I wasnt expecting a sweep(still hoping against it). I have been a fan for 30 years now. Seen a lot of bad hockey and am blessed to see the cup runs. I’m hopeful about Vilardi. Curious about what changes may be made in the offseason. I think next year is going to be tough. Kings benefitted from bad seasons for Calgary and Edmonton this year. Vegas is legit. Not sure how to feel about this Kings team going forward. Tired of them underachieving and failing to met expectations. Strange era of the Kings for me.
This is what a franchise looks like when they can't let go of the glory years. It's a first for all of us. Hell, I was so in love with Richards back in 2014, I thought Dean made the right decision by not CBOing him.
At this point, you have two untradeable players in Brown and Kopitar. Even with Kopitar's insane season, I don't think anyone is taking on his contract, not without some retention. Brown may have some value around the league as a veteran depth winger, but we wouldn't get back more than a pick and decent prospect for him. He has more value to the Kings than anyone else.
The only real chips we have to trade are Doughty, and to a lesser extent, Carter. Carter's value is rapidly declining with his age, and now this injured season. Nevertheless, we could probably get back a nice piece for him from a team desperate for veteran scoring.
Doughty, obviously, would garner a massive haul, and could kick start a rebuild. But I think this franchise will do absolutely everything in its power to keep him a King for life. Blake will offer him the moon. The only way Doughty leaves is if he wants to. In that case, trade him immediately - as in this summer - to maximize the return. We could easily snatch Marner++ for Doughty.
In a perfect world, you go full scorched earth rebuild, find a taker for Kopitar's contract, trade Doughty and Carter for significant assets, and stockpile picks. Brown and Quick stay around to mentor the next generation. Cap Space becomes a core player again, like the early Lombardi years.
But that's likely not going to happen. We probably go into 19/20 with $32 million in cap space between Kopitar, Doughty, Quick, and Brown. So it's time to start thinking outside the box. I think Carter and Toffoli absolutely need to go. Carter, because we need to recoup some assets and get younger at that critical position. Toffoli has unfortunately stagnated. You could probably get a decent depth winger and a pick/prospect for him.
It's also time to move on from Clifford and Lewis. Like others have pointed out, there's no reason to keep these kinds of players on the roster for a decade+. We need to continue getting younger.
