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

[ADifferentTim]

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.

But, the main message still applies. I seriously hope this does not end up similar to how the Athletics unceremoniously fired Reggie Jackson as one of the coaches and he subsequently went in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Yankee in retaliation and I'm a Yankee fan.

Yes, it's that serious.

 

[Rorschach]

But are we 100% sure that Blake was the cause of the drama??? Maybe Lombardi had something to do with the drama as well. I just think we as fans THINK that we know the 100% of the truth, when we actually know maybe 50%. You know who knows 100% of what happened???? Dean Lombardi.

Smartest thing I read this week on HF.

My love for him when he was the only good thing on the Kings was 100% real. That's the only thing I know. And the fact he came back to LA's organization, with full approval by Luc and Dean, knowing full well he would get booed, also says something to me.

 

[CTKingsFan]

I've forgiven people in my life for worst things, then what Rob Blake has done.

It's silly to me, that was what? 13 year ago? He came back to this organization twice in those 13 years and now his name is on the cup as member of the Los Angeles Kings organization.

He clearly wants forgiveness from the fans. To not grant it to him is wrong. Forgiveness is a powerful thing in all aspects of life.

Even talking about forgiveness and this situation with Rob Blake just seems over dramatic and silly.

 

[Legionnaire]

Forgiven? For sure. Respect enough for me to want him anywhere aroud the Kings? Never.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

You also have to look at the fact that Rob Blake came back to the org TWICE.

You know the Kings were run by Lieweekly in 2000, and he is the primary reason why Luc left and Rob left. I believe Dave Taylor had a plan but couldn't carry it out due to Lieweekly's massive ego of making. Tremendous profit for Uncle Phil. There was no commitment to winning, just commitment to making money for AEG.

Lieweekly lied to the fans so many times, and look at how he ended his tenure with AEG! Tried to screw his boss on the sale!

I blame lieweekly in that era, not so much Blake.

 

[Rorschach]

The first time in the 90s, Blake asked for money close to what he deserved and could get at the time. The gong show of an ownership, who had already dealt off all of the other stars and thus had a small payroll still wouldn't pay him. So THEY dealt him.

Second time around Lombardi was telling everyone out there that the Kings would be good soon, we got some great young forwards, he just needed certain things like defensemen and in a year or two, things would be great. He told any UFA who would listen, like Brad Stuart, and he told us the fans and he told that to the owner. And he signed a bunch of harmless but ineffective UFA forwards (when Blake was there and when he wasn't)

It became clear he was wrong and then told everyone he was rebuilding but Blake at his age couldn't do that, teach young'uns and have no chance to win...instead of the Justin Williams deal of teach young'uns AND win, which is what Blake was told. After all in the past when they went to the finals, he was one of those many young players on defense.

Gretzky asked to be traded, he's not boo'ed. Robitaille left, he's not boo'ed (he's luuuuuuc'ed), a lot of Kings favorites have gone their way and weren't boo'ed? Why only Blake?

 

[Legionnaire]

You also have to look at the fact that Rob Blake came back to the org TWICE.

You know the Kings were run by Lieweekly in 2000, and he is the primary reason why Luc left and Rob left. I believe Dave Taylor had a plan but couldn't carry it out due to Lieweekly's massive ego of making. Tremendous profit for Uncle Phil. There was no commitment to winning, just commitment to making money for AEG.

Le lied to the fans so many times, and look at how he ended his tenure with AEG! Tried to screw his boss on the sale!

I blame lieweekly in that era, not so much Blake.

It wasn't ego, it was a misunderstanding of what truly sells in Los Angeles. It is not NAMES, it is winning.

 

[kingsholygrail]

The first time in the 90s, Blake asked for money close to what he deserved and could get at the time. The gong show of an ownership, who had already dealt off all of the other stars and thus had a small payroll still wouldn't pay him. So THEY dealt him.

Second time around Lombardi was telling everyone out there that the Kings would be good soon, we got some great young forwards, he just needed certain things like defensemen and in a year or two, things would be great. He told any UFA who would listen, like Brad Stuart, and he told us the fans and he told that to the owner. And he signed a bunch of harmless but ineffective UFA forwards (when Blake was there and when he wasn't)

It became clear he was wrong and then told everyone he was rebuilding but Blake at his age couldn't do that, teach young'uns and have no chance to win...instead of the Justin Williams deal of teach young'uns AND win, which is what Blake was told. After all in the past when they went to the finals, he was one of those many young players on defense.

Gretzky asked to be traded, he's not boo'ed. Robitaille left, he's not boo'ed (he's luuuuuuc'ed), a lot of Kings favorites have gone their way and weren't boo'ed? Why only Blake?

There wasn't a bunch of drama surrounding the other players.

 

[ADifferentTim]

You also have to look at the fact that Rob Blake came back to the org TWICE.

You know the Kings were run by Lieweekly in 2000, and he is the primary reason why Luc left and Rob left. I believe Dave Taylor had a plan but couldn't carry it out due to Lieweekly's massive ego of making. Tremendous profit for Uncle Phil. There was no commitment to winning, just commitment to making money for AEG.

Lieweekly lied to the fans so many times, and look at how he ended his tenure with AEG! Tried to screw his boss on the sale!

I blame lieweekly in that era, not so much Blake.

Thanks for the history lesson about the Rob Blake saga.

In a basketball context of all things, this reminds me too much of how Knicks fans are still constantly dissing Patrick Ewing, even though Isiah Thomas, James Dolan, and their tandem were the true culprits of how the Knicks were badly run. I present this rap song by Fred the Godson, a rapper and frustrated Knicks fan from The Bronx, as a case in point. This song was made back in 2010, two years before Linsanity and four years before Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher became Knicks President and Knicks Head Coach, respectively.



Pay attention to these four lines in the first verse alone:

"Swallow, coz she like the d...
But she choke, guess she like the Knicks
It's no Deng
I leave chicks like Ewing, knees hurt with no ring"

PS: I'm both a fan of the Kings and the Lakers, while knowledgeably, sincerely, and extremely thankful Rob Blake is not subjected to a diss this low.

 

[KingsKnight]

I feel like fans of that time formed an opinion without knowing what happened behind closed doors. It's sad because once that bad opinion spreads (see groupthink) you get people saying they will never let it go or change their mind. Over what? A business deal? Were you in the room for all these talks and dealings? Unless you were privy to all the negotiations, you're forming an uninformed opinion based on gossip. How many of you have never had to make a critical career choice? Are you all still working at the same place you were when you were 19?

 

[Sacha Baron Corbin]

Nightmarish nostalgia in this thread.

 

[kingsholygrail]

It was certainly a matter of business, but let's not pretend that Blake had no choice in the matter. He had a choice and he made it. How people perceive that choice was not in his control.

 

[KingsKnight]

It was certainly a matter of business, but let's not pretend that Blake had no choice in the matter. He had a choice and he made it. How people perceive that choice was not in his control.

I think that's just it. He could choose 1) loyalty or 2) achieving his lifelong goal. It's great if you can get both, but the Kings weren't at that point, so he chose success. Of course fans want him to pick loyalty, but then his career would end up like Dave Taylor: loyal, with no Cup to show for it. I feel like Blake became the scapegoat for all the frustrations we were feeling at the time, but I personally don't think that's fair.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I think that's just it. He could choose 1) loyalty or 2) achieving his lifelong goal. It's great if you can get both, but the Kings weren't at that point, so he chose success. Of course fans want him to pick loyalty, but then his career would end up like Dave Taylor: loyal, with no Cup to show for it. I feel like Blake became the scapegoat for all the frustrations we were feeling at the time, but I personally don't think that's fair.

For him, if he wants to get out of the uncomfortable shadows he'll have to do some kind of interview and just lay it all out. I think people would be more accepting at that point. Otherwise just seems like he's trying to hard to avoid making waves and it's like he's making them anyway.

I mean, he wouldn't lift the cup. Why? Worried about being boo'd? Not lifting it is kinda weird too though.

 

[johnjm22]

He's already explained it.

Granted, I didn't read through all that, but I don't see much from Blake. And most of that stuff is from 13 years ago.

I was thinking more along the lines of him doing a sit down interview, and directly discussing the booing issue. If he wants to stay with organization long term, he should probably re-address it. It's just weird and awkward the way it is now.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Granted, I didn't read through all that, but I don't see much from Blake. And most of that stuff is from 13 years ago.

I was thinking more along the lines of him doing a sit down interview, and directly discussing the booing issue. If he wants to stay with organization long term, he should probably re-address it. It's just weird and awkward the way it is now.

I get what you're saying, but I also see why Blake wants to bury that stuff in the past. It really shouldn't be all that his career is known for.

As Rorschach already mentioned, if he didn't care for the team so much, why would he keep coming back? He knew the Kings had no chance of being a contender in 2006 yet he came back and didn't complain or ask to be dealt from one of the worst teams in the league, with one of the worst coaches in team history (Marc Crawford).

His contract ran out the second time before he signed with San Jose and proved he could still play his first season there, earning a nomination to the All-Star team. The Kings were in a rebuild so the split seemed amicable the second time around.

He left a very good position with the NHL office to rejoin the Kings in a management role to replace Ron Hextall. As already mentioned, the man is well respected among players and the league office and management. That means a lot more to me than what fans' misconceptions of him.

What happened in 2001 was when there were idiots within the organization who are no longer here, mismanaging the team until Lombardi took over and set the team in the right path. Blake aside, look at how they let Robitaille go. Look at the player Philippe Boucher finally became and they let him walk away for nothing. Look at how frugal the organization was when it came to retaining their own players or signing free agents.

We can all credit this dumbass for being partly responsible for those decisions:
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=74528

The bulk of the credit should go to this talking head:
http://www.mlse.com/inside_mlse/tim_leiweke_bio.aspx

Taylor was very close to Blake and his agent, Ron Salcer. Guess who Salcer's first client was? Dave Taylor. We all know that if Taylor had complete control, Blake would've never left the organization. But now he's back, and I think a certain pocket of begrudging fans should act mature and treating a guy like Blake with more respect.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I get what you're saying, but I also see why Blake wants to bury that stuff in the past. It really shouldn't be all that his career is known for.

As Rorschach already mentioned, if he didn't care for the team so much, why would he keep coming back? He knew the Kings had no chance of being a contender in 2006 yet he came back and didn't complain or ask to be dealt from one of the worst teams in the league, with one of the worst coaches in team history (Marc Crawford).

His contract ran out the second time before he signed with San Jose and proved he could still play his first season there, earning a nomination to the All-Star team. The Kings were in a rebuild so the split seemed amicable the second time around.

He left a very good position with the NHL office to rejoin the Kings in a management role to replace Ron Hextall. As already mentioned, the man is well respected among players and the league office and management. That means a lot more to me than what fans' misconceptions of him.

What happened in 2001 was when there were idiots within the organization who are no longer here, mismanaging the team until Lombardi took over and set the team in the right path. Blake aside, look at how they let Robitaille go. Look at the player Philippe Boucher finally became and they let him walk away for nothing. Look at how frugal the organization was when it came to retaining their own players or signing free agents.

We can all credit this dumbass for being partly responsible for those decisions:
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=74528

The bulk of the credit should go to this talking head:
http://www.mlse.com/inside_mlse/tim_leiweke_bio.aspx

Taylor was very close to Blake and his agent, Ron Salcer. Guess who Salcer's first client was? Dave Taylor. We all know that if Taylor had complete control, Blake would've never left the organization. But now he's back, and I think a certain pocket of begrudging fans should act mature and treating a guy like Blake with more respect.

The general view from those that don't like Blake is that he was a mercenary and he only wears the Kings logo so long as the check is good enough for him.

All that aside, what makes Blake worthy of jersey retirement? Better players have spent large chunks of their careers as Kings and not had their numbers retired.

 

[ukyo]

I had an inkling that everything that I knew about the Rob Blake history with the Kings was WRONG when Norstrom, Luc, and Taylor were all genuinely behind him. But Norstrom was gone, Luc is just a former player, Taylor made so many questionable moves as a GM, none of them really had the credibility to sway me given the years of resentment.

But I KNEW I was wrong once Lombardi backed him.

Everything that I knew was from the echo chamber built up by us fans and the media. But that same echo chamber told me that Lombardi has no five year plan, and Brown needs to be traded, and Sutter was going to ruin Doughty, etc, etc.

In Dean I trust. Him thinking that Blake is good enough to be Assistant GM tips the scales, and I can accept his jersey being retired.

 

[fsanford]

Funny thing is put in the same position. Where you could go where the best offer is with a chance to achieve your industries greatest goal, or get paid less and work for a business that was a constant failure, virtually everyone on this board would have chosen the same path as Blake.

Best to walk in another mans shoes before being so quick to judge.

Timmy L was a used car salesmen and the fact he threw the Kings organization and its fans under the bus once he got to Toronto just confirms this. Find it interesting people people side with slime ball on this topic because looking back he was the propaganda minister that buried Blake.

Personally I don't think the guy deserves his number up in the rafters, given the lack of Kings success during his time here, but would not be upset about it if it did happen.

 

[lumbergh]

Ziggy Stardust, poster of the year. Thanks for the education, sir.

 

[Bandit]

Nightmarish nostalgia in this thread.

Seriously, talk about bringing back the bad old days... I trust Lombardi, I'm fine with Blake, but I do agree that he never did enough to warrant his jersey getting retired.

 

[LAKings88]

I was upset that he wouldn't accept a trade, played half #####, and then signed with the Sharks.

Still love his first time around though.

 

[tigermask48]

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...

Chris Osgood may end up in the hall of fame due to the numbers he posted with Detroit. You want the Wings to retire him as well if it happens?

Sometimes numbers and stats just don't tell the whole story.

I'm part of the crowd where I just don't care anymore about Blake. Any anomosity I had for him is gone, but at the same time I'm just not sure putting a number 4 in the rafters at Staples is the right call. Whatever side you were/are on its a reminder of the Dark Ages for Kings fans and not many positive memories attached to it.

 

[Ron*]

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 ********?

Meanwhile, there is no truth to the rumor that he is planning a parade for the Kings to be held in Toronto.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Meanwhile, there is no truth to the rumor that he is planning a parade for the Kings to be held in Toronto.

10/29/13

Leiweke was at it again during a lunchtime gathering at The Empire Club of Canada, where he reaffirmed his excitement for a Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup championship parade, via The National Post:

"Could not be more excited about the parade route and we'll throw you one, I promise."
Leiweke explained in an interview with Bloomberg News last July that he had already planned a championship parade route for the Maple Leafs. Considering the Maple Leafs haven't won a championship in sometime -- and had gone almost a decade without a playoff appearance prior to last season -- many questioned his decision to do so.

I am so glad that piece of **** is out of LA. He is a total Esa Penis!