GM Rob Blake 2017-18 Report Card

[Rorschach]

Based on the last year off season and this year's regular season so far, what criteria would you grade Rob Blake on and what grade would you assign?

So far, player personnel I give him an A-. We went far in adding players both to the team and the pipeline. We still have a ways to go.

For staff, I give him a C. Like a lot of people here, I feel Stevens should go or he better make some big improvements.

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[johnjm22]

I think he did a good job of adding some young assets to the organization. He also didn't squander any futures. (What you don't do is just as important as what you do). For that, I think he finally has the organization heading the right direction.

I would like to see the organization move guys like Carter, Muzzin, Martinez, Lewis to get a rebuild/reload going, but that doesn't appear to be happening.

D for staffing.
C for organizational direction (not completely under his control)
B for trades
C for UFA signings (not counting college or undrafted UFA's)
B for drafting / adding young assets.
B for what he didn't do.

That averages out to a C overall.

 

[Sol]

So far considering the crap he was given to work with, I give him a B. I would have given him an A if he looked outside the organization for a coach.

 

[Fishhead]

B-. Made some good young adds, didn’t screw up at the TDL. Was lazy as far as coaching search. I think a fresh start with an outsider would have been ideal. Not many complaints really for his first year.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

B+ from me.

Given he had not much to work with and we were stuck in a purgatory year, he made some subtle moves to get faster--bringing in Rieder, Mitchell, Iafallo, and so forth. He had no problem shoring up the smaller roster concerns, like speed/tenacity, faceoffs, general depth. The scoring depth right now is obviously the bigger concern--middle six rather than bottom line--but that's a long-term project. He also took what everyone in hockey thought would be a sure-buyout, lol-f***-the-Kings contract and turned it into a guy who played phenomenally for us down the stretch in Phaneuf, low-key one of the best trades in the NHL all year, and gave us all sorts of defensive depth. He's proven he's not shy to make trades to correct mistakes, which was one of people's biggest complaints about DL--especially in shedding Cammalleri, a guy who he obviously knows really well. You can say it was sort of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, but I liked that he was quick to move on Cammy, Jokinen. My only real complaints are the scoring depth--unfair a little early--and not getting LaDue, Amadio enough games for them to be more of a factor. And Stevens, who I do not like as a head coach--we lack an identity as of right now and I'm personally going to lay that at Stevens' feet rather than Blake's.

We got back to the playoffs and within a game of 100 points despite missing Carter for most of the year. I know that's not enough for some, and sure the playoff fizzle leaves a pretty bitter taste, but I'd have to consider that part a step in the right direction for the organization and Blake.

And before I get ripped into by the "maximize assets, blow it up, anything less than a Cup is a failure" crowd, keep in mind this is just my opinion and your mileage may vary, thank you.

 

[KINGS17]

Meh, I give Blake a C+. No obvious failures, but no home runs either.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Meh, I give Blake a C+. No obvious failures, but no home runs either.

For me, Gaborik for Phaneuf was out of the park, but I guess we also have to see a little longer how it plays out.

 

[KingsOfCali25]

Meh, I give Blake a C+. No obvious failures, but no home runs either.

Cal Peterson says Hello. The kid is going to be a legit starting NHL goalie. He was the best move Blake has made so far including drafting Vilardi and getting rid of Gaborik.

Edit: I would give Blake a B+. Would have been higher if we got a different coach from outside the organization.

 

[kingsboy11]

For hiring Stevens I'll give him a B because our offense overall did improve while still retaining our strong defensive plays. That being said, it was mostly comeback seasons from Doughty, Kopitar and Brown and the offense jusst disappeared in the playoffs and felt very reminiscent of Terry Murray hockey. I wasn't against hiring Stevens, but I thought they should've gone very hard after Gallant.

In regards to player personnel I thought Blake did very well. Iafallo was a home run, getting rid of Gaborik for Phaneuf was a steal and getting Thompson for Shore was an upgrade. Mitchell is meh. Getting Cammalleri and then trading for Jokinen was kind of a wash as well. But he also signed Petersen and Brickley which I thought were tremendous signings. Its starting to appear that Blake is quite the recruiter when it comes to free agents. For player personnel I'll give him an A.

Overall I give him a B. But this summer is where we are going to see what he's made of. Need to build off of last years very strong draft, dip into more free agents and then see who is vulnerable to be moved to improve the team. And obviously see what he can do with Doughty's contract.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Yeah, forgot Brickley and Rempal.

I'm excited to see what this offseason brings because it will be his first REAL opportunity to put a stamp on it.

 

[Rorschach]

Turning Gaborik into Phaneuf was a bit of alchemy. And the new college guys are way more interesting than Vey and Shore 2.0.

 

[Stimpythecat]

B+/A-

The Phaneuf move was a great trade. He didn't trade the farm, improved the bottom 6, and got a few good college UFAs. Free assets are nice.

 

[KINGS17]

A lot of grade inflation going on in here. Moves that get an A from me are things like Johnson and a 1st for Carter. Frattin, a 2nd and a 3rd for Gaborik.

Cal Peterson may indeed turn out to be a good NHL goalie, but would you have given Dean an A for simply having Bernier and Quick in the pipeline? I wouldn't.

 

[kilowatt]

Meh, I give Blake a C+. No obvious failures, but no home runs either.

There were no failures, but adding Iafallo, Folin, Fantenberg, Peterson, and Brickley for nothing, and adding Phaneuf by getting rid of Gaborik were at least doubles, if not triples.

We don’t want to give away futures, so what huge improvements were we going to see? He did about as well as one could possibly expect in his first year with a bare cupboard.

I’d give him an A.

 

[kenito7]

There were no failures, but adding Iafallo, Folin, Fantenberg, Peterson, and Brickley for nothing, and adding Phaneuf by getting rid of Gaborik were at least doubles, if not triples.

We don’t want to give away futures, so what huge improvements were we going to see? He did about as well as one could possibly expect in his first year with a bare cupboard.

I’d give him an A.

I loved those classes where you got an A for just showing up.

 

[King'sPawn]

Making Stevens the head coach drops his grade to B, but the signing of the free agents and turning Gaborik to Phaneuf were very good moves.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

A lot of grade inflation going on in here. Moves that get an A from me are things like Johnson and a 1st for Carter. Frattin, a 2nd and a 3rd for Gaborik.

Cal Peterson may indeed turn out to be a good NHL goalie, but would you have given Dean an A for simply having Bernier and Quick in the pipeline? I wouldn't.

Literally nobody before your post gave him anything higher than a B+/A-.

No need to red herring so hard.

 

[KINGS17]

Literally nobody before your post gave him anything higher than a B+/A-.

No need to red herring so hard.

I gave him a C+, which I think is very fair. I think a lot of you are grading on some type of curve.

How do you give a GM an B+ or higher during a season which many of you called an "evaluation year"?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

That Kuemper signing really was an under the radar move that isn’t getting any recognition.

 

[damacles1156]

C grade so far

Blake hasn't had to build anything so far. He simply maintained and added some free prospects.

I give Blake some major credit though for the Phaneuf trade, that did stabilize the back end with a veteran guy.

I think hiring a players coach like Stevens was a huge mistake.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Cal Petersen was a highly sought after addition who was one of the best netminders in the AHL as a rookie.

Adding a prospect like that to the pipeline isn’t an easy move. If it was so easy, why didn’t Dean go that route after trading away so many picks?

 

[damacles1156]

Cal Petersen was a highly sought after addition who was one of the best netminders in the AHL as a rookie.

Adding a prospect like that to the pipeline isn’t an easy move. If it was so easy, why didn’t Dean go that route after trading away so many picks?

Pavel Rosa was a very good AHL player.

After trading away so many picks Lombardi wasn't allowed to try and recoup some of the prospects, he was fired.

 

[KINGS17]

That Kuemper signing really was an under the radar move that isn’t getting any recognition.

This is true, but we are going to have to see if Reider has any impact at all on this roster before knowing the ultimate outcome.

 

[damacles1156]

This is true, but we are going to have to see if Reider has any impact at all on this roster before knowing the ultimate outcome.

Reider was a huge disappointment so far, all that speed, no brains.

 

[KINGS17]

Cal Petersen was a highly sought after addition who was one of the best netminders in the AHL as a rookie.

Adding a prospect like that to the pipeline isn’t an easy move. If it was so easy, why didn’t Dean go that route after trading away so many picks?

Free agents, whether they are drafted or undrafted, are looking for the organization which gives them the best chance to get to the NHL in the least amount of time.

I'm sure it's no secret among goaltenders that the Kings goalie development team is among the best in the NHL. Martin Jones is the best example of this. Peterson is looking to follow in Jones' footsteps whether it be as Quick's eventual successor, or with another NHL team.