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

[Ghetty Green]

Zero interest in Eichel. Let shit continue to marinate and then,after a couple more years of not contending with the Oilers, you make the trade for McDavid after he asks to be traded

 

[Ghetty Green]

List of left handed defenseman under 25 that the Kings could target...I left some off who I view as untouchable obviously.

Girard/Byram: Colorado has a plethora of solid defenseman and their offense is ranked 20th at the moment. Record isnt too bad but not as good as everyone expected. Could maybe see something lining up here.

Chabot: Not sure if hes considered untouchable in the dumpster fire that is Ottawa. If anyone wants to chime in on that go ahead...

Hanifin: Not dynamic but people forget he just barely turned 24 and has been in the league for 5 years already...lots of room to grow.

Heiskanen: Depends on the Stars playoff hopes situation within the next month...

Sergachev: Would purely be a cap space move for the Lightning. They're playing pretty well, so not sure if I could see this happening.

And my pick for who I think and also want the Kings to target...

Werenski: We all know how those trades with Columbus turn out. Want want want. Could maybe entice Jarmo with fellow fin Kupari, would obviously have to add a decent amount...

Anderson-Doughty
Werenski-Roy
Bjornfot-Walker
Maata and MacD as extra

Solid.

Zero interest in Werenski either he is consistently overrated

 

[ru4reals]

Put the crown logo on the Kings jersey instead of that crap chevy thing, and it would be even better.

Amen to that!!! I would buy one in a hearbeat with the crown. Would look so nice.

 

[Schmooley]

Zero interest in Eichel. Let shit continue to marinate and then,after a couple more years of not contending with the Oilers, you make the trade for McDavid after he asks to be traded

Funny you mention McDavid. My buddy sent me an interview the other day where he says his favorite place to go/vacation is los angeles because no one bothers him. Maybe one day hell be on the kings

 

[Ghetty Green]

Funny you mention McDavid. My buddy sent me an interview the other day where he says his favorite place to go/vacation is los angeles because no one bothers him. Maybe one day hell be on the kings

He is buddies with Byfield too - same agent. And what better way to break into America for McDavids brand. I hope history repeats itself.

 

[apocalypse]

Dustin Brown is an elite power forward in the NHL. And he's 36 YEARS OLD!!!

 

[bland]

For all we know the question "are you looking to upgrade your roster for a playoff push?" was asked, and Blake or someone else chatty in the organization just said that the only thing they don't have in the system is a top pairing, puck moving PP threat on the left side.

 

[kilowatt]

For all we know the question "are you looking to upgrade your roster for a playoff push?" was asked, and Blake or someone else chatty in the organization just said that the only thing they don't have in the system is a top pairing, puck moving PP threat on the left side.

I understand that Trevor Bauer isn't for everyone, but he just released a video on his YouTube channel where he talks about what his offseason was like and how he eventually chose the Dodgers, but one of the big takeaways is that most of the writers - especially the ones who make a living off of rumors, not so much just the beat reporters - are seen as reporting fact, when the reports probably aren't entirely (or in any way) true.

For all we know, some team from the East (falsely) leaked that the Kings were interested in shoring up their defense to spook a team like Minnesota or Arizona to overpay to try to make the playoffs. And maybe there was some truth in there - maybe Blake had a conversation with said GM from the East and said "yeah, if I was going to make any move right now it would be for an established left handed defenseman, but no thanks at this time".

All of this to say not to take anyone's word in the media as gospel. It might be true, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Here's that Bauer video:

 

[Stimpythecat]

Even if the kings are in the playoff race, Blake will not add. This is from 2/22

It’s Good That You Hate Canada. Plus: Turtleneck Tales. | Podcasts - Sportsnet.ca

 

[All The Kings Men]

Remember when the Kings kept talking about how they needed a "real" LW to play with Kopitar and Brown? It's all anyone would talk about for like three years.

They never got one and they won the Cup twice.

This reminds me of that. I am already bored with the idea that the Kings "need" a "perfect" LHD to fill out some imaginary hole on the roster.

 

[Statto]

The kings d is set. It's full of up and coming defensive youth. I don't see Blake's reasoning here.

It’s nots Blakes reasoning at this point... it’s speculation.

Kings D is not set. We don’t really have a #2 defenseman. I see Roy as a solid #3 and Mikey anderson and Bjornfot as #4s. We need to fast track our rebuild/retool. No time to wait for guys like Faber and Grans...

Björnfot has #2 upside and is just 19 years old and Anderson has less than 30 games NHL experience. Björnfot is 19 and playing like a 10 year vet which tells me being a #2 guy is not all that much of a stretch. Both Björnfot and Anderson are doing an outstanding job and could easily end up filling the #2 and #3 spots going forward. Roy looks like he can also play at a #3 level which means Doughty’s minutes can be managed and in 2 years we have an elite top 4 without doing anything. We don’t ‘need’ to fast track anything although I get some people want to do so, but again we are talking about being patient. The long term replacement for Doughty is the trick Blake needs to pull off and that’s not on the table right now.

Maybe it is the plan to move forward aggressively and I see the argument for that. However it’s a very valid approach to give it some time to properly understand how these guys all truly project and then use our depth to trade and fill the right holes. We can all guess at what they might be and some of our guesses may be right, but Blake can’t afford to guess and nor should he.

It’s important we take our time. It’s much better to take an approach that sees us contenders at the top for 5-10 years, rather than make a trade or two now for a couple of seasons as low play-off seeds with an outside chance. We have a group that can grow and peak together and that is the perfect situation to end up with sustainable success, which is very much my preference.

 

[Statto]

Remember when the Kings kept talking about how they needed a "real" LW to play with Kopitar and Brown? It's all anyone would talk about for like three years.

They never got one and they won the Cup twice.

This reminds me of that. I am already bored with the idea that the Kings "need" a "perfect" LHD to fill out some imaginary hole on the roster.

Exactly. I wish I could make the point this effectively without typing 1000 words and still failing....

 

[LAKings88]

Remember when the Kings kept talking about how they needed a "real" LW to play with Kopitar and Brown? It's all anyone would talk about for like three years.

They never got one and they won the Cup twice.

This reminds me of that. I am already bored with the idea that the Kings "need" a "perfect" LHD to fill out some imaginary hole on the roster.

Clague and Strand could both be on the roster now. Hults is a dark horse in the way of Mikey Anderson too.

The team has a lot of prospects that won’t all be able to play just due to not enough spots. I can see them looking to upgrade if said (unicorn) player became available but I don’t think it is that active of a pursuit.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Remember when the Kings kept talking about how they needed a "real" LW to play with Kopitar and Brown? It's all anyone would talk about for like three years.

They never got one and they won the Cup twice.

This reminds me of that. I am already bored with the idea that the Kings "need" a "perfect" LHD to fill out some imaginary hole on the roster.

Not for a lack of trying. Traded for Penner, signed Gagne. Then Penner couldn't score, Gagne got hurt, Brown moved to LW, and they lucked out that Carter went somewhere he didn't want to be. Then they got Gaborik later too.

 

[regulate]

Hoven reported the following on his podcast:

1) Bjornfot is staying the rest of the season in the NHL.
2) Kings want to re-sign Iafallo, no funny business about not signing prior to expansion draft and then making a deal.
3) As of today, Kings are leaning towards the 7-3-1 in the expansion draft.
4) Look for an OHL announcement about a start date coming up, if so, Kaliyev will go back to the OHL. If the start date is delayed a while, Kings might put Byfield on the NHL roster to finish the season, but he won't play more than 6 games due to ELC.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Maybe Blake is looking for a LHD that has a decent number of games under their belt. Outside of DD (940 GP) and Matta (440 GP), the rest are either around 100 (Roy, Walker, McD) or less than 30 (Anderson, Toby, etc). That’s pretty thin to go into the playoffs with. And if something happens with DD, we’re done.
I like where we’re going with our players, but it would be nice to have someone with 300-400 games that can team up with Drew and be a shutdown pair. Now, who that is and what’s the cost - I don’t have a clue.

 

[SFKingshomer]

I don't mind a reward for the players and coach type trade as long as it's a long term fit or a smaller depth move that doesn't cost much. Any talk of moving a high end prospect seems premature unless there's someone they really covet or they are unhappy with the progression of the prospect.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Why keep Bjornfot and burn a year of entry level when Clague or Strand can take that spot. He’s only 19.

Also, would Byfield go back to OHL?

 

[kovacro]

For all we know the question "are you looking to upgrade your roster for a playoff push?" was asked, and Blake or someone else chatty in the organization just said that the only thing they don't have in the system is a top pairing, puck moving PP threat on the left side.

Looks like the media took that and ran with it..

Los Angeles Kings eye dynamic, left-shot defenceman ahead of NHL trade deadline - TSN.ca

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger said Thursday on Insider Trading that the Kings would like to add a left-shooting defenceman and could be willing to part with some of their centre depth to do so.

"It seems like there's a lot more talk among the NHL general managers right now. Whether or not they can execute, I guess time will tell. Rob Blake of the Los Angeles Kings is another one looking for a defenceman in the category that Pierre (LeBrun) just described – 25 and under," Dreger said. "But he specifically wants a dynamic, left-shot defenceman. When you look at the Los Angeles Kings, they do have an abundance of forwards, particularly at centre ice.

 

[KingsFan7824]

3) As of today, Kings are leaning towards the 7-3-1 in the expansion draft.

Even with Iafallo under contract, this would puzzle me should it happen with the roster as it stands.

 

[Statto]

Even with Iafallo under contract, this would puzzle me should it happen with the roster as it stands.

I’m fine with it. You protect Roy and Doughty. Then one of Clague, Strand and Walker if you lose one of the other two the depth is already there to cover it as one of them will likely be the odd one out the following year anyway. It really would not hurt us. Before the season I’d have protected Walker but now I’m leaning towards Clague but there is loads of hockey to play yet.

 

[kilowatt]

Maybe Blake is looking for a LHD that has a decent number of games under their belt. Outside of DD (940 GP) and Matta (440 GP), the rest are either around 100 (Roy, Walker, McD) or less than 30 (Anderson, Toby, etc). That’s pretty thin to go into the playoffs with. And if something happens with DD, we’re done.
I like where we’re going with our players, but it would be nice to have someone with 300-400 games that can team up with Drew and be a shutdown pair. Now, who that is and what’s the cost - I don’t have a clue.

Not that I ever want anything to happen to Drew, but I'm confident that Roy could fill in as our 1RD.

Bjornfot - Roy
Clague - Strand
Anderson - Walker

I mean it is obviously better with Drew, but I wonder how they would do.

 

[henkkj]

Seattle Expansion Draft Simulator - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

If that simulator is showing correct players exempt and the games remaining to meet exposure requirements, I think it makes a lot of sense to go 7-3-1. Seems like at this rate Clague and Strand won't play enough games to be available for Seattle, so only 3 d-men worth protecting would be Doughty, Roy and Walker since Bjornfot and Anderson are exempt anyways. I doubt the management cares too much about losing MacDermid or Määttä.

So my guess is they want to protect:

Kopitar
Iafallo
Kempe
Grundstörm
... and 3 of Frk/Moore/Lias/Lizotte/Wagner/Brown/Carter/AA if resigned

Doughty
Roy
Walker

Petersen

Only one that I really would care about losing is Quick, but can't protect both goalies anyways and Petersen is more important for the future so have to go with him.

EDIT: And if they decide to actually trade for a LHD before expansion draft, they could just swap to 4-4-1 and protect all those important d-men.

 

[kilowatt]

Seattle Expansion Draft Simulator - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

If that simulator is showing correct players exempt and the games remaining to meet exposure requirements, I think it makes a lot of sense to go 7-3-1. Seems like at this rate Clague and Strand won't play enough games to be available for Seattle, so only 3 d-men worth protecting would be Doughty, Roy and Walker since Bjornfot and Anderson are exempt anyways. I doubt the management cares too much about losing MacDermid or Määttä.

So my guess is they want to protect:

Kopitar
Iafallo
Kempe
Grundstörm
... and 3 of Frk/Moore/Lias/Lizotte/Wagner/Brown/Carter/AA if resigned

Doughty
Roy
Walker

Petersen

Only one that I really would care about losing is Quick, but can't protect both goalies anyways and Petersen is more important for the future so have to go with him.

Again, any player that has played more than two professional seasons is eligible to be selected if they are not protected. If we protect Doughty, Roy, and Walker, Seattle can choose Clague or Strand, regardless of the number of games they play this season.

 

[SFKingshomer]

Why keep Bjornfot and burn a year of entry level when Clague or Strand can take that spot. He’s only 19.

Also, would Byfield go back to OHL?

They feel Bjornfot is ready and he gives them a better chance to win?