Speculation: What happens next year if the wheels fall off again

[kingsfan28]

The fact the Kings did not go into the playoffs at full strength (read: 2011 encore; instead of Kopi, it's Alec) just earned the team the "Pretender" diss.

TL; DR/abridged answer.



Back on topic, go for a full-on youth movement, if the worst scenario did happen. I have a feeling guys with cool heads and heavy responsibilities on the ice like Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Carter, and Anze Kopitar would be ready to take their juniors under their wings (pun intended).

Besides, the team needs to evolve and be more flexible to respond to different on-ice situations. I observe how the concurrent system is receiving a flowchart, to the rivals' advantages. If Coach Sutter and GM Lombardi were serious about the system, then they should do everything in their power and experience to convert those weaknesses into positions of power, without sacrificing their concurrent strengths.

Case in point: this past 2016 SCF, the Penguins flat out shut down the Sharks' main threats of Pavelski/Marleau/Thornton. And yes, the Sharks exposed the lack of D the Kings concurrently have.

They also stayed out of the box and limited the Sharks pp. To some extent, it was their pp that got them to the SCF.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

apparently 103 pts and a first round lost to a red hot team that went to the finals...

People need to stop citing our regular season numbers like they were anything special. We won a ton of games in gimmick town 3v3 overtime. The Pacific was weak as hell this year. And we still blew the division title. Our regular season was nothing to be proud of, just like our postseason. This team was 100% pretender smoke and mirrors in 15/16.

 

[damacles1156]

People need to stop citing our regular season numbers like they were anything special. We won a ton of games in gimmick town 3v3 overtime. The Pacific was weak as hell this year. And we still blew the division title. Our regular season was nothing to be proud of, just like our postseason. This team was 100% pretender smoke and mirrors in 15/16.

With that line of thinking, the Team was a complete joke in 2012/2014 then.

The Kings had 15 OT loser points in 2012, 8 in 2014 (2012, Quick had to post 10....TEN Shutouts) For the Kings to even sniff the 8th seed.

Without the OT loser points/Shootout Wins in 2012/2014, the Kings wouldn't have made the playoff's in either year, that would mean ZERO Cups.

 

[ADifferentTim]

With that line of thinking, the Team was a complete joke in 2012/2014 then.

The Kings had 15 OT loser points in 2012, 8 in 2014

And yet, both 2012 and 2014 teams were complete teams: no holes to be found. On the other hand, 2016 carried over the void left by Voynov/Sekera, for starters.

I don't mind waiting for a complete D pairing from the 91764 to come up simultaneously; that way, already existing chemistry will carry over up to the NHL/parent club level.

 

[damacles1156]

And yet, both 2012 and 2014 teams were complete teams: no holes to be found. On the other hand, 2016 carried over the void left by Voynov/Sekera, for starters.

I don't mind waiting for a complete D pairing from the 91764 to come up simultaneously; that way, already existing chemistry will carry over up to the NHL/parent club level.

Also Willie Mitchell technically, has not been replaced. Muzzin is more of a puck mover.

So that's Mitchell/Slava, Not replaced, An entire second pairing gone.

 

[ADifferentTim]

Also Willie Mitchell technically, has not been replaced. Muzzin is more of a puck mover.

So that's Mitchell/Slava, Not replaced, An entire second pairing gone.

Thanks for the correction. At the moment, who in the AHL are (closest to) NHL-ready?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Thanks for the correction. At the moment, who in the AHL are (closest to) NHL-ready?

Gravel most likely, but I don't think he'll be logging Mitchell or Voynov like minutes at the start.

Forbort is likely going to be battling for a spot as a 7th defenseman with Trotman, and Gilbert will probably be in contention with Greene for the 6th spot.

God does the Kings' blueline suck after the top 3...

 

[KingsFan7824]

People need to stop citing our regular season numbers like they were anything special. We won a ton of games in gimmick town 3v3 overtime. The Pacific was weak as hell this year. And we still blew the division title. Our regular season was nothing to be proud of, just like our postseason. This team was 100% pretender smoke and mirrors in 15/16.

I would say there's truth in that, but not 100%. They lost Mitchell and Regehr and beat the Ducks with Greene and Schultz in 2014, so injuries are either a reason for a loss, or the mountain that was climbed, depending on if the team wins or loses. However, Gaborik's knee and Martinez going out early didn't help the Kings last year.

And SJ owned the Kings in LA all year long. So it may have been a perfect storm that pushed the Kings aside, the same way the what they managed to do in 2014 won't be seen again.

With that line of thinking, the Team was a complete joke in 2012/2014 then.

The Kings had 15 OT loser points in 2012, 8 in 2014 (2012, Quick had to post 10....TEN Shutouts) For the Kings to even sniff the 8th seed.

Without the OT loser points/Shootout Wins in 2012/2014, the Kings wouldn't have made the playoff's in either year, that would mean ZERO Cups.

Again, I would say there's truth in there, but the loser point in 2012 isn't quite the same as the 3v3 win point in 2016. Then again, any standings point outside of 5v5 is a different animal.

And yet, both 2012 and 2014 teams were complete teams: no holes to be found. On the other hand, 2016 carried over the void left by Voynov/Sekera, for starters.

I don't mind waiting for a complete D pairing from the 91764 to come up simultaneously; that way, already existing chemistry will carry over up to the NHL/parent club level.

Also, truth in there. No holes in 2012 or 2014 though? That might take it a bit far. 2012 came out of nowhere. Nobody expected 16-4, and up 3-0 in every series. Or Brown going nuts. Penner and Stoll were two of the most maligned players in 11-12, and then both ended up scoring series clinching OT goals.

The fall of Richards and Brown in 2014 was a big cause of concern. That Lombardi got Gaborik for nothing, and then Gaborik having one of the best goal scoring playoff runs in recent memory helped mask that. Stoll was also still a magnet for criticism. I can remember people complaining about both Mitchell and Voynov in the Chicago series. Not to mention how bad they played early against SJ. A team with no questions doesn't do that.

Down 0-3 to SJ, down 2-3 to the Ducks, losing a 3-1 lead to the Hawks, 3 Game 7's, and 3 home games going to OT against the Rangers. That's a team that found a way to win, even without Kopitar scoring a goal after the 2nd round, but you're not in those positions if you have no holes. Every team has holes on it.

 

[HookKing]

Also Willie Mitchell technically, has not been replaced. Muzzin is more of a puck mover.

So that's Mitchell/Slava, Not replaced, An entire second pairing gone.

Muzzin is not a puck mover. But you are correct that the Kings never really replaced the second pairing.

 

[ADifferentTim]

Also, truth in there. No holes in 2012 or 2014 though? That might take it a bit far. 2012 came out of nowhere. Nobody expected 16-4, and up 3-0 in every series. Or Brown going nuts. Penner and Stoll were two of the most maligned players in 11-12, and then both ended up scoring series clinching OT goals.

The fall of Richards and Brown in 2014 was a big cause of concern. That Lombardi got Gaborik for nothing, and then Gaborik having one of the best goal scoring playoff runs in recent memory helped mask that. Stoll was also still a magnet for criticism. I can remember people complaining about both Mitchell and Voynov in the Chicago series. Not to mention how bad they played early against SJ. A team with no questions doesn't do that.

Down 0-3 to SJ, down 2-3 to the Ducks, losing a 3-1 lead to the Hawks, 3 Game 7's, and 3 home games going to OT against the Rangers. That's a team that found a way to win, even without Kopitar scoring a goal after the 2nd round, but you're not in those positions if you have no holes. Every team has holes on it.

Holes on the 2012 team were small enough for the team to work around, while the 2014 team was full-on Deus Ex Machina.

 

[The Tikkanen]

What happens if the Kings are 10 games in and Brown has no goals and they're struggling to win?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

What happens if the Kings are 10 games in and Brown has no goals and they're struggling to win?

They'll put him with Anze Kopitar, and his legions of fans will defend Brown's performance and blame Darryl Sutter for his usage.

 

[KingsFan7824]

What happens if the Kings are 10 games in and Brown has no goals and they're struggling to win?

They go play game 11? If they're struggling to win 10 games in, Brown probably won't be the biggest problem.

 

[Sacha Baron Corbin]

They'll put him with Anze Kopitar, and his legions of fans will defend Brown's performance and blame Darryl Sutter for his usage.

Sutter will make sure to give him powerplay time over Toffoli and Pearson

 

[ADifferentTim]

Sutter will make sure to give him powerplay time over Toffoli and Pearson

if that were true.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

if that were true.

It is already partially true. Dustin Brown did get more PP ice time than Tanner Pearson last season.

 

[Trolfoli]

It is already partially true. Dustin Brown did get more PP ice time than Tanner Pearson last season.

That's okay. I mean could use imagine how bad Brown's numbers would be without getting prime ice time.



Brown is a pretty big issue at this point. If he can't figure out how to play hockey again, whenever Sutter puts him in the top 6 this turns into a 1 line team. You don't win a lot of hockey games with just one line being able to score.

 

[ADifferentTim]

That's okay. I mean could use imagine how bad Brown's numbers would be without getting prime ice time.



Brown is a pretty big issue at this point. If he can't figure out how to play hockey again, whenever Sutter puts him in the top 6 this turns into a 1 line team. You don't win a lot of hockey games with just one line being able to score.

Specifically about Dustin, I noticed his off-ice distractions is seeping in during gameday. As for the final sentence on block, that reminds me too much of the 2014-15 season, when the whole league flowcharted That 70s Line.

If anyone's interested enough to make a flowchart, then be my guest and here's a flowchart maker.

https://www.draw.io/

It is already partially true. Dustin Brown did get more PP ice time than Tanner Pearson last season.

Seriously, since when Coach Sutter became the late George Steinbrenner, overplaying vets at the expense of younger players? I still stand by my previous statement that Tyler Toffoli is cool-headed enough to take some of his juniors from the AHL under his wing (read: mentorship).

At least GM Lombardi was honest enough about giving up the farm and how that started backfiring on him for two consecutive seasons.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Specifically about Dustin, I noticed his off-ice distractions is seeping in during gameday. As for the final sentence on block, that reminds me too much of the 2014-15 season, when the whole league flowcharted That 70s Line.

If anyone's interested enough to make a flowchart, then be my guest and here's a flowchart maker.

https://www.draw.io/



Seriously, since when Coach Sutter became the late George Steinbrenner, overplaying vets at the expense of younger players? I still stand by my previous statement that Tyler Toffoli is cool-headed enough to take some of his juniors from the AHL under his wing (read: mentorship).

At least GM Lombardi was honest enough about giving up the farm and how that started backfiring on him for two consecutive seasons.

If Lombardi isn't happy with how Sutter is giving players ice time he would have fired him.

 

[lordjedediah]

If Lombardi isn't happy with how Sutter is giving players ice time he would have fired him.

Considering how long it took Lombardi to fire Murray, I don't think Sutter is going anywhere unless the Kings lose every game next season.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Considering how long it took Lombardi to fire Murray, I don't think Sutter is going anywhere unless the Kings lose every game next season.

I think Sutter and Lombardi share the same philosophy as far as the type of NHL players a winning team needs. While I'm not thrilled with losing Lucic and bringing in Purcell you can see the strategy, Sutter wants smart players who don't make dumb decisions and he likes a top 9 rather than a top 6. With previous Kings GM's it was almost impossible to see a pattern or plan of attack other than when Gretzky was bringing in his former team mates.

 

[HookKing]

Considering how long it took Lombardi to fire Murray, I don't think Sutter is going anywhere unless the Kings lose every game next season.

He wouldn't have fired Murray at all if Lieweke hadn't forced him.

 

[damacles1156]

Lombardi didn't want to Fire Terry Murray.

 

[Herby]

He had no choice.

The team was sinking with Murray, and if they had missed the playoffs in 2012 Lombardi himself was going to be gone.