Confirmed with Link: Toffoli has been traded to the Vancouver Canucks.

[KingsFan7824]

Actually, yes, in this case it is the lesser of two evils. Bringing impressionable young men who are specifically known for imposing their will into the glorified funeral that will be the next two to three seasons of Kings hockey as badly faded vets cash checks without caring is the worst case scenario.

Anze Kopitar, as good as he is, hasn't made a damn bit of difference for this team in years. He is dead money, a wasted asset. He isn't going to make a difference going forward unless he wants to be dealt.

If Anze Kopitar is comfortable fading into retirement here, I would lose a ton of respect for him, and in no way should that example be set for kids breaking in. You can't have so damn many guys who are okay quitting around a rebuilding team, and moving Anze would return a bundle.

Of course, that would require Blake to be proactive and not just sit around until the next vet comes up on free agency. Not that you understand the difference, of course.

As much as fans may dislike Kopitar at this point, to think that he's not a good role model for young players is kind of nuts. He is everything every young player wants to be. Professionally, and probably personally.

And how would he return a bundle? He's old, overpaid, big hit for the next 4 years, and he's checked out.

We'll have to see if Madden even signs with the Kings, this could end up as a terrible trade.

It's Tyler Toffoli. The same guy we've been ripping for years as being soft and slow.

 

[Pirate King Luffy]

Hey, Kings fans. Now that Toffoli is gone, who steps into the top 6 to replace him?

Thanks.

 

[KingsHockey24]

3 down, 3 to go.

Trevor Lewis
Ben Hutton
Derek Forbort

Edit: Forgot about that Martinez guy.

 

[KingsHockey24]

Hey, Kings fans. Now that Toffoli is gone, who steps into the top 6 to replace him?

Thanks.

 

[tigermask48]

Seems fine. Value looks good and hopefully opens a spot for Wagner, Amadio, Frk, whoever as long as it's a younger guy.
Just have to hope it isn't Schaller plugged into the 2nd line...

 

[FrozenKing18]

Definitely weird to see the cup winners leave one by one. Thanks for everything Toffoli, hope he can continue his goal scoring up in Vancouver along with Pearson.

From Blake and Yannetti: with credit to Lakingsinsider.com

so... Toffoli, a 22 game rental, for the 4th leading scorer in the nation, that's a Sophomore and leading Northeastern? And 40th ranked prospect in the world? And add a 2nd round, 2020 pick? Unreal.

But the second round pick and Madden represent the prime hauls in this trade. Madden, the son of former New Jersey Devil and three-time Stanley Cup winner John Madden, is a pace-driven center with more skill than his father but less likelihood to win a Selke. “Well, his dad was not easy to play against. I think he has some of that in him,” Blake said. “But I think when you watch him play, you see that he has a mentality of a former NHL player and a coach’s son in the details of the game, let alone a high offense and a high vision and skill. But there’s a defensive element in there, too.”

Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire
More from Mark Yannetti:
“He’s an excellent skater. Multiple gears, change of pace. He’s really smart. He’s a smaller guy, but he’s really good at finding open ice. He’s good on the rush, he shows flashes of a dynamic skill element. Real confident with the puck, really good offensive game. He plays to his strengths really well. He can really skate, he’s really smart, and he’s done nothing but improve since the day he was drafted – or even before he was drafted. He was a guy who really wasn’t on any big radar when his draft year started, and then from right about December-January (2019) on, he just started going higher, higher and higher, and all he’s done is get better and better and better. He’s a Hobey Baker finalist, he’s one of the four leading scorers in colleges. Really good skill, his skating is his strength, Really good agility. Good east-west game, acceleration. What he does is he really uses his change-of-pace, change-of-direction in concert with his skills. There’s a lot of guys that can skate fast and they don’t handle the puck at the same speed, and there are a lot of guys that handle the puck really quickly but don’t skate fast with it. He doesn’t slow down with it, and even with his size, he has the ability to make plays in traffic. Good hands in tight, shifty. Again, he needs to get a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger. He’s never going to be a big-body, big-frame guy, but he competes like he has a frame, you know what I mean? I think when Rob had said one of three things he wanted to build with was culture, I think he’s one of those secondary culture guys and he might have a chance to develop into a primary culture guy. Even at a young age, he’ll help affect the culture.”

I keep seeing "gears" and "motors" being mentioned about most of our prospects which is great, also a nice thought that the future Kings will play a fast pace and have some tenacity to their game. I can't wait to see that!

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Madden's a little boom-bust imo, but yeah, he's definitely another 'drive' guy, especially considering who his dad is.

starting to see a little bit of vision leak out here and there, and this is just yet another guy fighting for middle six spots. That's great. We know the whole prospect pool won't pan out, but having literally dozens of guys projecting similarly bodes well for some breaking through. Let's hope this draft helps address the high end too.

 

[King'sPawn]

Hey, Kings fans. Now that Toffoli is gone, who steps into the top 6 to replace him?

Thanks.

There will likely be a rotation of players getting top 6 ice time, with some call-ups like Frk, Vilardi, etc. Grundstrom, Luff, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan are probably going to get a chance, too

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Madden's a little boom-bust imo, but yeah, he's definitely another 'drive' guy, especially considering who his dad is.

starting to see a little bit of vision leak out here and there, and this is just yet another guy fighting for middle six spots. That's great. We know the whole prospect pool won't pan out, but having literally dozens of guys projecting similarly bodes well for some breaking through. Let's hope this draft helps address the high end too.

The more the merrier. You never know who’s going to pan out. A lot of us thought guys like Moller and Loktionov were sure things, and never saw Pearson coming in the way he did.

 

[Herby]

It's Tyler Toffoli. The same guy we've been ripping for years as being soft and slow.

Yup. People on this board are funny sometimes, they complain (rightfully) about how awful the team is, how we need to make changes, need to get younger , move on from players who have been here for awhile.

Then they trade TT and Clifford and people say they didn't get enough, then suggest bringing both players back as FA's this summer.

Makes me laugh, atleast be consistent with your views people.

 

[Lt Dan]

Come in peace
Really nice trade for you guys. Madden is a late 1st round level prospect at this point who is continuing to trend upward in a really positive manner. I rated him #2 in the Canuck pool and was probably 1 of 2 prospects i wouldn't have parted ways with unless it was for a core piece.

As has been said Tyler Johnson and Braeden Point are the best comps if he can continue his trajectory..

Not sure what he weighs in at but he definitely will need to add some significant bulk and leg drive to create separation so he doesn't just get pushed out of the play. He is very slight at this stage. If his genes and work ethic are an indicator it wont be a problem.

Congrats

Thank you

 

[KingsHockey24]

 

[lumbergh]

Yup. People on this board are funny sometimes, they complain (rightfully) about how awful the team is, how we need to make changes, need to get younger , move on from players who have been here for awhile.

Then they trade TT and Clifford and people say they didn't get enough, then suggest bringing both players back as FA's this summer.

Makes me laugh, atleast be consistent with your views people.

Just for the record, I have suggested that the Kings could bring TT or Clifford back as free agents, but I haven't been the person harping on how they were the problem and needed to go. My soul is not crushed now that they're gone, but I did like what they brought to the team.

I think you are seeing the wide range of opinions that regularly show up on this board. You can't even hold politicians these days accountable for consistency these days, so you might lower your expectations of anonymous message board posters. With every decision someone is going to second guess Blake for whatever flawed reason, but that's what we're here for, right?

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Hey, Kings fans. Now that Toffoli is gone, who steps into the top 6 to replace him?

Thanks.

The Kings are now missing 4 top 6 players. So they need to find 4. They only have Kopitar and Iafallo. (and Iafallo just recently (imo) became a top 6 player; since January)

 

[YP44]

all sites are saying this is a big haul for the kings. Maybe I am too down on Madden but this seem pretty fair, not a bad return but not great to me.

As soon as I saw it was the Canucks I was hoping for Julolevi and a pick. We have a lot of prospects like Madden.

 

[lumbergh]

The Kings are now missing 4 top 6 players. So they need to find 4. They only have Kopitar and Iafallo. (and Iafallo just recently (imo) became a top 6 player; since January)

Your 2019-20 LA Kings forwards: Kopitar and a bunch of bottom six grunts.

Amadio, Wagner, Lizotte, Brown, Lewis, Prokhorkin, Moore, Kempe, and now Schaller. What a deep bottom six.

 

[Bandit]

Your 2019-20 LA Kings forwards: Kopitar and a bunch of bottom six grunts.

Amadio, Wagner, Lizotte, Brown, Lewis, Prokhorkin, Moore, Kempe, and now Schaller. What a deep bottom six.

*bottom 11

 

[DoktorJeep]

It’s not a surprise to see Toffoli go to one of the Canadian teams in the pacific. With Calgary being the team most closely link to acquiring him, you would hope some kind of bidding war would have emerged as all 3 teams remain in playoff contention a week away from the TDL.

The returns are in line with what most speculated they would be. Madden is the piece that’s easiest to focus on right away. I like that they got a player who is 20 yo and projects to be ready in 1-3 years for a pro roster spot. If he stays in college for four years there is a real risk of him not signing with the Kings. We’ll have to see how this plays out, but as of today the kid is still a project with some good upside, but with a bunch of risk both in terms of development and contract. You can argue that the odds are low that he continues to excel in college hockey and spurns the Kings, but the risk exists and has now been added to management’s plate.

All things considered Toffoli’s value as a rental had probably peaked, which only makes you wonder where it would be if he had been put with Kopitar sooner. I thought Kreider would be traded first and Toffoli closer to the deadline, so there aren’t any comparables to measure against either.

So it’s good that he was traded in the sense it would have been a mistake for management to extend him and pure incompetence to let him walk as a UFA. The overall returns are fair value but not slam dunk wins today. Given Toffoli was the top expiring asset you give management credit for doing their jobs, but for all the waiting it ends up as a B grade when said and done.

 

[Fat Elvis]

Satisfied with this trade. A 2nd and Madden is good for a UFA who's not amazing. The future is a lot more interesting than the present with this team. Curious to watch the prospects develop and which ones become NHL players.

 

[verbalkint47]

Now we just need to trade Martinez to Carolina so all the former cup winners can be paired together. They must get lonely away from Manhattan Beach.

 

[Lt Dan]

Has anyone else realized that we traded a Tyler for a Tyler?

We are even Steven! Like Jerry Seinfeld!

 

[funky]

all sites are saying this is a big haul for the kings. Maybe I am too down on Madden but this seem pretty fair, not a bad return but not great to me.

As soon as I saw it was the Canucks I was hoping for Julolevi and a pick. We have a lot of prospects like Madden.

I don’t think we have any prospects like him. The guy is a skilled burner that can handle pucks at high speed and puts up points but is playing at a very light weight. He is slotted as a center but may have to play at wing.

The closest comparison I draw is Kupari who can skate but doesn’t seem to know the play book.

we have a shooter in Kaliyev who is a big body average skater that can find the back of the net at ease.

Fagemo seems more of a Swiss Army knife. Nothing stands out but he gets the job done from the wing.

compairing to centers in the system

opposite of Vilardi

Turcotte skates well but is more of a Toews light

JAD does not have anywhere near the skill

Golden Boy Thomas is more heart and soul with a little skill mixed in.


Madden is something a bit different. Something we don’t have. A burner with skill to match the wheels. It’s just nice to have different players that provide different looks.

hopefully he continues to put on mass without hurting the wheels and he continues to progress.

he seems to have progressed just as much if not more than Fagemo has. I love our stable of prospects and their diversity. Keep adding more talent Mr Blake

 

[YP44]

I don’t think we have any prospects like him. The guy is a skilled burner that can handle pucks at high speed and puts up points but is playing at a very light weight. He is slotted as a center but may have to play at wing.

The closest comparison I draw is Kupari who can skate but doesn’t seem to know the play book.

we have a shooter in Kaliyev who is a big body average skater that can find the back of the net at ease.

Fagemo seems more of a Swiss Army knife. Nothing stands out but he gets the job done from the wing.

compairing to centers in the system

opposite of Vilardi

Turcotte skates well but is more of a Toews light

JAD does not have anywhere near the skill

Golden Boy Thomas is more heart and soul with a little skill mixed in.


Madden is something a bit different. Something we don’t have. A burner with skill to match the wheels. It’s just nice to have different players that provide different looks.

hopefully he continues to put on mass without hurting the wheels and he continues to progress.

he seems to have progressed just as much if not more than Fagemo has. I love our stable of prospects and their diversity. Keep adding more talent Mr Blake

can you have diversity if they are all forward prospects? Sounds like Kings scouts have been after Madden for a while (there is a video of LA trying to trade up to get him at the draft) so I will have to trust that too. those guys definitely know more than I. I just wonder if Juolevi was discussed.

Hard for me to knock this deal when every reporter I have read like it for the kings, I just wonder if Juolevi was ever brought up. I also wonder what scouts outside of Vancouver even think of him.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[Lt Dan]

This trade has me excited to see what Martinez, Lewis, and hopefully forbort bring back