Speculation: 2020-21 News/Rumors/Roster Thread

[Raccoon Jesus]

In a 70-game season we had one player score more than 20 goals.

Brown, Carter and Iafallo were tied with 17.

Unless some of our younger kids follow in Iafallo’s skates and actually score more than 10 goals in a season, Brown and Carter are it.

Big expectations on Kempe, Vilardi, Frk next season.

FWIW--

Frk was scoring at a 29 goal pace.
Vilardi at 25.
Trevor Moore at 17 believe it or not.

Not gonna happen but if Kopitar, Brown, Carter, Iafallo, Frk, Vilardi pot 20 goals that's a top-echelon offense.

 

[redcard]

A couple recent kings articles frm the hockey writers.

https://thehockeywriters.com/the-kings-need-to-prioritize-trading-jeff-carter/

I don't want to rip into this article too much because the author is pretty young, but it does not reflect an understanding of the cap situation.

"Carter’s cap hit is also substantial. Until the 2022-23 season, he is being paid $5,272,727. This is huge for a rebuilding team like the Kings who are going to have to sign their up-and-coming talent."

His cap hit doesn't matter, we have way more space than we need and Carter's actual salary is only 2m per year. All of our "up-and-coming" will all be on their ELCs for the next 2+ years and won't need to be signed until after Carter's contract expires.

We absolutely do not need to prioritize trading Carter, he could sit in the press box for 2 years and we'd be just fine.

 

[Lt Dan]

I don't want to rip into this article too much because the author is pretty young, but it does not reflect an understanding of the cap situation.

"Carter’s cap hit is also substantial. Until the 2022-23 season, he is being paid $5,272,727. This is huge for a rebuilding team like the Kings who are going to have to sign their up-and-coming talent."

His cap hit doesn't matter, we have way more space than we need and Carter's actual salary is only 2m per year. All of our "up-and-coming" will all be on their ELCs for the next 2+ years and won't need to be signed until after Carter's contract expires.

We absolutely do not need to prioritize trading Carter, he could sit in the press box for 2 years and we'd be just fine.

This^^^


That article was pretty much writing an article for the sake of writing an article

 

[Stimpythecat]

Yeah, I agree. No point to trading carter. He's been a good leader and teammate. 2 cups. No problems in the locker room. Great teacher/mentor. All for $2 million in a pandemic where every dollar counts.

Keep him.

 

[Token]

FWIW--

Frk was scoring at a 29 goal pace.
Vilardi at 25.
Trevor Moore at 17 believe it or not.

Not gonna happen but if Kopitar, Brown, Carter, Iafallo, Frk, Vilardi pot 20 goals that's a top-echelon offense.

Testify Cousin! We all turning Royal Blue with bated breath waiting for the promised land.

 

[cyclones22]

I'm thinking an improvement into the 80's for points with some of the youth playing major roles. Firmly black hole territory. The lotto gods will bless us once again with a top 3 selection for a top pairing defender.

 

[Schrute farms]

Yeah, I agree. No point to trading carter. He's been a good leader and teammate. 2 cups. No problems in the locker room. Great teacher/mentor. All for $2 million in a pandemic where every dollar counts.

Keep him.

More importantly, he has a bunch of cute doggies.......wait, who threw that bottle? I demand to know!

 

[bland]

Curious as to why some are so sure the veterans here are good leaders. This same group quit on Sutter and Stevens and never bothered showing up for Desjardins. They have won one playoff game since 2014, and even then some of them NEEDED veteran leadership from the outside to succeed. Their "leadership" value seems to be massively overstated and just assumed as a combination of age and the fact that they had played on a championship level team. Carter is the only one of the "veteran core" that has even won a playoff series on a team that didn't feature Richards and Mitchell or coached by Darryl Sutter.

If anything, there is a glaring lack of leadership and character coming from those former top players. I am not so sure it is a good idea to have them playing out the string of their careers while impressionable kids are working their way in. Nostalgia aside, there is just no value there other than wishful thinking.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Ha, someone gave Matt Roy a Calder vote.

Points	1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th
1.	Cale Makar, COL	1538	(116-54-0-0-0)
2.	Quinn Hughes, VAN	1337	(53-111-6-0-0)
3.	Dominik Kubalik, CHI	554	(0-2-75-48-21)
4.	Adam Fox, NYR	430	(1-1-45-52-32)
5.	Elvis Merzlikins, CBJ	215	(0-1-17-32-27)
6.	Mackenzie Blackwood, NJD	164	(0-1-16-15-32)
7.	Victor Olofsson, BUF	96	(0-0-5-14-29)
8.	John Marino, PIT	53	(0-0-4-5-18)
9.	Nick Suzuki, MTL	17	(0-0-1-2-6)
10.	Ethan Bear, EDM	9	(0-0-1-1-1)
11.	Denis Gurianov, DAL	4	(0-0-0-1-1)
12.	Ilya Samsonov, WSH	2	(0-0-0-0-2)
13.	Matt Roy, LAK	1	(0-0-0-0-1)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Jericho111091]

Nice

 

[Stimpythecat]

Just saw this in another forum on this site. It's worth mentioning since players complain about the travel as a reason for not signing with the kings. If accurate, the kings aren't close to being the most traveled team.



2017-2018
kings are 18th.

Story Map Journal

 

[kingsholygrail]

Just saw this in another forum on this site. It's worth mentioning since players complain about the travel as a reason for not signing with the kings. If accurate, the kings aren't close to being the most traveled team.



2017-2018
kings are 18th.

Story Map Journal

I always thought the travel argument had more to do with separation from family and friends in the east.

 

[All The Kings Men]

It was Sean Shapiro. Future guest on All The Kings Men Live.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Curious as to why some are so sure the veterans here are good leaders. This same group quit on Sutter and Stevens and never bothered showing up for Desjardins. They have won one playoff game since 2014, and even then some of them NEEDED veteran leadership from the outside to succeed. Their "leadership" value seems to be massively overstated and just assumed as a combination of age and the fact that they had played on a championship level team. Carter is the only one of the "veteran core" that has even won a playoff series on a team that didn't feature Richards and Mitchell or coached by Darryl Sutter.

If anything, there is a glaring lack of leadership and character coming from those former top players. I am not so sure it is a good idea to have them playing out the string of their careers while impressionable kids are working their way in. Nostalgia aside, there is just no value there other than wishful thinking.

Yep, Anze Kopitar, noted bad all-around player with a bad attitude and terrible work ethic.

Dustin Brown, consummate unprofessional, universally hated in the community and bad with kids.

Drew Doughty, low on ability and IQ and desire, nothing a young d-man could learn from his lackluster career.

Jonathan Quick, notoriously uncompetitive, etc.

Need I go on? They don't need to be Mark Messier to be good leaders and mentors for the youth. Frankly I'm glad they're not Messier There's value in leadership by example and character that doesn't have to be Conn Smythe Justin Williams to bleed through.

 

[Bandit]

Yep, Anze Kopitar, noted bad all-around player with a bad attitude and terrible work ethic.

Dustin Brown, consummate unprofessional, universally hated in the community and bad with kids.

Drew Doughty, low on ability and IQ and desire, nothing a young d-man could learn from his lackluster career.

Jonathan Quick, notoriously uncompetitive, etc.

Need I go on? They don't need to be Mark Messier to be good leaders and mentors for the youth. Frankly I'm glad they're not Messier There's value in leadership by example and character that doesn't have to be Conn Smythe Justin Williams to bleed through.

I mean I would never question Quick's heart, or Brown's commitment to the team and the community (though I do think he kinda took his foot off the gas when he was stripped of the C, I don't blame him). But Doughty? Ehh not sure he cares all that much if it's not going his way, and while I don't think Kopitar is lazy by any means, he doesn't strike me as the kind of player to inspire the troops. Kinda goes hand in hand with his allergy to the middle of the ice most nights. I love all these guys and will be forever grateful for their contributions to the greatest Kings era we probably will ever see, but it's not like what bland is saying is totally without merit.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I mean I would never question Quick's heart, or Brown's commitment to the team and the community (though I do think he kinda took his foot off the gas when he was stripped of the C, I don't blame him). But Doughty? Ehh not sure he cares all that much if it's not going his way, and while I don't think Kopitar is lazy by any means, he doesn't strike me as the kind of player to inspire the troops. Kinda goes hand in hand with his allergy to the middle of the ice most nights. I love all these guys and will be forever grateful for their contributions to the greatest Kings era we probably will ever see, but it's not like what bland is saying is totally without merit.

The point that outside leadership helped get them over the hump is well-noted and fair, though it totally discounts Brown in particular elevating his game and the Conn Smythe-level performances of the other 3 throughout the era.

But we're not talking about winning a Cup here. We're talking about are they good examples for the kids. I think it's unfair to suggest they're just primadonnas playing out the string, given we can't keep Quick off the ice even without a lower body, Kopitar is still consistently leading the team by 20-30 points while playing all 200 ft, Brown still putting up value beyond his contract. Doughty's attitude is questionable sure, but there's no one in the league I'd rather a young d-man learning how to play complete hockey from. Pretending he's hockey-dumb is just dishonest.

I mean Doughty is 1.5 years removed from arguably his best season and Kopitar an MVP robbery and Selke trophy.

So we remove them from the team. Then what? Let the kids Edmonton themselves through the next 5 years? No thanks. It's a bash post presenting a problem but no solution. Removing Brown, Kopitar, Doughty from the team to spite their leadership abilities is a wild proposition.

 

[cyclones22]

The Kings weren't competitive the last 5 seasons not because of lack of leadership. It was from lack of talent. Look at the rosters. The depth was lacking and the economics of winning Cups caught up. Injuries, stupidity, players left for more money or simply aged off the roster and there wasn't any youth to replace them thanks to trades. Trying to use reclamation projects to try and fill the first and second pairings on defense was fantasy for a team whose backbone was built on the blue line. Who can we pick up for dirt cheap? Let's partner him with Doughty. Makes sense.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Not only that but the league started phasing away from size and adding speed and youth and the Kings 2012 and 2014 teams were never fast and starting aging.

Lombardi and Blake kept trading or signing older slower players.

 

[Statto]

Curious as to why some are so sure the veterans here are good leaders. This same group quit on Sutter and Stevens and never bothered showing up for Desjardins. They have won one playoff game since 2014, and even then some of them NEEDED veteran leadership from the outside to succeed. Their "leadership" value seems to be massively overstated and just assumed as a combination of age and the fact that they had played on a championship level team. Carter is the only one of the "veteran core" that has even won a playoff series on a team that didn't feature Richards and Mitchell or coached by Darryl Sutter.

If anything, there is a glaring lack of leadership and character coming from those former top players. I am not so sure it is a good idea to have them playing out the string of their careers while impressionable kids are working their way in. Nostalgia aside, there is just no value there other than wishful thinking.

Intangibles are far more complicated than that and all sorts of things can affect the character balance on a team and how individuals perform. So putting aside all the obvious issues with the lack of skill on the team...

Firstly, all coaches have a shelf life and eventually all teams eventually quit on them. Sutter, as much as I love him, is renowned for a short shelf life and his time was definitely up. Stevens I agree they seemed to quit on him quickly, but did he do enough to command their confidence? I liked him, and wanted him to succeed but he didn’t inspire me and seemed to lack ‘it’. As for Desjardins, come on, he was a place holder that never did much to earn anyone’s respect. He wasn’t going to inspire anyone and was definitely a ‘tank hire’.

As for our group of veterans I would position them as a mixture of good pro’s and good leaders. They come to work and we have no idea what they do in the room so we cannot judge that side of it with any authority. Quick without a doubt works his butt off and always sets high standards, and the recovery in his game last year is a testimony to that. Kopi is consistently excellent and Brown has bounced back remarkably from where he was a few years ago. Those things require good habits and character. Carter also, has battled through his issues and could easily have gone onto LTIR but he’s been determined to come back, so again I’m happy with a guy like that in the room. DD is the wildcard, yes he’s struggled with his game at times but that doesn’t make him a bad influence, although I’m far from convinced he should be wearing an ‘A’. He is all passion and emotion, he clearly hates losing and it gets to him. It definitely affects his game but it’s not that he doesn’t care, so I can live with those flaws. I’m confident he will turn it around as things improve, because there is a hunger for success there. I would though give the A to someone else.

I think it’s fair to say we don’t have a perfect leadership group and it would be great to have a Mitchell in there. However, it really is a stretch to say they’d be a bad example and lack character. It may be that the mix is not quite right and that seems to fit better as an argument but what the issue is specifically is impossible for us to accurately assess. For example, sometimes teams can also get on too well and be ‘too nice‘, it can end up with no one being held to account. I’ve certainly been in the room of a pro team where that was an issue.

If our demise was in part down to ‘problem players’ or guys with poor character/pro habits, remember we also cleared out a bunch of players that could easily have been part of a culture issue. I’m not pointing specific fingers, as none of us know, but it does not need more than 2 or 3 guys to create a major culture issue on a team. So the problem players, if they existed, simply may no longer be on the roster.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Some of the current leadership group being blamed for getting Sutter fired are still in touch with him and Lombardi. Kopitar made mention of this on a recent podcast, as did Jarret Stoll.

Say what you want about their production level, but I’ve never seen questionable effort from the leaders. Save for maybe Doughty, but he still plays like he cares (sometimes).

 

[Telos]

Is it time to start the season yet? I am just watching youtube videos dying inside a little because it has been so long since we've seen Kings hockey... Hopefully we start it the same way we did last year.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Doughty is going on 31. Wow. Time flies.

Would be nice if the next Doughty was ready to step in. Kings don’t have a game changing D prospect. They need to look closely at this.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

The point that outside leadership helped get them over the hump is well-noted and fair, though it totally discounts Brown in particular elevating his game and the Conn Smythe-level performances of the other 3 throughout the era.

But we're not talking about winning a Cup here. We're talking about are they good examples for the kids. I think it's unfair to suggest they're just primadonnas playing out the string, given we can't keep Quick off the ice even without a lower body, Kopitar is still consistently leading the team by 20-30 points while playing all 200 ft, Brown still putting up value beyond his contract. Doughty's attitude is questionable sure, but there's no one in the league I'd rather a young d-man learning how to play complete hockey from. Pretending he's hockey-dumb is just dishonest.

I mean Doughty is 1.5 years removed from arguably his best season and Kopitar an MVP robbery and Selke trophy.

So we remove them from the team. Then what? Let the kids Edmonton themselves through the next 5 years? No thanks. It's a bash post presenting a problem but no solution. Removing Brown, Kopitar, Doughty from the team to spite their leadership abilities is a wild proposition.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not seeing DD taking the young players to Denny's.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not seeing DD taking the young players to Denny's.

Maybe to a strip club.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

Maybe to a strip club.

For the steak?