Time to forgive Rob Blake (History/Jersey Retirement Chat)

[Ziggy Stardust]

What a great player Blake was in those days. My favorite player by a mile. The cannon from the point, the thundering hip check. Just a dominant force on the blue line. That's the Blake I remember.

Some fans think that these hockey players owe them a career of loyalty, and for them, that break in trust can never be mended. They'll go on booing for life because this is how they repay Blake for what he didn't give. I personally don't think Blake owes any of us anything. He was playing a game for a living and then he left to play that game for a living elsewhere. No big deal to me.

Won't forget Blake hipchecking Jochen Hecht all the way back to Germany.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Oh for the love of god, that song.

Sorry, I have 2 daughters under the age of 5. I've heard that song at least 100 times.

Want me to post some more G N' R?

I used to side with management and didn't care for Blake after what went down in 2001, and Blake was my favorite Kings player after the Gretzky era ended, however, over time, I started to realize who was in the wrong, and it was Leiweke and his stooge, Kevin Gilmore.

Just read how Luc Robitaille explains the way the organization treated him. That speaks volumes of how they handled contract negotiations with their own star players. They didn't care for them.

http://mayorsmanor.com/2009/11/20-questions-with-20-interview-with-luc-robitaille/


And what did the Kings end up doing to replace Luc Robitaille that summer? They go with a cheap option and sign Steve Heinze. They were cheapskates at that time and were trying to put together a low budget team in a big market and a new building.

Really painful to read. Thank god those days are long gone and we don't morons running the Kings anymore.

 

[johnjm22]

I would like to see Blake address this situation, and openly talk about it. If he wants to stay with the organization long term, I feel like this is something he needs to do. It's the elephant in the room.

It would be interesting to hear his take on it, and I think fans would be sympathetic after seeing his side of things.

 

[HYORI 1963]

Perhaps, but having 1200 games played (regular + playoffs) in one uniform is pretty much an automatic ticket in my books.

First king to win the Norris, and the only king to win it, trumps Taylor's 1200 games played. And Taylor was my boy, back then.

Love him or hate him, Blake deserves to have his jersey retired a king.

 

[alpa]

I would like to see Blake address this situation, and openly talk about it. If he wants to stay with the organization long term, I feel like this is something he needs to do. It's the elephant in the room.

It would be interesting to hear his take on it, and I think fans would be sympathetic after seeing his side of things.

A good idea, but to criticize former management..I don't know. It has to be done in a way were you don't blame anybody else and that can be hard to do if he is going to tell the whole story. (If management was dick to him)

 

[Reclamation Project]

Blake in his prime was so good.

 

[Scottkmlps]

Want me to post some more G N' R?

Bring it on.

 

[Herby]

Put me in the group that is over boooing him but wouldn't want his jersey in the rafters either. Partly because of the removing the C, but mostly because his play on the ice as a King never warranted it. He was just injured to much and the Blake lead Kings teams never did squat in the playoffs.

 

[theMajor]

First king to win the Norris, and the only king to win it, trumps Taylor's 1200 games played. And Taylor was my boy, back then.

Love him or hate him, Blake deserves to have his jersey retired a king.

i dont hate the guy, but the way that whole situation played out will never be forgotten by many Kings fans...myself included. he shouldve done his team better, especially as captain

 

[HYORI 1963]

Put me in the group that is over boooing him but wouldn't want his jersey in the rafters either. Partly because of the removing the C, but mostly because his play on the ice as a King never warranted it. He was just injured to much and the Blake lead Kings teams never did squat in the playoffs.

Do you think Brownie could have led the squad back then to playoff success??? You're blaming Blake for the owner/management's lack of support???

 

[reset]

sorry blakey... no can forgive you.

I hope your number never goes up in the rafters.

 

[agentfouser]

Won't forget Blake hipchecking Jochen Hecht all the way back to Germany.

Heh, I saw that one live.

 

[HYORI 1963]

i dont hate the guy, but the way that whole situation played out will never be forgotten by many Kings fans...myself included. he shouldve done his team better...especially as captain

People make mistakes. Sure, he could have handled it better, but it is what it is. I believe in giving people second chances, don't you?

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. ~Mahatma Gandhi

 

[Model62]

Second chances are fine... So the booing should probably stop. Number in the rafters? That's a bit more than a second chance, don't you think?

 

[HYORI 1963]

One has nothing to do with the other.

 

[theMajor]

People make mistakes. Sure, he could have handled it better, but it is what it is. I believe in giving people second chances, don't you?

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. ~Mahatma Gandhi

i sure do, but that doesnt mean he deserves the honor of having his jersey hung in the rafters. maybe the Avs or Sharks can help him with that?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I would like to see Blake address this situation, and openly talk about it. If he wants to stay with the organization long term, I feel like this is something he needs to do. It's the elephant in the room.

It would be interesting to hear his take on it, and I think fans would be sympathetic after seeing his side of things.

He's already explained it. It just fell on deaf ears because everyone thought he was being greedy and selfish.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1142952/2/index.htm

The one flash point came in September when, he says, the Kings gave him 12 hours to respond to a take-it-or-leave-it offer, reportedly $22.5 million for three years. Blake and his agent, Ron Salcer, needed all of five minutes to turn it down. In a fit of pique unbecoming an NHL captain, Blake resigned his position, although within a week he changed his mind about not wearing the C after realizing he would be the leader of the Kings with or without a letter on his chest.

Taylor met with Blake and Salcer again last month, and though Blake said the discussion cleared the air, he added that no specific contract offer was made. Taylor, however, says, "We have made a number of offers to Rob, and they've all been rejected." Meanwhile Los Angeles has heard from several clubs inquiring about Blake, setting the stage for a perhaps necessary option that would strip the Kings of an explosive player and call into question management's commitment to winning. "I don't see how they can afford not to sign him," says Bill Watters, Toronto's assistant to the president. "They have a big building to fill, and he's their key player."

The Kings and Blake have some common ground. It's sand. While Blake is a farm kid, he has embraced Southern California, especially the beach culture. He lives in Manhattan Beach with his wife, Brandy—"You fall out of his bedroom, and you're on the sand," Emerson says—and has become an accomplished beach volleyball player. Most hockey players hit 265-yard drives in the off-season. Blake, a clichéd 6' 4" California blond, spikes. He's an A tournament player, which, in hockey terms, he says, "is like playing one level below the East Coast league."

He's also tied to the area by the Kings' occasional shining moments, especially the rollicking run to the 1993 finals. In the championship series against the Montreal Canadiens, the L.A. Forum shook, and fans queued up outside an airport hotel to gaze slack-jawed at the Stanley Cup, a rite of spring in cities like Detroit and Denver but a startling development in preoccupied Los Angeles. In his perfect world Blake would win a Cup with the Kings. Pressed last week for a list of four other cities in which he might like to play, he mentions Toronto and then stops.

"At this stage in my career I have to win something somewhere," he says. "We've made strides here, but are we a Stanley Cup team right now? No. We have holes to fill. I'm only a few months from free agency, but if I got traded, it would be difficult for me to make a quick decision on signing a long-term extension as part of that deal. That makes it tougher on the Kings"—Blake's trade value would be reduced if the team that obtained him thought it was merely leasing him for the rest of this season—"but that's how it is. I would need time to make the right decision."

Those were some dark times, as you can relive in this Bill Plaschke column:
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/feb/23/sports/sp-29245

Since we're going down that road, this all started in September of 2000 when Bob McKenzie broke the news of Rob Blake relinquishing his captaincy after the Kings presented Blake with a "take it or leave it" ultimatum. I guess Leiweke felt that the negotiations would go one way and Blake would have to agree under their terms only.

http://articles.latimes.com/2000/sep/21/sports/sp-24509

The Kings said they have made Blake, who will become a unrestricted free agent next summer, a lucrative offer. According to TSN's McKenzie, the Kings have offered a three-year extension averaging about $7 1/2 million a year, but that Blake balked at that because the Kings expected him to play this season at his set salary of $5.25 million.

McKenzie reported that Blake gave up his captaincy after the Kings suggested they might trade him if he didn't agree to a new contract.

"In light of his refusal and the fact that Rob will become an unrestricted free agent when his contract expires on July 1, 2001, we must assess the long-term impact that Rob's decision will have on the club," Taylor said in the statement.

Believe it or not, Blake's preference was to stay in LA.
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/12/sports/sp-11467

Salcer refuted a story from a Canadian television network that said Blake was close to signing a five-year King contract worth approximately $9.7 million a season, branding it "speculation."

"We have not talked" since before Christmas, he said of negotiations between himself and the Kings. Dave Taylor, the team's senior vice president and general manager, and team President Tim Leiweke met with Salcer and Blake during Christmas week.

"We agreed to disagree," Salcer said again Thursday. "They know what it's going to take to sign Rob Blake. They said they couldn't afford it."

Leiweke and Taylor were told that Blake deserved to be paid among the league's top defensemen, and that market was set by the St. Louis Blues when they agreed to pay Chris Pronger almost $10 million a season.

The Kings are believed to have budged from an earlier offer, up to about $8 million a season.

Of course the Avalanche would go on to successfully retain Rob Blake after winning the Cup with him in 2001. And what a surprise, they paid him fair market value for being one of the top defensemen in the game:
http://hockeynut.com/0102/avs0701.html

It was also evident the Kings were not prepared to give Rob Blake the money that it was going to take to re-sign him, so he was gone.
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/feb/22/sports/sp-28682

General Manager Dave Taylor, who flew to Minnesota last week in an effort to reach a compromise that would keep Blake in the uniform he wore for 11 seasons, said he would have preferred to re-sign Blake. However, he could not do so because Blake was intent on testing the free-agent market this summer. As an impact player with offensive and defensive skills, Blake will command big dollars--and the Kings have said they won't commit a quarter of their payroll to one player when so many other needs remain to be satisfied.

After that Minnesota meeting with Blake, Taylor and President Tim Leiweke failed to produce an agreement, Taylor was told by ownership to trade Blake and not prolong a situation that has clearly been a distraction to Blake and the Kings, who are struggling to reach a playoff position in the Western Conference.

"My first choice, our first choice, would have been to retain Rob," said Taylor, who was Blake's teammate and close friend during his playing days. "When it became evident he was intent on becoming a free agent, it became evident we had to make this trade."

Taylor acknowledged making the trade was one of the most difficult moves he has made. "I did go through a series of emotions," he said, "really through the course of the season."

Blake, 31, was the Kings' 1988 fourth-round draft choice. He holds several club records, including most career goals by a defenseman (138), most career assists by a defenseman (291) and most career points by a defenseman (429). He ranks 10th in all-time scoring, seventh in games played (608) and fourth in penalty minutes (1,051).

Blake had missed the Kings' 5-0 loss at Edmonton on Tuesday because of a family matter but rejoined the team in Calgary and participated in Wednesday's practice. He said afterward he expected a trade at any moment.

"I knew that [he would be traded] around Christmas time," he said. "That's fine. There's no animosity. The hardest part is waiting."

Let's not forget their damage control:
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/mar/07/sports/sp-34386

The Kings sent a letter to their season-ticket holders last week to defend their Feb. 22 trade of Rob Blake and Steven Reinprecht to the Colorado Avalanche for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, two draft picks and a prospect.

The missive, signed by King President Tim Leiweke and General Manager Dave Taylor and addressed "Dear Kings Ticket Holders," reiterated management's contention that the team needed gritty, young players and must show fiscal responsibility in order to avoid further raising ticket prices.

"On behalf of the entire Kings organization, I want to extend both apologies and thanks concerning the Rob Blake situation," it began. "Apologies for the distraction and tension it created for our team and our fans and sincere thanks for your patience and consideration concerning our position."

The letter assured fans "our commitment to winning does not end with Rob's departure," and said an expanded scouting staff will help the Kings pick the most promising prospect and draft picks.

"We are confident that this will produce a top young forward that will have a chance to play for the Kings in the next few years and have a long and productive NHL career," it said. "This trade also frees up dollars that can be utilized in acquiring additional talent this summer through trades and free agency. . . . If we do our job, this trade could result in the addition of five, six or even seven good players to our roster in the next few years."

While acknowledging that some fans thought the team suffered when it refused to meet Blake's $9.6-million annual price, Leiweke and Taylor didn't waver. "Our philosophy evolves around the wise expenditure of money as opposed to spending the most money," the letter said. "It is about building a successful team for years to come with great draft choices, great development systems, great coaches, scouts and hockey personnel who all share a passion and commitment to the common goal. . . . This trade is not and will not be a step backward for our hockey club. Time will prove our commitment and our passion is still there."

So in the end, the Kings decided they had to do what they had to do, which is to not pay their marquee player fair value, and Blake did what he had to do, which is win a Cup and get paid what he would be due to earn if he became a UFA, and he earned that right. In the end, he would re-sign with the Avalanche and forego free agency because they paid him what he was due to earn. They did what the Kings should have done at that time.





Of course the Kings would face Blake and the Avs in two consecutive playoff years and lose to them in a 7-game series in both years.

Me personally, I understood that a trade was going to happen. This is a team that got nothing in trading Gretzky, got rid of Luc twice, and tried to play the victim crowd due to their poor decision making, like bringing in an old and broken down and over the hill Jeremy Roenick (thanks Leiweke).

It's done and over with. Blake had a problem with the previous management group. It wasn't anything against the fans, the city, or his teammates. Hell, his teammates shed tears as he departed to go join his new team. That's how much he meant to them. It's just a shame that people still hold a grudge against him.

 

[kingsholygrail]

And that's only half of the story. What about the debacle over the Sharks?

If the trade in 2001 was the only issue, I doubt people would still be holding as much of a grudge.

 

[Herby]

Still would have been an amazing trade if Taylor had any idea how to draft and/or Deadmarsh had been able to stay healthy.

Taylor did somewhat salvage his draft legacy by getting Kopitar and Quick in his final draft, but he butchered so many picks.

 

[HYORI 1963]

i sure do, but that doesnt mean he deserves the honor of having his jersey hung in the rafters. maybe the Avs or Sharks can help him with that?

Kings all time leader in points by a defenseman
6 time all-star
Only king to ever win a Norris
And a Stanley Cup Champ.

He'll probably be inducted to the hockey hall of fame, but I guess, HOF honors isn't good enough for our rafters...

 

[Captain Mittens*]

He's already explained it. It just fell on deaf ears because everyone thought he was being greedy and selfish.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1142952/2/index.htm


Those were some dark times, as you can relive in this Bill Plaschke column:
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/feb/23/sports/sp-29245

Since we're going down that road, this all started in September of 2000 when Bob McKenzie broke the news of Rob Blake relinquishing his captaincy after the Kings presented Blake with a "take it or leave it" ultimatum. I guess Leiweke felt that the negotiations would go one way and Blake would have to agree under their terms only.

http://articles.latimes.com/2000/sep/21/sports/sp-24509


Believe it or not, Blake's preference was to stay in LA.
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/12/sports/sp-11467


Of course the Avalanche would go on to successfully retain Rob Blake after winning the Cup with him in 2001. And what a surprise, they paid him fair market value for being one of the top defensemen in the game:
http://hockeynut.com/0102/avs0701.html

It was also evident the Kings were not prepared to give Rob Blake the money that it was going to take to re-sign him, so he was gone.
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/feb/22/sports/sp-28682


Let's not forget their damage control:
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/mar/07/sports/sp-34386


So in the end, the Kings decided they had to do what they had to do, which is to not pay their marquee player fair value, and Blake did what he had to do, which is win a Cup and get paid what he would be due to earn if he became a UFA, and he earned that right. In the end, he would re-sign with the Avalanche and forego free agency because they paid him what he was due to earn. They did what the Kings should have done at that time.





Of course the Kings would face Blake and the Avs in two consecutive playoff years and lose to them in a 7-game series in both years.

Me personally, I understood that a trade was going to happen. This is a team that got nothing in trading Gretzky, got rid of Luc twice, and tried to play the victim crowd due to their poor decision making, like bringing in an old and broken down and over the hill Jeremy Roenick (thanks Leiweke).

It's done and over with. Blake had a problem with the previous management group. It wasn't anything against the fans, the city, or his teammates. Hell, his teammates shed tears as he departed to go join his new team. That's how much he meant to them. It's just a shame that people still hold a grudge against him.

Good work.

I have been trying to warn Leafs fans that LieWeekly is an evil mofo.


How refreshing was Beckerman at the rally over Tim's egotistical ********?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

And that's only half of the story. What about the debacle over the Sharks?

If the trade in 2001 was the only issue, I doubt people would still be holding as much of a grudge.

You mean the non-story in 2008 that people made up? Lombardi has even said himself that they couldn't make a trade, and that wasn't Blake's fault.

http://mayorsmanor.com/2010/01/rob-blake-the-interview/

How about returning to the Kings in ’06, GM Dean Lombardi took some heat for it at the time. Was it something you needed to do, wanted to do or was it just the right offer at the right time?
No. I didn’t even actually look anywhere else. It’s what I wanted to do at the time. I’ve enjoyed my time in LA and I enjoyed playing there, living there, raising a family there. It was an opportunity to be able to come back and try to work things out, try to get through it. It wasn’t the best two years for the franchise or for me personally. But, it was something that I needed to do and I’m glad I did it. Obviously we’ve gone different ways now. That being said, at that time, it’s exactly what I had hoped. I had hoped I could go back and try to play in LA again. That’s what I wanted to do.

Speculation at the trade deadline in ’08, your last year here, was that Lombardi wanted to trade you and you wouldn’t allow it. Any truth to that?
No. He tried to trade me and I allowed it to go through if that’s what he wanted to do. I guess at the last minute they couldn’t get the deal worked out. I wasn’t going to stand in the way of anything they wanted to accomplish.

That summer, without a contract, did you contemplate retirement…or did you know you wanted to play, but you knew you just wanted to play somewhere else?
It’s not that I wanted to play someplace else, that was the only option I had. I wanted to keep playing in the NHL. I had some injuries that took awhile to heal and later on through the year you start feeling a little better. As I was overcoming those things I knew I wanted to continue my career in the NHL. It’s a dream to be able to do that, that’s how it’s unfolded even a couple more years past that.

Lombardi's response on the matter:
http://mayorsmanor.com/2013/07/lombardi-responds-to-anybody-critical-of-blake-hiring/

“I guess you can say that about every move a general manger makes, there is always going to be a vocal sector that doesn’t agree. But, the one thing that I’m well aware of… and I understand where that sentiment comes from, it obviously goes back to – what was it now, 20 years ago? I don’t know how you say this, because I was explaining this to somebody else who asked me this question, it wasn’t in a media-type setting. I was explaining to him that in a roundabout way, what happened there is one of the reasons he’s so respected. Now I don’t mean that… and the problem with saying that sounds like it’s a militant or something. I think what people fail to realize during that period is that players were under enormous pressure from the union. That was the time, don’t forget, where the union was beginning to really flex its muscles and was the beginning stages of the players getting to where they are today. Remember, hockey players were well behind the other sports in terms of the strength of the union, which was reflected in their salary.

“We were in the midst of this, and I certainly saw it from the management side. I can’t remember how many times that players were… it was that period where they really came together and everybody’s contact was looked at as having an impact on the other 600 guys. This was purely part of the old theory that a rising tide raises all boats. And Rob, as one of the top defensemen in the league, coming off the Norris Trophy, was clearly one of the most… when the union was looking at who is our biggest wave to raise this tide, it was Rob.

“A player is put in an incredibly difficult position, because on the one hand, clearly he wants to be loyal to his team. I don’t think there’s any question that Rob Blake wanted to be a King for life. But, the player is in a very difficult position where on the one hand, you have an obligation to your team, but then the team becomes bigger as you go onto a team of 600 or however many players were in the league… 20 times 600. I don’t think people understand the amount of pressure that’s put on a player in those situations. You want to stay there, that’s fine. But, that’s not going to be good for the other 599 players, because they need you to get X-amount so that the next player coming up can draft off [him] – ‘I’m 3/4 of Rob Blake, so I should get this.’ That’s how it works, that was the reality of that period.

“It was even from the management side, both managers knew what Blake was up against. So on the one hand you’re going, ‘Wow, that’s not right’, but on the other hand you go ‘Well, he’s doing it for the rest of the players.’ You’re caught in that middle area, where on the one hand it’s a lot of money – yes, no question, but it wasn’t about the money. It was an obligation that was being felt among the players to support each other. So, in a roundabout way, what he did, and subjected himself to that type of criticism on the behalf of 599 other guys, I get it. On the one hand, it’s a lot of money. But, then you look at the emotional part and essentially going on a limb and you say ‘Wow, that takes the risk factor.’ He was obviously very happy in Manhattan Beach and everything else.

“Again, I come back to people in the know, and I’m not saying this was the watershed moment, but people in the business know that this was a reflection of his character. You understand why people would say that’s just greed and everything and yeah I get it. But, there’s another side of this. That’s when, again, I said I called around to every facet of the league, I’m not saying it’s ‘the’ moment, but it’s a reflection of his character in terms of his commitment to a team. It’s just that this team was at this time in this industry, was a much bigger team. It didn’t just involve the 20 players in the room.

“That’s a very difficult thing. I saw some players on my team go through it, and I know how hard it was and I understand some of those players wanted to be in but realized they had enormous pressure put on them from the union. I can’t imagine, from what I saw from my players, being the Norris Trophy winner and what he was going through. So, I get it, but I think that at some point in time, you step back and say wait a minute here. I would not in any way indict him for that one moment in his career. Because certainly this industry hasn’t, I can guarantee you that. Every facet, whether it’s general mangers, equipment guys, players, there was nobody who doesn’t hold this guy… I can’t find one blemish on this guy. Not only not a blemish, but how highly in esteem he was held. I’ll tell you,whenever you go through this, you can always find something. I do my due diligence and I get it. If you put that type of character and commitment, and like I said, if he shows up with the work ethic that he showed with the league, he’s going to be a valuable asset to this organization. I don’t know if that makes sense, but having lived through it, I get it.â€

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Still would have been an amazing trade if Taylor had any idea how to draft and/or Deadmarsh had been able to stay healthy.

Taylor did somewhat salvage his draft legacy by getting Kopitar and Quick in his final draft, but he butchered so many picks.

That's what makes the trade sting so much. Deadmarsh and Miller were looked upon as huge coups as they had a direct impact in getting the team to the 2nd round in 2001. Then reality set in when we saw the Kings start dropping like flies and Deadmarsh and Miller would end up being injured for a majority of their tenure with the team.

The other parts in the trade ended up being wastes as Jared Aulin would be another player lost to injury (and he never showed anything on the ice). They burned their 2001 draft pick on David Steckel, who would go unsigned and make his NHL debut with the Capitals, and their 2003 pick was used on Brian Boyle, who is just a 4th line player.

It's no different than what they ended up getting for Mathieu Schneider for next to nothing with wasted picks and terrible players. Asset management was not one of Dave Taylor's strengths. Dumpster Diving fit the motto well though considering the budget Leiweke had him operating under.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Tremendous posts as usual Ziggy. A great refresher. Thanks.

 

[kingsholygrail]

He will have to be a bit more in the open and make nice. Fact is, there will be plenty of fans that will just never like him and that's something he'll have to accept, but it doesn't help his cause keeping a low profile.