I think he does both--clearly takes chances as evidenced by his trades, but also clearly gets emotionally married to his players to a great degree.

This is a guy whose favorite player was Mike Ricci IIRC, so it makes sense that he hung on to the corpse of Mike Richards, for example. For better or for worse (and results show both, to be fair), he romanticizes the notion of grit and experience more than many other GMs.

From DL down, this organization is bullish on their beliefs.

Those beliefs were very successful, but like anything else, times change. DL was put in charge of the Kings at a perfect time for him. He inherited a team with some really good young pieces and at heavy play was starting to become the focus after the cap was implemented and highly skilled teams (Anaheim, Detroit, Pittsburgh, even Carolina and Tampa Bay) had recently won cups. The punishing and possession style of play was becoming extremely effective, which suited his player type perfectly.

The cycle is now shifting back to a more skilled game quickly and it's pretty much impossible for any GM to revamp his roster to keep up in such a short period. The only team that has been close to perfectly built lately is Chicago, who plays a possession game that is more based on skill, it's a nice fit for the play the last 7 years or so.

I don't think DL has much of a choice but to stick with his beliefs. Even if he was gung-ho about shifting to a high-skill team, what could he possibly do? Even without some of the crappy contracts, he'd have to replace 80% of the roster to switch styles. I think what DL is doing now is correct. Do your best to retool and set a goal of trying to win in the next 3 seasons. The alternative is to gut the team now, which is going to have to be done in a few years anyways.

There are two main views on this. Some think that DL should throw everything at it for the next few years until the wheels completely fall off and our vets have lost most of their value. Others think that it might be best to sell off our experienced winners while their value is high, and start a rebuild because the odds of winning in the near future are low. I don't think either is right or wrong, but I tend to lean towards the first option because there is no guarantee that a roster with top guys at key positions could be built again.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Those beliefs were very successful, but like anything else, times change. DL was put in charge of the Kings at a perfect time for him. He inherited a team with some really good young pieces and at heavy play was starting to become the focus after the cap was implemented and highly skilled teams (Anaheim, Detroit, Pittsburgh, even Carolina and Tampa Bay) had recently won cups. The punishing and possession style of play was becoming extremely effective, which suited his player type perfectly.

The cycle is now shifting back to a more skilled game quickly and it's pretty much impossible for any GM to revamp his roster to keep up in such a short period. The only team that has been close to perfectly built lately is Chicago, who plays a possession game that is more based on skill, it's a nice fit for the play the last 7 years or so.

I don't think DL has much of a choice but to stick with his beliefs. Even if he was gung-ho about shifting to a high-skill team, what could he possibly do? Even without some of the crappy contracts, he'd have to replace 80% of the roster to switch styles. I think what DL is doing now is correct. Do your best to retool and set a goal of trying to win in the next 3 seasons. The alternative is to gut the team now, which is going to have to be done in a few years anyways.

There are two main views on this. Some think that DL should throw everything at it for the next few years until the wheels completely fall off and our vets have lost most of their value. Others think that it might be best to sell off our experienced winners while their value is high, and start a rebuild because the odds of winning in the near future are low. I don't think either is right or wrong, but I tend to lean towards the first option because there is no guarantee that a roster with top guys at key positions could be built again.

I don't think him or Sutter are wrong in thinking "Kings hockey" can still be successful and regardless they're both obviously tied to going down with the ship either way. I DO think they've tried to address the league changing around them by also adding speed. The Ducks and Sharks (and Oilers) are examples of teams with all of the above elements, but they've also had the assets to expend after our championships where we did not.

I think the 'problems' are magnified by lack of execution and the unwillingness to get dirty night in and night out and this year in particular i DO Think Sutter needs to make some tweaks to open up the offense a bit more. Not saying at all we need to trade rush chances with teams, but no one is gonna even pass the puck towards the crease/slot unless it's a 100% chance of connecting. I've said it in the past, we're at the point where we can trade SOME possession for some playmaking that might result in turnovers (like centering passes).

While being 'too predictable'--which is think is the common complaint--is a benefit in the defensive zone, in transition, and on the breakout, it's a MEGA-detriment in the offensive zone in terms of results.

 

[KINGS17]

To be fair, I think he does both--clearly takes chances as evidenced by his trades, but also clearly gets emotionally married to his players to a great degree.

This is a guy whose favorite player was Mike Ricci IIRC, so it makes sense that he hung on to the corpse of Mike Richards, for example. For better or for worse (and results show both, to be fair), he romanticizes the notion of grit and experience more than many other GMs.

From DL down, this organization is bullish on their beliefs.

Absolutely nothing wrong with grit and physical play when you have the players to execute the kind of system the Kings employ. I would argue experience only factors in when it is the right player with the experience.

A guy like Justin Williams is going to bust his ass when the chips are on the line. Some guys after they have been to the top of the mountain can't maintain the hunger it takes to reach the top again.

It may also just be getting older makes it impossible for them to execute the way they did in the past.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

So I guess were getting Voynov back too....SWEET.

 

[King'sPawn]

Not to play mod... but maybe this thread has run its course.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

We're done here.