13-4-3 In The Last 20 Games. Is it a Fluke?

[Lt Dan]

Blake has openly said he hopes to get Iafallo signed once the season has started. I don't see the kings adding more forwards via trade like that, not with the overloaded prospect pool.

I just don't see Kempe in the long term plans. Not with Byfield, Turcotte, Kupari, Kaliyev, Madden, JAD, and Fagemo all due to arrive in the next year or two. That's with Kopitar, Vilardi, Andersson, and Grundstrom already here. Where does Kempe fit in with all those forwards?

Not everyone will pan out better to have too much than not enough

 

[bmr]

From what i've seen so far, I would expose Amadio and Wagner. You have to ask yourself, what are you okay with losing? Clague is a bit of a wildcard to me. I wouldn't be terribly upset if we lost Walker, as one of the other defensemen can slot in there. I don't like the idea of exposing Frk. Had good chemistry with the team.

 

[Statto]

You cannot fluke a run over 20 games. The talent is there, but with the youth consistency will be the big challenge. The significant things are Kempe stepping it up, Anderson, Vilardi and a decent 1-2 punch in net. The goaltending first and foremost at least keeps us in every game, over the previous couple of seasons it couldn’t be relied on.

It remains to be seen if this is truly Kempe breaking out or one of his streaky runs. His more aggressive/assertive approach makes me think he may well be and if so, with his ability to play either wing, it gives us a genuine top 6 winger when it started to look like he was more of a middle 6 guy. It will definitely help move the needle.

 

[Mats26]

You would think the protection list will be at least Kopitar, Kempe, Doughty, Roy, Walker.
Clague is the wild card to got to 7/3/1 or 8/1 protection. Iafallo is a UFA so we can sign him after the expansion draft. Don't think they will touch Carter\Brown.

My guess Seattle will pick Quick, Double A(if he is not traded at Deadline) or Wagner\Lizotte. But it's still so early to guess these things.

 

[cyclones22]

The thing that excites me most about Kempe is that he looks eminently dangerous with the puck now. He was pretty much a north south player in the o-zone with pretty good hands and now he's controlling the flow of play with some east west action with the puck. That was not an element he had the confidence to utilize with any frequency in the past. When he had hot point scoring streaks in previous seasons it was on unsustainable shooting percentages that eventually cooled off. His eye-opening (to me at least) play right now isn't his net scoring but his putting pressure on the defense and getting into the high danger areas with this skill. He's also playing well off of Kopi's puck possession and passing while sneaking into shooting areas, which made him a fit next to Vilardi as well. Kempe is the only one on the squad who can pretty much skate circles in the o-zone with the puck. Carter (I'll never forget the OT goal vs Marty in 2012) and Wagner have the speed, but Kempe's got the change of direction. For what it's worth I think Kupari is also going to bring that element to the team in the future and sometimes he's the forgotten prospect thanks to his ACL injury last season.

 

[driller1]

Based on what cap friendly is showing, I’d protect the following players in the expansion draft. I know it won’t happen, but these are the guys that I would hate to lose and could see being taken.

Iafallo, Kempe, Lias A, Tonka
Doughty (nmc), Roy, Walker, Clague
Petersen

Kopi has a NMC, so you need to expose Lias or Tonka.

 

[Omni Owl]

You would think the protection list will be at least Kopitar, Kempe, Doughty, Roy, Walker.
Clague is the wild card to got to 7/3/1 or 8/1 protection. Iafallo is a UFA so we can sign him after the expansion draft. Don't think they will touch Carter\Brown.

My guess Seattle will pick Quick, Double A(if he is not traded at Deadline) or Wagner\Lizotte. But it's still so early to guess these things.

This is what I was thinking as well. Could definitely see them going after Quick if he goes unprotected.

 

[HookKing]

Kopi has a NMC, so you need to expose Lias or Tonka.

No he doesn't.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Kopitar is now on a modified NTC. The only player who HAS to be protected is Drew (NMC).

 

[kilowatt]

There's not a chance in hell that the Kings don't protect Kopitar, and there's not a chance in hell that Seattle would pass up the opportunity to pick Kopitar if he was exposed.

Seattle wants a competitive team like Vegas right out of the gate.

 

[Basilisk]

We're back in...... YES!!!


2021 NHL Mock Draft & Simulator | Tankathon

 

[Lt Dan]

We're back in...... YES!!!


2021 NHL Mock Draft & Simulator | Tankathon

I ran that 20x
Interesting results

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

You cannot fluke a run over 20 games.

Debatable, i guess depends what you mean by fluke.

18-19 Red Wings went 12-6-2 at one point in the season, they've only gotten worse since.

18-19 Sabres went 13-4-3 at one point in the season (exact same record as Kings). Still swimming in mediocrity.

NHL is a funny league, any team can put together a stretch of games where they're playing good hockey. You don't know what you are until teams talk about you as a playoff team and show respect night in night out.

 

[HookKing]

There's not a chance in hell that the Kings don't protect Kopitar, and there's not a chance in hell that Seattle would pass up the opportunity to pick Kopitar if he was exposed.

Seattle wants a competitive team like Vegas right out of the gate.

Wut? I'm pretty sure our resident contract expert deemed his contract one of the worst abominations in NHL history.

 

[Mats26]

This year the record ('win or lose) dosn't bother me as much as the progress and play. Right now my main concern is Vilardi's play. He needs to step up and find his game.

 

[cyclones22]

Yeah I would like to see more out of Vilardi as well. That being said in his stint last season he had the same linemates the whole time. Frk and Kempe. He's been on the line blender this entire season. Yet every game he has shown flashes of his skill level and hockey IQ. But he has not been put in prime position to truly excel yet. I did like seeing Arty Party on his line last night though. I hope that lasts longer than a quick minute.

 

[Mats26]

Yeah I would like to see more out of Vilardi as well. That being said in his stint last season he had the same linemates the whole time. Frk and Kempe. He's been on the line blender this entire season. Yet every game he has shown flashes of his skill level and hockey IQ. But he has not been put in prime position to truly excel yet. I did like seeing Arty Party on his line last night though. I hope that lasts longer than a quick minute.

Hoping Frk does light a fire under Vilardi. Arty will probably be sent down before the bromance can start.

 

[kilowatt]

Yeah I would like to see more out of Vilardi as well. That being said in his stint last season he had the same linemates the whole time. Frk and Kempe. He's been on the line blender this entire season. Yet every game he has shown flashes of his skill level and hockey IQ. But he has not been put in prime position to truly excel yet. I did like seeing Arty Party on his line last night though. I hope that lasts longer than a quick minute.

Not only has he been through the blender, McLellan's filled the blender with garbage. Here's Vilardi's linemate distribution this season. If you want him to generate offense, don't put him next to Andersson and Brown, it's pretty obvious. I'd love to see him play on Kopitar's right wing this season just to give him someone talented to play with and to take some pressure off of him.

Kempe - Kopitar - Vilardi
Iafallo - Athanasiou - Carter
Andersson - Lizotte - Brown
Wagner - Amadio - Moore

Sure, the Kings are 10-5-3 in their last 18 games dating back to last year's trade deadline but they're 3-4-2 this year and without Walker or Roy for any significant amount of time, they're really in trouble. The seven-game winning streak was fun, but it no longer matters. Kurtis MacDermid on the second pair, as much as I like the guy, is just a recipe for disaster. A top ten pick this year if we can grab Matthew Beniers would be awesome, and a top five pick to grab one of Power, Clarke, or Hughes would be even better. It helps that Arizona has to forfeit their pick, too. If we lose, I hope it's because we have guys like Wagner, Amadio, Moore, and Luff in our bottom six that aren't contributing much because we want guys like Byfield, Turcotte, Kaliyev, Madden, Fagemo, Kupari, Thomas, Bjornfot, and the rest of the boys playing really solid, really structured hockey down in Ontario.

Wouldn't mind drafting Clarke to have another real solid right-handed prospect:

 

[KingsFan7824]

There's not a chance in hell that the Kings don't protect Kopitar, and there's not a chance in hell that Seattle would pass up the opportunity to pick Kopitar if he was exposed.

Seattle wants a competitive team like Vegas right out of the gate.

To be fair to Vegas, how many 34 year olds with $10m hits and 3 years left did they take? Not that anyone was thinking they'd be a top team in the league in their first year. Not that the Kings have done anything with Kopitar taking up $10m in space.

Kopitar will likely be protected, since the Kings don't have much to protect. He would also probably be selected, since the Kings don't have much of a selection to pick from.

I could also see them staying clear of him if he were left out there though, because how likely is a repeat of Vegas? Everyone has now had the experience of going through an expansion draft under the cap. It's not uncharted water anymore. If Seattle actively tries to be Vegas, I don't know that it'll work.

 

[BigKing]

To be fair to Vegas, how many 34 year olds with $10m hits and 3 years left did they take? Not that anyone was thinking they'd be a top team in the league in their first year. Not that the Kings have done anything with Kopitar taking up $10m in space.

Kopitar will likely be protected, since the Kings don't have much to protect. He would also probably be selected, since the Kings don't have much of a selection to pick from.

I could also see them staying clear of him if he were left out there though, because how likely is a repeat of Vegas? Everyone has now had the experience of going through an expansion draft under the cap. It's not uncharted water anymore. If Seattle actively tries to be Vegas, I don't know that it'll work.

They would take him in a heartbeat. He isn't a household name but he is to hockey fans. He could have hit 70 points last year and could be on a similar pace when this season is all said and done. Seattle wouldn't have any cap issues to start so they could fit him no problem.

He'd be their Day 1 captain. You take his production and presence even at the cap over Austin Wagner.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

I know xG can get some people all hot and bothered around here, but this is for those of you who find them to at least be interesting data points. And this year they’re supporting the notion so far that, yes, including this season in the run makes it a fluke:

 

[kilowatt]

They would take him in a heartbeat. He isn't a household name but he is to hockey fans. He could have hit 70 points last year and could be on a similar pace when this season is all said and done. Seattle wouldn't have any cap issues to start so they could fit him no problem.

He'd be their Day 1 captain. You take his production and presence even at the cap over Austin Wagner.

Definitely. Not to mention that his $10 million cap hit over the next three years will only cost $22 million. The Kings frontloaded his contract.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

"expected" stats kind of piss me off but they look pretty accurate based on what's happened thus far there.

 

[bland]

"expected" stats kind of piss me off but they look pretty accurate based on what's happened thus far there.

I love that stat geeks try to understand the game by developing quotients to attempt to explain what HAS happened, then fail to understand what WILL happen based on their own faulty algorithms, then using that flawed understanding to somehow state what SHOULD be happening but isn't.

It's all a colossal waste of time.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Right now my main concern is Vilardi's play. He needs to step up and find his game.

You make it sound like Vilardi is a seasoned vet with several seasons under his belt. The kid has played less than 20 NHL games and you are worried about him finding his game? Nobody knows what his game is yet at the NHL level...and neither does he.