Speculation: 2020-21 News/Rumors/Roster Thread Part IV

[BringTheReign]

I vacillate on adding Eichel, but there's a sub-element I'm curious about: I wonder if Buffalo would at all be interested in Brown as part of the return? Yeah, I get that he's (by NHL standards) old and declining and fairly expensive (albeit his contract doesn't last a terribly long time from now), but he's a local guy that can still score and captained two 'chip teams, and from what I've read that team desperately needs all the plus-leadership it can get. Totally acknowledge he won't be anything close to the centerpiece of a prospective trade (kinda' funny to consider someone with his pedigree and current salary a "throw-in," but that's essentially what he'd be), but maybe Buffalo is one of the few teams that might actually want his services for a couple of years...?

This is funny to think about, but taking living away from home during junior hockey into account, Dustin has likely lived in Los Angeles longer than he ever did in the Ithaca area. I'd guess he considers himself as much a Southern California local as he would there.

 

[YP44]

I would only make a trade when the other team is desperate for whatever reason and the situation is right for adding a piece that puts us over the top. I agree... stay the course.

Buffalo moving Eichel would be desperate

 

[YP44]

This is funny to think about, but taking living away from home during junior hockey into account, Dustin has likely lived in Los Angeles longer than he ever did in the Ithaca area. I'd guess he considers himself as much a Southern California local as he would there.

good point...also I want Brown to retire a king

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

This is funny to think about, but taking living away from home during junior hockey into account, Dustin has likely lived in Los Angeles longer than he ever did in the Ithaca area. I'd guess he considers himself as much a Southern California local as he would there.

Totally fair point (and I suspect you're right on the bolded), but I was looking at it more from Buffalo's POV. I suppose to play devil's advocate vs. my own point, the "hometown" draw doesn't really matter too much anyway right now, and won't until massive #s of fans are allowed back into buildings (and even then, is Dustin Brown going to help draw people into that arena - how big IS his extended family, anyway??)

I guess in my warped fantasy world where the Kings *do* execute a trade for Eichel (and to re-iterate: for being worth absolutely nothing, I'm not convinced they should), maybe they can sub-in Brown vs. the B-grade prospect that Buffalo would otherwise demand (Byfield/Turcotte, 1st Rounder in 2022 or '23, A or A- - level-prospect, and B-prospect being the asking price).

 

[YP44]

Totally fair point (and I suspect you're right on the bolded), but I was looking at it more from Buffalo's POV. I suppose to play devil's advocate vs. my own point, the "hometown" draw doesn't really matter too much anyway right now, and won't until massive #s of fans are allowed back into buildings (and even then, is Dustin Brown going to help draw people into that arena - how big IS his extended family, anyway??)

I guess in my warped fantasy world where the Kings *do* execute a trade for Eichel (and to re-iterate: for being worth absolutely nothing, I'm not convinced they should), maybe they can sub-in Brown vs. the B-grade prospect that Buffalo would otherwise demand (Byfield/Turcotte, 1st Rounder in 2022 or '23, A or A- - level-prospect, and B-prospect being the asking price).

I think if that is the acquisition cost that LA should not do it, but when was the last time one player went for that? Lindros?

If the deal was less like Turcotte, 2021 or 22 first (buffalo's pick), and Kempe or similar level player I would do it. I imagine actual cost owuld be in the middle.

 

[Reaper45]

They’re gonna want Byfield and he’d have to be the main piece.

 

[KingLB]

"Where would we get weaker"? You think Buffalo's giving Eichel for free? Or do you think Buffalo will just accept some magic beans?

Do you think Eichel makes the Kings a cup contender? If no, then how is that much better than where the Kings are? Because right now the Kings are fighting for the playoffs.

We're clearly watching two different players, since you seem to think the Kings would give up nothing of consequence for him.

If you can’t answer the question just say so. If you give up Byfield you are not weaker, as Eichel is filling that spot and the superior player? If we give up the first, how does that weaken the Kings? If we give up Walker/Clague/Strand/Fabre/Grans/Thomas/Kupari/Madden we have assets at that can fill that gap. If we give up Kempe I feel that is an easy gap for the Kings to fill in the next year.

Only defender that would really devastate the Kings would be if they asked for Roy.

And I absolutely feel the Kings would enter next year as a contender. Vilardi possibly being the best 3rd line center in the league behind the top 2 center pairing. With a defense that could very well be top 10 in the league by year end, let alone with 2 dominating centers in front of them. Would they be the favorite? No, but top 6 team in the league, yes I could see that.

 

[BringTheReign]

good point...also I want Brown to retire a king

As do I!

 

[YP44]

They’re gonna want Byfield and he’d have to be the main piece.

for sure..I'm guessing what they would want most would be for their legit #1C to not want out. Point is, Buffalo may not have a lot of leverage. Although it only takes one GM out there to offer the moon.

 

[YP44]

If you can’t answer the question just say so. If you give up Byfield you are not weaker, as Eichel is filling that spot and the superior player? If we give up the first, how does that weaken the Kings? If we give up Walker/Clague/Strand/Fabre/Grans/Thomas/Kupari/Madden we have assets at that can fill that gap. If we give up Kempe I feel that is an easy gap for the Kings to fill in the next year.

Only defender that would really devastate the Kings would be if they asked for Roy.

And I absolutely feel the Kings would enter next year as a contender. Vilardi possibly being the best 3rd line center in the league behind the top 2 center pairing. With a defense that could very well be top 10 in the league by year end, let alone with 2 dominating centers in front of them. Would they be the favorite? No, but top 6 team in the league, yes I could see that.

Lots of optimism here which I like. I don't see the Kings D being top 10 but god I a hope I am wrong.

 

[KingLB]

Lots of optimism here which I like. I don't see the Kings D being top 10 but god I a hope I am wrong.

Maybe, but Doughty at near Norris level. Roy as a legitimate 2/3 go a long way. Let alone the continued growth from Anderson/Bjornot.

Edit: Just looked, Kings are already #11 in GAA per game. Obviously they are riding a win streak right now. But no reason we can’t make continued improvement, especially since they were leaking goals for a period earlier this year.

 

[YP44]

Maybe, but Doughty at near Norris level. Roy as a legitimate 2/3 go a long way. Let alone the continued growth from Anderson/Bjornot.

for sure.

 

[bmr]

Buffalo moving Eichel would be desperate

Well - let me expand on that. If they are so desperate to move him and they aren't trying to fleece us in the return, i'd definitely listen to what they would want. If it's Byfield and 1st and someone else, no thanks.

 

[King'sPawn]

If you can’t answer the question just say so. If you give up Byfield you are not weaker, as Eichel is filling that spot and the superior player? If we give up the first, how does that weaken the Kings? If we give up Walker/Clague/Strand/Fabre/Grans/Thomas/Kupari/Madden we have assets at that can fill that gap. If we give up Kempe I feel that is an easy gap for the Kings to fill in the next year.

Only defender that would really devastate the Kings would be if they asked for Roy.

And I absolutely feel the Kings would enter next year as a contender. Vilardi possibly being the best 3rd line center in the league behind the top 2 center pairing. With a defense that could very well be top 10 in the league by year end, let alone with 2 dominating centers in front of them. Would they be the favorite? No, but top 6 team in the league, yes I could see that.

You're the one trading for Eichel.

You're the one thinking he is the supreme talent who will put the Kings into cup contention at the price they can afford to lose.

You say what your maximum price is.

And you're delusional if you think NHL ready/caliber prospects aren't going the other way, meaning Vilardi, Bjornfot, Roy, plus other lottery tickets.

Then you once again bolster center, getting rid of quality defensemen and waiting for the wingers to develop to be NHL ready to keep up at center.

Eichel/Kopitar is not Crosby/Malkin or McDavid/Draisaitl.

Honestly, what's so hard about letting the organization grow up a bit before adding pieces to put them over the top? "If you can't answer the question just say so."

 

[Statto]

They’re gonna want Byfield and he’d have to be the main piece.

He’d end up being the best player in the deal, assuming Buffalo don’t screw his development. I’m not trading him away because the only reason to do it is impatience. Yes we will need to make trades, but we should trade to strengthen positions of weakness... we have no issue at C.

Right now we will need to determine who 3 of our 4 wingers in the top 6 are, going forward, as Brown won’t be here forever and we mostly agree that Iafallo is ideally a 3LW on a contender. I say 3 wingers as it assumes Kempe is one of them. Kalyev is the big hope and whilst I love him there is a big IF there. Maybe Turcotte slides over to fill a spot, maybe Vilardi does or Kupari or... (you see what I’m getting at?). We are talking about using quite a few natural C’s at wing, but it may not work for all of them and/or they simply don’t want to play wing. We also don’t know if Anderson of Björnfot will end up as top pair guys and it’s not even certain they (or even Roy, Clague, Walker) end up being at the level of a #3D on a championship team. There are too many questions, however, we do have the assets that will allow Blake to answer them.

The holes are going to become much more apparent over the next 18-24 months. Right now it seems we will likely need a top pairing D, there is a good chance that we will need a winger or two and we may need a goalie as it’s too early to anoint Petersen (who doing great so far).... at the very least we need a good backup. So if it were me, I’m not trading assets to strengthen down the middle when we will likely have one of the strongest 1-4 C depth in the NHL simply by doing nothing. It makes no sense, I’d be filling the gaps.... once we know where they are.

Any huge move now is utter impatience.

 

[Token]

The only team that should trade for Eichel is the Rags. Cuz, damn, they got Zero center depth.

Send a Kakko or LaFrenchie over and fix the rebuild. Talk about epic fail.

 

[Anguyen92]

I got to give a lot of credit to Blake. The gameplan through the last off-season and the beginning of this season is to stay the course. Don't make any crazy moves due to impatience and let various prospects develop and have their crack at a roster spot and make something of themselves if the opportunity presents itself and here we are now.

 

[HookKing]

The best move the Kings could make right now is go after Ekholm. It would probably cost something like our 1st + Madden or Thomas + Clague or Strand. Yeah, yeah I know he's 30 and washed up but the Kings D would be instantly transformed into playoff level if not elite:
Ekholm - Doughty
Bjornfot - Roy
Clague/Anderson - Walker

with Bjornfot, Clague and Anderson being pretty much interchangeable.

Of course Ekholm would need to extend but I think he would with all the Swedes in the organization and playing with DD getting out of RJ's shadow.

Its quite painful watching all of our midgets on the blue line get run over on a nightly basis. Forwards age like milk, D men age like wine.

 

[kilowatt]

Eichel/Kopitar is not Crosby/Malkin or McDavid/Draisaitl.

Yes it is. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Yes it is. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Eichel/Kopitar pairing won’t be scoring 100 points on the regular like those guys.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

I’d only trade for Eichel if it involves a couple assets, not 4-5 assets. I think Buffalo would rightfully ask for 4-5 blue chip assets and I don’t think Blake is ready to start dealing yet. As someone else noted, Center isn’t even a position of need.

 

[VILARGOD]

The best move the Kings could make right now is go after Ekholm. It would probably cost something like our 1st + Madden or Thomas + Clague or Strand. Yeah, yeah I know he's 30 and washed up but the Kings D would be instantly transformed into playoff level if not elite:
Ekholm - Doughty
Bjornfot - Roy
Clague/Anderson - Walker

with Bjornfot, Clague and Anderson being pretty much interchangeable.

Of course Ekholm would need to extend but I think he would with all the Swedes in the organization and playing with DD getting out of RJ's shadow.

Its quite painful watching all of our midgets on the blue line get run over on a nightly basis. Forwards age like milk, D men age like wine.

Absolutely terrible take. Trading two great prospects for a 30 year old who could fall off a cliff at any moment. Just so we could have good D now. As if were going to truly contend this year or the next.

 

[Docgonzo]

The only possible saving grace for the Kings if they decide to pursue the Eichel trade is what teams have the assets and cap space for him. If Buffalo wants to try a rebuild again, it’s Kings and Rangers and that’s it. Might be able to keep the cost down on acquiring him.

Now if Buffalo wants to get current roster pieces then it is not the Kings.

 

[SFKingshomer]

Too early in the process to move any significant assets. If they look like a playoff team then adding a depth player for a decent prospect or pick to reward them for their effort is fine. The best thing for the Kings and their fans is patience. I like the fact that they appear to be ahead of schedule. Rather have a near playoff or better team because it helps the players development and learning how to compete.

 

[HookKing]

Absolutely terrible take. Trading two great prospects for a 30 year old who could fall off a cliff at any moment. Just so we could have good D now. As if were going to truly contend this year or the next.

LOL.