At what point is it time for a rebuild?

[johnjm22]

The Bruins hit grand slams with McAvoy and especially Pastrnak. 14th overall for McAvoy and 25th overall for Pastrnak. All circles back to that Lucic trade. Kings obviously would look a hell of a lot better if they had kept that pick in 2015 and picked one of the excellent up and coming forwards.

And Donato at 56th overall looks like another steal. There's plenty more as well.

Boston is a franchise that gave away Seguin for nothing, and they're still in great shape. It's kind of amazing.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

And Donato at 56th overall looks like another steal. There's plenty more as well.

Boston is a franchise that gave away Seguin for nothing, and they're still in great shape. It's kind of amazing.

DeBrusk too at 14th overall with their own pick in 2015. Loaded with young talent not only on offense but defense too.

 

[johnjm22]

DeBrusk too at 14th overall with their own pick in 2015. Loaded with young talent not only on offense but defense too.

Krug also. He's a 26 year old 59 point defensemen. Undrafted college UFA they signed.

Did we mention Heinen? 4th rounder in 2014. 47 point rookie this year.

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

Krug also. He's a 26 year old 59 point defensemen. Undrafted college UFA they signed.

Did we mention Heinen? 4th rounder in 2014. 47 point rookie this year.

lol loaded. Meanwhile the Kings have...Amadio? Kempe? LaDue? Better pray Vilardi, Clague, and JAD make impacts.

 

[Reclamation Project]

This core won a Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014!

Am I doing this right?

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

Think Minnesota would bite on a Toffoli for Niederreiter trade?

 

[kenito7]

This core won a Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014!

Am I doing this right?

Those are great memories. Unfortunately they are quickly becoming distant memories. I would rather risk being Arizona or Buffalo for a chance to be great again. Making the playoffs every other year for 4 playoff games is to much like the 70's and 80's for me.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Honestly I'm tired of Buffalo and annoyed they haven't been relegated to another league. They don't belong in the NHL.

 

[johnjm22]

Unfortunately they are quickly becoming distant memories. I would rather risk being Arizona or Buffalo for a chance to be great again.

I'm a Buffalo Bills fan. I listen to and read lot of Buffalo area sports coverage, so by extension I end up following the Sabres. The Sabres are sort of like my second team after the Kings (a distant second).

Having followed the team through the entirety of this rebuild, I can tell you it's absolute pure misery over there, and there's no end in sight. What they're going through is worse than anything I've ever been through as a Kings fan (I've been a Kings fan since the 93/94 season).

Here's an interesting stat. The Sabres haven't taken the ice with a winning record since 1/25/13 when Lindy Ruff was coach. Going into that game they had a record of 2-1-0. They've never had a winning record at any point since, which means they've never even won an opener.

They're trapped in the "losing culture" cycle. Every player they bring in ends up falling flat. The hot prospects they bring in tend to either fail or turn out to be mediocre. That's why I say hold on to a few guys like Kopitar/Brown/Doughty while we're doing our rebuild. I don't want to fall into that trap. Keep things stable in stead of throwing young players into a tire fire.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

No way this team does a full rebuild. I could see them doing what the Bruins did, but to rip it down to the foundation is insane.

The only truly insane thing is to continue to shuffle fringe pieces while being in the black hole of no playoffs/real quick exit

 

[Sol]

Just like how when Richards was playing ECHL tier hockey the fan boys would say "he's triple gold etc etc ."

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I didn't say Stanley Cup. I just said winning.

Because it's the NHL and it's hard as hell.

Any team can beat any team on any given night

The difference between a goal and a save is inches of not millimetres.

Difference between top six and bottom six are narrowing etc

 

[Fat Elvis]

For those asking for a full rebuild, you must have short memories or are new fans. They were painful to watch for decades. We would drive up from south OC to the Forum and watch them get smoked weekly (too far for season tickets, had mini plans). The last decade or so have been the highlight of this franchise. I understand why some want to blow it up, I do. But it's not as easy as selling all your allstar talent for younger sexier players. It's not an exact science. If it were, Arizona, Buffalo and the other crap teams would be able to turn it around. Trading players like Kopitar, Quick, Doughty and even Carter is such a tricky proposition because you'll never receive the value that player already provides. Now, trading players like Pearson, Muzzin and Toffoli is a more feasible idea because those players are more common. Meaning it's easier to replace their production, possibly with multiple players.
In short, IMO they need a big tweak and not a rebuild.

 

[lexlavender]

A really good move would be to fire Stevens right now and hire Peters from Carolina. He had a lot of success on a horrible Carolina team, and team that had some of the best advanced stats in the league, despite being basement dwellers.

 

[yankeeking]

For those asking for a full rebuild, you must have short memories or are new fans. They were painful to watch for decades. We would drive up from south OC to the Forum and watch them get smoked weekly (too far for season tickets, had mini plans). The last decade or so have been the highlight of this franchise. I understand why some want to blow it up, I do. But it's not as easy as selling all your allstar talent for younger sexier players. It's not an exact science. If it were, Arizona, Buffalo and the other crap teams would be able to turn it around. Trading players like Kopitar, Quick, Doughty and even Carter is such a tricky proposition because you'll never receive the value that player already provides. Now, trading players like Pearson, Muzzin and Toffoli is a more feasible idea because those players are more common. Meaning it's easier to replace their production, possibly with multiple players.
In short, IMO they need a big tweak and not a rebuild.

agree with this but a step more we need to change ,and love these guys for what they have done for the team,but that is the past guys like lewis ,and cliffy play the old style , there was a play in the third period of game 4 ,down by a goal and lewis had carried the puck in and 2 knights on him and kempe alone going down the middle of the circles and lewis looked but dumped it behind the net without even trying to complete a pass and that is clearly the mindset of make the safe play get it in zone ,with the speed increased around the league we need to have a more offensive style from the bottom six, amadio and brodzinski were doing this when the injuries had guys sidelined and we were getting points in most but were then benched and we went back to dump and chase at the end and the results speak for themselves , barely making the p[layoffs and then the sweep..........I am for the retool more then the rebuild because I am in my mid sixties and do not believe its as easy as some others here think , not only are there the obvious teams like ariz. and buffalo but others like Vancouver ,Calgary, Minnesota Carolina, islanders, dallas that have now gone decades with combinations of rebuilds and retools that have produced zero cups and I was hoping for a that feeling of june 12th again and trading away guys like kopi,quick,DD just doesn't seem right but lol what do I know I was a kings fan for thirty eight years before that

 

[johnjm22]

Because it's the NHL and it's hard as hell.

Any team can beat any team on any given night

The difference between a goal and a save is inches of not millimetres.

Difference between top six and bottom six are narrowing etc

I agree. The difference between an average NHL player, and borderline NHL player is closer than ever. In fact there's not that much difference. The fact that Vegas has been so successfull supports this idea as well.

But if that's the case, then having 3 elite players should give you a significant advantage because there's parity among every team's supporting cast.

 

[Mooy04]

I don't think we need a rebuild yet. If DD resigns we will still have a solid core. Quick, Kopi, Carter and Doughty are still among the top at their position. The issue is the same as it has been for the last 10 years, the Wing. Brown had a resurgence, sure but the other vet wingers didn't do much. I think we need a re-tool. I would trade TT and maybe one of Muzzin, Amart, or Forbort to try and get faster on the wing. We have some young players like Kempe, Iafallo, and Amadio brought some speed, however not enough skill to make the difference. I also think that Stevens isn't doing a great job. First year so I would give him one more year, but the NHL has changed and speed is the name of the game. Sutter-lite might not fit. Just my opinion.

 

[DoktorJeep]

You can’t downplay the 98 pt regular season, playoff berth and production of Kopitar, Doughty, Quick, Brown, Muzzin, Martinez, Lewis and Carter. And the progress shown by Kempe and Forbort was great to finally see. You throw in guys like Iafallo, LaDue, and Amadio and you’ve got some hope for the future based on some of the flashes they showed. Hell, even Campbell played well, so maybe Management relaxes about goalies in the offseason and focuses on other needs.

The issue was the inconsistent goal scoring from Pearson and Toffoli. Both will be 26 yo next season, prime years. You can’t discount the effect of Carter being out on those two nor their effect on Kempe when he was asked to step up. I expect Blake to count on those two bouncing back in the second post Sutter year.

That being said, you have plan on some adversity and try and bolster the roster. The smart move is to work kids into depth and penalty kill positions. Vilardi should play in the NHL next season and not be sent back to junior. Getting Kopitar a left winger who is more of a scoring threat than Brown is the biggest weakness to address.

To get a UFA like Evander Kane or JVR would mean moving out a Muzzin to be able to afford Doughty, but it might be able to wait until next offseason. Or you could take a risk and hope Pat Maroon could work out for less dollars / years and find some magic with Kopitar. But I doubt the Kings would outbid other teams for any of those guys.

A lot of stuff to be hopeful about but the reality doesn’t look pretty if you’re hoping for a deep playoff run.

 

[ThreeOfAPerfectPair]

Hypothetical ask for Doughty + Quick?

Drai + Talbot + ???

 

[KopitarFAN]

Hypothetical ask for Doughty + Quick?

Drai + Talbot + ???

I assume they would look to cut payroll were they to move Quick much less Dewey, as they are pretty much starting over at that point, any deal probably starts with their 1st.

 

[Reaper45]

Hypothetical ask for Doughty + Quick?

Drai + Talbot + ???

That's tough. My heart says ask for McDavid straight up. You'd still have Drai as a #1 center, a #1D in Doughty, and a #1G in Quick. Though it would probably be Drai, Talbot, Nurse, 1st +.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Think Minnesota would bite on a Toffoli for Niederreiter trade?

I don't see it, why? Toffoli is the better player and has scored more goals and points in considerably less games.

 

[KINGS17]

That's tough. My heart says ask for McDavid straight up. You'd still have Drai as a #1 center, a #1D in Doughty, and a #1G in Quick. Though it would probably be Drai, Talbot, Nurse, 1st +.

This would actually be worth thinking about.

 

[Reclamation Project]

If Draisaitl is incoming then you flip Carter for a legit winger and top end prospect.

 

[KINGS17]

BTW, I don't think there is any way Tavares is going to sign with the Kings. We are getting the same team next season with the addition of Valardi and some minor tweaks.

...and a Luc Robitaille commercial.