GDT: 2020-21 season game 41 LA Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights @7:00pm 4/12/21

[Butch 19]

4-5-1 at home in the regular season since 17-18. 29GF, 29GA

5-5-0 in Vegas.
29GF, 28GA

Not every time. Granted, sweep in the playoffs when it really mattered, with the scores not being indicative of the flow of play.

okay, but the GOD DAMN it f*** this team!!!!! still stands

 

[MBH]

Good to see someone hold Blake accountable. 2022 was his prediction for a return to the playoffs. Tick tock.

Very unlikely. Gonna take a couple years for Byfield and co to be good enough to help Kopitar and Doughty.
On top of that, where are the young defensemen? There are no new Doughtys, Muzzins and Martinezes in this group.

 

[kovacro]

Very unlikely. Gonna take a couple years for Byfield and co to be good enough to help Kopitar and Doughty.
On top of that, where are the young defensemen? There are no new Doughtys, Muzzins and Martinezes in this group.

Anderson, Bjornfort and potentially Clague are being integrated to the defensive unit. Not sure what more you would want. I think Toby and Mikey are going to be very good for the Kings. I'm not sold on Clague yet. But, if 2 of those 3 develop, it's a big win.

The unit has DD and Roy penned into it and Walker is a 5-6 guy. I don't know what Maatta is at this stage.

There aren't many Drew Doughty's out there to begin with.

Forward group needs work and I think we can all agree on this. Kids are there, but still need seasoning on the farm. Some in the mix will pan out, others will not. Kings likely will have to find a few from outside the organization.

 

[Lt Dan]

Very unlikely. Gonna take a couple years for Byfield and co to be good enough to help Kopitar and Doughty.
On top of that, where are the young defensemen? There are no new Doughtys, Muzzins and Martinezes in this group.

Doughtys? No . Unless we win the draft lottery and get a stud


Martinez and Muzzins took years to become the players they are. Martinez was our 6th dman in 2012 and the 5th in 204

This is the Kings d-corps
Anderson -21
Bjornfot -20
Clague-22
Doughty -31
Maata-26
McD-27
roy-26
Strand- 24
Walker 26
Wolanin- 26

On the way
Grans-18
Faber-18
Hults-21
Nousianen-21
Spence -20

 

[MBH]

Doughtys? No . Unless we win the draft lottery and get a stud


Martinez and Muzzins took years to become the players they are. Martinez was our 6th dman in 2012 and the 5th in 204

This is the Kings d-corps
Anderson -21
Bjornfot -20
Clague-22
Doughty -31
Maata-26
McD-27
roy-26
Strand- 24
Walker 26
Wolanin- 26

On the way
Grans-18
Faber-18
Hults-21
Nousianen-21
Spence -20

And defensemen in most cases still take a long time to develop.

You can't win in the NHL without elite C/D.
You can, but it's difficult.

How much longer can Kopitar provide that?
How long before Byfield and Turcotte provide that?

Right now, after Doughty, this defense is pretty minor-league.
I like Bjornfot.
I wanted to draft Grans on the Wings.
Clague might be something. I liked that pick.

But come on, you're talking 2-3 years minimum before they're good enough to be relied on in meaningful minutes.
By that time Doughty is 34. Kopitar is 36.
And these young kids are running the show.

What I'm trying to say is, I don't think there's a sweet spot where the Kings are contending again with Doughty/Kopitar as meaningful contributors.
Maybe Doughty. Maybe.

 

[BigKing]

Very unlikely. Gonna take a couple years for Byfield and co to be good enough to help Kopitar and Doughty.
On top of that, where are the young defensemen? There are no new Doughtys, Muzzins and Martinezes in this group.

Martinez wasn't necessarily the next Martinez when he was a Kings prospect.

Outside of Faber though, there isn't anyone in the pipeline on defense that jumps off the page so you're somewhat correct in your assessment although Bjornfot is a '19 draftee that has Muzzin/Martinez upside who is almost forgotten about as a prospect since he's thought of as an NHL'er. Now, some on here will tell me not to sleep on six different dudes and, sure, there are some that could surprise but it is definitely the weak spot of the prospect pool...goaltending too I suppose.

It's been mentioned on here but Blake's rebuild is different from DL's rebuild because the latter inherited young forwards that let him really commit to his build-from-the-net-out philosophy. The youth that Blake inherited was pretty barren with needs everywhere so it seems like they have legitimately gone BPA v. how DL seemed to go for position at times. That's led to a lot of forwards being taken with 1st and 2nd round picks. Long story short, the answer to your question about where the young defenseman are is this: on a different team. DL had to go and trade for forwards where I'm pretty sure Blake is going to trade for help on the blue line.

This team has holes everywhere but I think that strengthening the back end is Blake's top priority this summer.

 

[Lt Dan]

And defensemen in most cases still take a long time to develop.

You can't win in the NHL without elite C/D.
You can, but it's difficult.

How much longer can Kopitar provide that?
How long before Byfield and Turcotte provide that?

Right now, after Doughty, this defense is pretty minor-league.
I like Bjornfot.
I wanted to draft Grans on the Wings.
Clague might be something. I liked that pick.

But come on, you're talking 2-3 years minimum before they're good enough to be relied on in meaningful minutes.
By that time Doughty is 34. Kopitar is 36.
And these young kids are running the show.

What I'm trying to say is, I don't think there's a sweet spot where the Kings are contending again with Doughty/Kopitar as meaningful contributors.
Maybe Doughty. Maybe.

No doubt that they will need to bring a d-man in via trade or UFA signing. No question there

 

[MBH]

No doubt that they will need to bring a d-man in via trade or UFA signing. No question there

I think they should be looking at moving one of their prized young guns... for a good young D, maybe in 22-23 age range. Speed up the development process on the blueline.
With all that room the Kings have, cap-wise. With the flat cap. With the expansion draft.
I'd be looking really hard at Calgary or Nashville and offering Kupari or Kaliyev or something.

 

[Jason Squirties]

It's a bit of a catch-22: they will care more and play harder (can we stop passing up hits on the forecheck?!?!) if they are winning and feel like they are playing for something but they won't win until they care more about each other and play harder.

One of the great things about hockey is that effort can overcome deficiencies in talent. Maybe you aren't a 100 point team but great goaltending and being very difficult to play against can help you win games. The Kings for the last few seasons have an obvious talent deficiency but there just isn't enough desire from top-to-bottom to overcome said deficiency. JAD is a prime example of a guy that has some skill but he also doesn't bail on taking a hit to make a play and hustles. Need more of this type player.

I want to know where they teach that. Probably in the same school they teach defensive backs not to wrap up when they tackle in football.

 

[KingsFan7824]

We do all get that the Kings, regardless of how they're built, or who builds them, are unlikely to copy 2012-2014?

I know it's close to a decade since that first Cup, but it was almost 2 decades between the Lemieux and Crosby Penguins winning Cups, and that required two of the best players ever. The Oilers have never come close to the 80's. The Devil's are back to being irrelevant, like they were before Stevens/Niedermayer/Brodeur. The Avs aren't what they were 20+ years ago. The Wings will likely not be what they were for those 15 years they were at the top.

With how close both 2012 and 2014 were from not happening, individually or collectively, we need to keep those expectations realistic. Even if Blake does a good job, and makes the right moves, their peak might be the 3rd rd once by 2032.

 

[tny760]

I want to know where they teach that. Probably in the same school they teach defensive backs not to wrap up when they tackle in football.

honestly i feel like it's a symptom of the neutral zone trap, it kinda breeds this passivity. you gotta get to your spots and plug the holes, you're not really "playing" if that makes sense. "gotta get back, gotta get back"

very frustrating watching nearly every team in the NHL blitz our defensemen down low with 2 forecheckers, sometimes a 3rd below the blue line even, aggressively take the body, and lo and behold, we just cheaply cough up the puck with a zone pass or ice it. meanwhile we send one guy in to pressure, he gets dummied by an easy d to d pass and skates to the bench.. i don't want to go too hard on tmac here cause the trap has a place and there's nothing fundamentally wrong with it but i don't know if it's the system for a group that already has trouble being engaged in the game

 

[kovacro]

I think they should be looking at moving one of their prized young guns... for a good young D, maybe in 22-23 age range. Speed up the development process on the blueline.
With all that room the Kings have, cap-wise. With the flat cap. With the expansion draft.
I'd be looking really hard at Calgary or Nashville and offering Kupari or Kaliyev or something.

I don't think they would entertain it, but if the Wings made Filip Hronek available, I would inquire.

I would think Stevie Y sees him as a key piece in their rebuild and when they become legit, he will be in his prime years.

I'd be interested in Ekholm. I think Poile is going to find a way to ensure he remains a Predator come next season. The other two (Josi and Ellis) are tied in long term and Ellis seems to be bit by the injury bug the last few years. Josi isn't going anywhere.

Maybe a guy like Dante Fabbro could be an option? Not sure if Poile would look to move him but as the "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase used to say, "everybody has a price"

 

[Lt Dan]

Maybe a guy like Dante Fabbro could be an option? Not sure if Poile would look to move him but as the "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase used to say, "everybody has a price"