GDT: 2021-22 season game 63 LA Kings vs San Jose Sharks @7:00pm 3/17/22

[johnjm22]

I guess it is if you look at it as critiquing his game good or bad v. just bashing him and calling him a bust? Some are doing the latter so, sure, people are being critical.

I do think he is getting a free pass from many on here because they want it to happen so badly but we've got a good sample size so far and the bottom line is that he is a bad NHL player at the moment. Doesn't mean he will be a bust but to not be concerned about how things are going is, in my opinion, ignorance. I suppose others will call it faith but it is ugly to watch right now and, to be fair, mostly has been at the NHL level.

Vilardi too. I've been all about his skill set but, man, that doesn't look good either. Kupari is carrying that line and I say that as someone who prefers Byfield and Vilardi over Kupari.

Said it all the time while Blake lost on purpose and accumulated these prospects: very easy to do. The big thing is picking the right players, developing them properly and then cutting bait on them early enough to get proven talent back. He's looking very Deanish in the 1st round and pretty damn good in the later rounds which I guess is no surprise since it is the same effing scouting staff. The big difference so far is that Dean got to pick Doughty with his 2OA while Blake has a question mark on his hands with his 2OA. Blake has five drafts under his belt and hasn't traded one of his prospects for NHL help. Understandable and the proper move but he's at a point now where he's holding depreciated assets and there is risk of them becoming distressed assets. Going to be interesting to see if he O'Sullivans and Schenns some of these guys or if he just goes full Hickey on them.

Reminder again that DL built a Top 5 ranked prospect pool for a few seasons based on tanking. Doughty only counted once toward the ranking: it was Hickey/Bernier/Purcell/Teubert etc...pushing the ranking. He did so well with the later round picks though and I've said that's probably what is going to happen here because there is no way all of Blake's 1st round picks pan out at their draft night ceilings. He's getting NHL players in Anderson/Bjornfot/Kaliyev/Durzi. Spence looks good and Faber seems like a lock. Need that gamebreaker though and I'm starting to worry that it isn't going to be Byfield and all the pressure will now be on Clarke to be the superstar. Even with that, where are the forwards? Pretty funny for a prospect pool ranked so highly on the strength of its forwards that it is the defense that is leading the way.

When Dean got here he landed Jack Johnson and Patrick O'Sullivan in blockbuster trades. These guys looked like can't miss prospects (I think people often forget how highly regarded Patrick was).

Then Dean has 3 1st round picks in his first 2 drafts, plus he signs prized undrafted UFA Teddy Purcell.

So DL basically added this in just a little over a year of being here:
Hickey
Bernier
Lewis
JJ
O'Sullivan
Purcell

It's amazing that not a single one of these guys became impact NHL players, yet the rebuild still worked out.

DL was able to cut bait on O'Sullivan, JJ, Bernier, and later even Hudson Fasching and Teubert and get something for all of them while they still had value.

Blake is in a position now where he may to figure out which prospects to cut bait on and move before their value drops. It's a tough call.

In order to make a contender, you have to hit home runs in the draft in a relatively short time frame. Kings did that with Kopitar (2005), Quick (2005), Doughty (2008). We're still waiting to find out if Blake has hit any since 2017.

 

[Herby]

I guess it is if you look at it as critiquing his game good or bad v. just bashing him and calling him a bust? Some are doing the latter so, sure, people are being critical.

I do think he is getting a free pass from many on here because they want it to happen so badly but we've got a good sample size so far and the bottom line is that he is a bad NHL player at the moment. Doesn't mean he will be a bust but to not be concerned about how things are going is, in my opinion, ignorance. I suppose others will call it faith but it is ugly to watch right now and, to be fair, mostly has been at the NHL level.

Vilardi too. I've been all about his skill set but, man, that doesn't look good either. Kupari is carrying that line and I say that as someone who prefers Byfield and Vilardi over Kupari.

Said it all the time while Blake lost on purpose and accumulated these prospects: very easy to do. The big thing is picking the right players, developing them properly and then cutting bait on them early enough to get proven talent back. He's looking very Deanish in the 1st round and pretty damn good in the later rounds which I guess is no surprise since it is the same effing scouting staff. The big difference so far is that Dean got to pick Doughty with his 2OA while Blake has a question mark on his hands with his 2OA. Blake has five drafts under his belt and hasn't traded one of his prospects for NHL help. Understandable and the proper move but he's at a point now where he's holding depreciated assets and there is risk of them becoming distressed assets. Going to be interesting to see if he O'Sullivans and Schenns some of these guys or if he just goes full Hickey on them.

Reminder again that DL built a Top 5 ranked prospect pool for a few seasons based on tanking. Doughty only counted once toward the ranking: it was Hickey/Bernier/Purcell/Teubert etc...pushing the ranking. He did so well with the later round picks though and I've said that's probably what is going to happen here because there is no way all of Blake's 1st round picks pan out at their draft night ceilings. He's getting NHL players in Anderson/Bjornfot/Kaliyev/Durzi. Spence looks good and Faber seems like a lock. Need that gamebreaker though and I'm starting to worry that it isn't going to be Byfield and all the pressure will now be on Clarke to be the superstar. Even with that, where are the forwards? Pretty funny for a prospect pool ranked so highly on the strength of its forwards that it is the defense that is leading the way.

Good post.

I think the point about people wanting QB to be that it blinded them is very true. I don't think anyone thought Brown was playing well by any stretch but the narrative being driven here that QB was playing well and being held back by Brown and AA was extremely wishful thinking. The 3 of them were equally contributing to the ineptness of that line. I'm not ready to throw in the towel on QB, but I am certainly starting to get a little bit worried as we get to the 30 game mark of NHL games played and he still looks this lost. I think there is an unwillingness by many to acknowledge that disappointments and busts do happen in this sport (surprising since we are Kings fans!). Go look at old Nolan Patrick threads on the Flyers board and it's the same stuff, it's the "I'm not worried", "Have patience", "He needs better linemates", "The coach sucks" until you reach that third year and then reality sets in that maybe there is a problem. That is why next year is such a crucial year for QB, he needs to at the very least establish himself as a quality top 9 center or there are going to be very significant concerns about what type of player he is going to be, he can't have another year like this next year. And to the people who say that he will be a 60 point center in 5 years, that doesn't work either if this rebuild is to be a success. Successful rebuilds are made by the big dogs at the top, and they are almost always high picks that hit. Pittsburgh had Crosby (1) and Malkin (2), Chicago had Kane(1) and Toews(3), Tampa had Hedman (2) and Stamkos (1), Washington had Ovechkin (1) and Backstrom (4), the Kings had Doughty (2) and Kopitar (11). If the Kings are going to win a championship with this core they need Byfield (2) and Clarke (7) to be big hits, especially QB, he can't be Tage Thompson or Alex Tuch if this team is going to win again.

As far as depreciating assets, we are past the point with some of them. JAD makes the NHL at 19 and over three years later can't stick in the NHL at 22. Vilardi plays an entire NHL season at 21 and then splits time between the AHL and NHL at 22, putting up 1 point in 10 games. Both these guys are waiver eligible next season, they aren't prospects or kids anymore, they are either NHL players next fall or they aren't. Turcotte a similar situation, I posted the list of players who have been taken in the Top 10 of drafts and weren't NHL regulars by their D+4, it's not a list anyone wants to be a part of. He is another guy who's value has declined significantly from draft night and next year is a big year for him, he needs to be an NHL player in some capacity next season or his long-term chances of being anything of significance in the league are on life support.

Kupari has been the best player on that line by both the eye test and production, out of the big 4 first round picks he has actually produced significantly better than the other 3 this season. Kupari has 10 points in 40 games while the other 3 have a combined 5 points 41 games. I think he is someone you can maybe slot into a 3rd line role next season with an expectation he can put up 30 points while providing speed and decent defensive play, nothing amazing but he is the least of the concerns with those forwards. He was also taken with a much later pick than the other 3.

Ultimately I think the excellent drafting in the 2nd round that you alluded to is going to mask some of the potential issues with misses in the higher round. Kaliyev has 40 goal hands and was a complete steal in the 2nd round. Had Faber been drafted under the old college rules he would have been a lock to be a 1st round pick, probably even in the top 20, he is an elite defensive player with a hockey IQ that rivals a guy like Quinn Hughes. I think he can step in right away once Minnesota's season ends and play the Roy role should Roy's injury be more serious than thought, he is that good. Spence and Durzi as well have been studs on the back end. Teams are looking for RHD and will pay big for them, I think that is where the Kings might address some of the failures in developing forwards that you mentioned.

 

[Herby]

When Dean got here he landed Jack Johnson and Patrick O'Sullivan in blockbuster trades. These guys looked like can't miss prospects (I think people often forget how highly regarded Patrick was).

Then Dean has 3 1st round picks in his first 2 drafts, plus he signs prized undrafted UFA Teddy Purcell.

So DL basically added this in just a little over a year of being here:
Hickey
Bernier
Lewis
JJ
O'Sullivan
Purcell

It's amazing that not a single one of these guys became impact NHL players, yet the rebuild still worked out.

DL was able to cut bait on O'Sullivan, JJ, Bernier, and later even Hudson Fasching and Teubert and get something for all of them while they still had value.

Blake is in a position now where he may to figure out which prospects to cut bait on and move before their value drops. It's a tough call.

In order to make a contender, you have to hit home runs in the draft in a relatively short time frame. Kings did that with Kopitar (2005), Quick (2005), Doughty (2008). We're still waiting to find out if Blake has hit any since 2017.

The rebuild worked out because they had 3 superstar Hall of Fame players as part of the rebuild. How many do you think this current rebuild will have?

Vilardi, Turcotte, Grans, JAD and Fagemo could all bust and the rebuild could work if Byfield were to be Kopitar, Kaliyev were to Pastranak and Clarke were to be Hughes.

 

[johnjm22]

The rebuild worked out because they had 3 superstar Hall of Fame players as part of the rebuild. How many do you think this current rebuild will have?

Vilardi, Turcotte, Grans, JAD and Fagemo could all bust and the rebuild could work if Byfield were to be Kopitar, Kaliyev were to Pastranak and Clarke were to be Hughes.

I don't know, but we have no chance at building a contender unless we land at least two superstar players in quick succession.

The thing is, a rebuild, even a successful one, never goes exactly as planned. They'll always be sure-fire hyped prospects that bust, meanwhile they'll be guys no one has any expectations for that will turn into stars.

I know you may disagree, but I think hitting homeruns in the draft mostly just comes down to luck.

As for right now, the pipeline looks pretty full, so full in fact that it might start to leak (Clague was the first drip). You can only fit so much in a pipe. Time for Blake to make a quantity-for-quality type trade and figure out who he needs to cut bait on before it's too late. Who's our current O'Sullivan? Our JJ?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Good post.

I think the point about people wanting QB to be that it blinded them is very true. I don't think anyone thought Brown was playing well by any stretch but the narrative being driven here that QB was playing well and being held back by Brown and AA was extremely wishful thinking. The 3 of them were equally contributing to the ineptness of that line. I'm not ready to throw in the towel on QB, but I am certainly starting to get a little bit worried as we get to the 30 game mark of NHL games played and he still looks this lost. I think there is an unwillingness by many to acknowledge that disappointments and busts do happen in this sport (surprising since we are Kings fans!). Go look at old Nolan Patrick threads on the Flyers board and it's the same stuff, it's the "I'm not worried", "Have patience", "He needs better linemates", "The coach sucks" until you reach that third year and then reality sets in that maybe there is a problem. That is why next year is such a crucial year for QB, he needs to at the very least establish himself as a quality top 9 center or there are going to be very significant concerns about what type of player he is going to be, he can't have another year like this next year. And to the people who say that he will be a 60 point center in 5 years, that doesn't work either if this rebuild is to be a success. Successful rebuilds are made by the big dogs at the top, and they are almost always high picks that hit. Pittsburgh had Crosby (1) and Malkin (2), Chicago had Kane(1) and Toews(3), Tampa had Hedman (2) and Stamkos (1), Washington had Ovechkin (1) and Backstrom (4), the Kings had Doughty (2) and Kopitar (11). If the Kings are going to win a championship with this core they need Byfield (2) and Clarke (7) to be big hits, especially QB, he can't be Tage Thompson or Alex Tuch if this team is going to win again.

No, that's easily provable bullshit by both the eye test and stats, and Byfield struggling on his own doesn't retroactively make that true no matter how many times you say that across however many threads, because prior to the last several games, Byfield was playing excellent in terms of driving play and keeping opponents off the board, the problem was the offense never jump started like we expected it to start trickling in.

AA is a drag on every line on the team and it was even MORE true with Byfield and Brown (especially AA/Byfield, those guys are toxic together and it makes sense when you know them as players).

Brown is a fading vet who didn't fit anywhere, but looked like he was having his best game of the year before his pinky exploded.

Byfield is a struggling rookie.

All of those things are true and not mutually exclusive no matter how much you want to just go in hard on Byfield.

The problem here is you think that criticizing 37 and 27 year olds means we're absolving Byfield--we're not. He's supposed to make mistakes. The issue now is he's not so much just making mistakes (like he was at first) as he is getting in his own head and creating his own issues.

It's been 20 games now, the scenery is changing, update the takes to go along with it. It makes for better discussion.

 

[BigKing]

I saw a few good 'learning moments' for him last night:

on BOTH sides of the rink, forehand and backhand, he received a puck in stride and tried to just skate the boards on someone, only to have the puck just straight stripped. He learned he can't just fastmode outskate people in the NHL; he's gonna have to learn to use his body, puck protection, and some deception to make that work. Reminiscent of early Kempe.

I saw a couple of forechecking flybys that won't remain in his game if he hopes to stick--on several occasions, he kept his speed up away from the forecheck even though he was F1 (at least he's not just constantly F3) but gave the Sharks space to make a play. To their credit, the Sharks are some of the best in the league at this with Burns and Karlsson, but he should learn that, even if he doesn't full on bodycheck them, getting his body and stick in their space is one of his greatest advantages and has typically been one of his best tools at all levels (excellent forechecker taking up space with size, speed, reach). I don't ever expect him to F1 like Grundstrom or Brown, blasting a guy off the puck (I wish), but he can still be super disruptive and he always has been until recently.

One positive I think with his new linemates is his sense of where to be for puck support seems to be better. He had what could have been an open shot in front but overthought and made one extra move. He's been much better on the cycle and in the zone with the puck--sense-wise, anyway--than ever before. And his puck protection with his body on the wall is getting better, at least his positioning is, just somehow his puckhandling is sketchy instead (see below).

The weird thing that's crept into his game more and more is just fumbling the crap out of the puck for no reason and while that 'worries' me temporarily that's not something that will stay. It also makes him look worse than he actually is, just like Durzi handing the puck to Hertl for an easy breakaway does.

The next check he throws this season will be his first. Same goes for Vilardi. It's a man's game and you've got to win battles. QB gets in on the forecheck with speed and continues to hope that he can just p***y-poke-check an NHL level defenseman from behind. Even when it does work, he hasn't laid a body on the defenseman so said defenseman is able to just retrieve the puck. He needs to start using his body to separate the man from the puck. f*** me if the coaches aren't telling him this.

QB has 13 hits in 29 games. Pretty gross but it isn't as bad as this:

19 hits in 74 career games. 0 hits in 10 games this season.

That's Gabe Vilardi's stat line.

Kempe is putting up his most hits per game since his previous best season back in 2018. It's not all due to this but it isn't a total coincidence. Everyone is good at the NHL level and it is an extremely rare few that can just get by on sheer skill. You have to get dirty and these two guys don't. QB is 19 and learning but Vilardi's game is supposed to be about dominating down low with guys on his back and whatnot and he's got ZERO hits in ten games this year. His skill can crush at the AHL level without needing to get dirty. I'm convinced that the reason he was mostly banished down there this season was that they don't like his compete level and, honestly, he probably had more trade value staying in the AHL and crushing it than coming back up here to see him struggle.

 

[Herby]

I don't know, but we have no chance at building a contender unless we land at least two superstar players in quick succession.

The thing is, a rebuild, even a successful one, never goes exactly as planned. They'll always be sure-fire hyped prospects that bust, meanwhile they'll be guys no one has any expectations for that will turn into stars.

I know you may disagree, but I think hitting homeruns in the draft mostly just comes down to luck.

As for right now, the pipeline looks pretty full, so full in fact that it might start to leak (Clague was the first drip). You can only fit so much in a pipe. Time for Blake to make a quantity-for-quality type trade and figure out who he needs to cut bait on before it's too late. Who's our current O'Sullivan? Our JJ?

Getting homeruns in the later rounds is more lucky for sure.

Most homeruns in the draft come from getting high picks and making the right pick. I don't think hitting on a top 5 pick is luck. The recipe for most successful rebuilds is to suck for a few of years and draft impact players with those top 5 picks and the build around them. We will see if Blake hits on his high picks or not.

The time to trade some of these excess prospects was last summer, since then value has been lost and continues to be lost. We will see what Blake does in the next 6 months before next years camp.

 

[Herby]

No, that's easily provable bullshit by both the eye test and stats, and Byfield struggling on his own doesn't retroactively make that true no matter how many times you say that across however many threads, because prior to the last several games, Byfield was playing excellent in terms of driving play and keeping opponents off the board, the problem was the offense never jump started like we expected it to start trickling in.

AA is a drag on every line on the team and it was even MORE true with Byfield and Brown (especially AA/Byfield, those guys are toxic together and it makes sense when you know them as players).

Brown is a fading vet who didn't fit anywhere, but looked like he was having his best game of the year before his pinky exploded.

Byfield is a struggling rookie.

All of those things are true and not mutually exclusive no matter how much you want to just go in hard on Byfield.

The problem here is you think that criticizing 37 and 27 year olds means we're absolving Byfield--we're not. He's supposed to make mistakes. The issue now is he's not so much just making mistakes (like he was at first) as he is getting in his own head and creating his own issues.

It's been 20 games now, the scenery is changing, update the takes to go along with it. It makes for better discussion.

AA is here to provide goal-scoring, he isn't a line driver, he sucks defensively, he isn't physical. He is signed here to provide offense for a team that blows on the wing.

He has 9 goals in 22 games, which is a 34 goal pace over a full season, the second best on the team behind Kempe despite playing with probably the two worst forwards on the team (20+ game min). But yes, AA is the biggest problem on the team, got it.

Who does QB need to play with to look competent for the Kings?

Don't worry, Kaliyev is going to explode next season, Faber is a defensive version of Quinn Hughes, Spence could be another Lubo. You can actually hype prospects on the ice instead of posting excuses for struggles on the ice from your favorites.

 

[Kudelski37]

When Byfield sets up Brown on a perfect backdoor play for a wide open forehand shot on the side of the crease and Brown fumbles it into his skates while standing still, that missed goal is all on Brown.

 

[Herby]

His skill can crush at the AHL level without needing to get dirty. I'm convinced that the reason he was mostly banished down there this season was that they don't like his compete level and, honestly, he probably had more trade value staying in the AHL and crushing it than coming back up here to see him struggle.

The definition of a AAAA player if true. There is a big difference between producing in the AHL or overseas and producing in the NHL. Some guys make it through it and some guys end up being Len Barrie, TJ Tynan, Brett Sterling, TJ Hensick or Brendan Perlini.

Let's see how Gabe finishes up this year, with his age this is probably his final chance to show the Kings anything at the NHL level.

 

[Schmooley]

AA is here to provide goal-scoring, he isn't a line driver, he sucks defensively, he isn't physical. He is signed here to provide offense for a team that blows on the wing.

He has 9 goals in 22 games, which is a 34 goal pace over a full season, the second best on the team behind Kempe despite playing with probably the two worst forwards on the team (20+ game min). But yes, AA is the biggest problem on the team, got it.

Who does QB need to play with to look competent for the Kings?

Don't worry, Kaliyev is going to explode next season, Faber is a defensive version of Quinn Hughes, Spence could be another Lubo. You can actually hype prospects on the ice instead of posting excuses for struggles on the ice from your favorites.

I agree with a lot of this but dont know why you think Byfield looks lost and incompetent? Its an exaggeration maybe? He played a really good two way game yesterday and has been really good on defensive coverages especially since the 3rd line changed. This is obviously very important to play in TMacs lineup. With AA and him on the same line I agree in the defensive zone they did look lost and he couldnt figure out what man to pick up especially after a turnover.
Right now his problems are bobbling pucks, really weak physicality, and he cant get any offense going. Its not great but he isnt detrimental to his team like you are making it out to be. Their record with him in the lineup is proof of that.

 

[Herby]

When Byfield sets up Brown on a perfect backdoor play for a wide open forehand shot on the side of the crease and Brown fumbles it into his skates while standing still, that missed goal is all on Brown.

How about when they had a 2 on 1 in Columbus and QB couldn't pass the puck 15 feet to Brown's stick?

"That is what QB gets for trying to pass it to Brown"
"Brown would have missed it anyways"

2 actual posts in the GDT.

They have been the 2 worst regular forwards on the Kings this season, they have both been bad playing with each other and away from each other.

 

[Herby]

I agree with a lot of this but dont know why you think Byfield looks lost and incompetent? Its an exaggeration maybe? He played a really good two way game yesterday and has been really good on defensive coverages especially since the 3rd line changed. This is obviously very important to play in TMacs lineup. With AA and him on the same line I agree in the defensive zone they did look lost and he couldnt figure out what man to pick up especially after a turnover.
Right now his problems are bobbling pucks, really weak physicality, and he cant get any offense going. Its not great but he isnt detrimental to his team like you are making it out to be. Their record with him in the lineup is proof of that.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on how he looks. I have seen very little from him in the NHL. No offense, no physicality.

The Kings 3rd line is expected to produce support offense, they aren't expected to play heavy defensive minutes or face difficult defensive assignments that is what AK and PD's lines are expected to do. His role on this team is to put up like a 30 point pace, we aren't asking him to be Raymond or Stutzle. He has 4 points in 23 games, one of them a goal shot into the Islanders net by their own d-man. In the offensive zone he looks like he is playing with a golf club, he can't receive passes, he can't make moves, he isn't getting offensive chances, in eight of his games he has 0 shots on goal and in another six he has 1 shot on goal. This is an offensive player that is completely lost in the offensive zone right now.

 

[bouncesonly]

Trevor Moore keeping his streak alive.....by going no more than 3 games without a point since the end of November.

 

[Schmooley]

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on how he looks. I have seen very little from him in the NHL. No offense, no physicality.

The Kings 3rd line is expected to produce support offense, they aren't expected to play heavy defensive minutes or face difficult defensive assignments that is what AK and PD's lines are expected to do. His role on this team is to put up like a 30 point pace, we aren't asking him to be Raymond or Stutzle. He has 4 points in 23 games, one of them a goal shot into the Islanders net by their own d-man. In the offensive zone he looks like he is playing with a golf club, he can't receive passes, he can't make moves, he isn't getting offensive chances, in eight of his games he has 0 shots on goal and in another six he has 1 shot on goal. This is an offensive player that is completely lost in the offensive zone right now.

Yea I see it like this also but think he will turn it around and he needs to do it at the NHL level and not get sent down. He looked lost in all zones but has cleaned up defensively and is almost there in the neutral zone. He needs to find an offensive identity against men now knowing his size and speed cant work like it does in other leagues.
He will probably stay in the lineup cause within the organization it seems the coach requires a two way game from every line and its why Vilardi got sent down in the first part of the season. Playoffs would be a good experience for him.
So in all I think we agree on what were seeing from him but maybe just have a different view of if he can overcome his deficiencies.

 

[Herby]

Trevor Moore keeping his streak alive.....by going no more than 3 games without a point since the end of November.

I think he is what the Kings envisioned they were getting when they drafted Trevor Lewis. His value to the team can't be measured.

I'd like to see him get a letter when some of the glory years vets move on.

 

[tny760]

How about when they had a 2 on 1 in Columbus and QB couldn't pass the puck 15 feet to Brown's stick?

"That is what QB gets for trying to pass it to Brown"
"Brown would have missed it anyways"

2 actual posts in the GDT.

They have been the 2 worst regular forwards on the Kings this season, they have both been bad playing with each other and away from each other.

i think it's a bit disingenous to take those posts as serious posts that are excusing QB

brown horsebeating is practically a meme at this point

 

[Herby]

Yea I see it like this also but think he will turn it around and he needs to do it at the NHL level and not get sent down. He looked lost in all zones but has cleaned up defensively and is almost there in the neutral zone. He needs to find an offensive identity against men now knowing his size and speed cant work like it does in other leagues.
He will probably stay in the lineup cause within the organization it seems the coach requires a two way game from every line and its why Vilardi got sent down in the first part of the season. Playoffs would be a good experience for him.
So in all I think we agree on what were seeing from him but maybe just have a different view of if he can overcome his deficiencies.

I agree, he gains nothing from going back to the AHL. Next year is a huge year for his development and whether he turns into the player we all hope he does or not. Going to the AHL where he obviously wasn't prepared at all last year to play in the NHL this year is not the right path, it would be a disaster if he comes into next year looking like this after an AHL stint. Has to get better at the NHL level.

I don't know whether he will make it or not, I am hopeful his high skill level can eventually shine through, but we don't know. I just judge players from how they look and right now it's not looking positive compared to where some similar players in the past have been in the same spot. I do acknowledge he got nothing out of last year and that doesn't help this year, but also acknowledge that players who have busted or disappointed in the past have started like this. Everyone brings up Thornton (which is fair) but never wants to bring up guys like Strome or Patrick (which isn't fair). I think we should acknowledge both types are in the potential results here. This is not a Kopitar/Doughty situation where you knew right away and could pencil them in as top line players for the next 15 years.

 

[Fripp]

My wife is starting to side-eye me the way I crush on Durzi. This guy has completely seized a leadership role.

 

[Kudelski37]

How about when they had a 2 on 1 in Columbus and QB couldn't pass the puck 15 feet to Brown's stick?

"That is what QB gets for trying to pass it to Brown"
"Brown would have missed it anyways"

2 actual posts in the GDT.

They have been the 2 worst regular forwards on the Kings this season, they have both been bad playing with each other and away from each other.

Byfield has been better than AA, Brown, Kupari, and Vilardi. I'm done arguing with you on here. Have a good weekend.

 

[AbsentMojo]

The next check he throws this season will be his first. Same goes for Vilardi. It's a man's game and you've got to win battles. QB gets in on the forecheck with speed and continues to hope that he can just p***y-poke-check an NHL level defenseman from behind. Even when it does work, he hasn't laid a body on the defenseman so said defenseman is able to just retrieve the puck. He needs to start using his body to separate the man from the puck. f*** me if the coaches aren't telling him this.

QB has 13 hits in 29 games. Pretty gross but it isn't as bad as this:

19 hits in 74 career games. 0 hits in 10 games this season.

That's Gabe Vilardi's stat line.

Kempe is putting up his most hits per game since his previous best season back in 2018. It's not all due to this but it isn't a total coincidence. Everyone is good at the NHL level and it is an extremely rare few that can just get by on sheer skill. You have to get dirty and these two guys don't. QB is 19 and learning but Vilardi's game is supposed to be about dominating down low with guys on his back and whatnot and he's got ZERO hits in ten games this year. His skill can crush at the AHL level without needing to get dirty. I'm convinced that the reason he was mostly banished down there this season was that they don't like his compete level and, honestly, he probably had more trade value staying in the AHL and crushing it than coming back up here to see him struggle.

I think its possible (not based on anything ive heard) that either he's been instructed or is personally careful to be less physical due to his back issues. Also have to figure he's lost 2 years to that, so his development age isnt really in line with his actual age. Not excuses for him, but should be factored into evaluating him where he stands now.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

AA is here to provide goal-scoring, he isn't a line driver, he sucks defensively, he isn't physical. He is signed here to provide offense for a team that blows on the wing.

He has 9 goals in 22 games, which is a 34 goal pace over a full season, the second best on the team behind Kempe despite playing with probably the two worst forwards on the team (20+ game min). But yes, AA is the biggest problem on the team, got it.

Who does QB need to play with to look competent for the Kings?

Don't worry, Kaliyev is going to explode next season, Faber is a defensive version of Quinn Hughes, Spence could be another Lubo. You can actually hype prospects on the ice instead of posting excuses for struggles on the ice from your favorites.

You're being as obtuse as can be. You just describe the benefits AND drawbacks of AA and somehow intentionally fail to apply why that would be bad for QB.

The idea was always that we need QB away from Brown and AA to see what his actual issues are because you can't figure out what to work on when all three of them are spending 2/3 of the game humping the puck in their own end.

Now that they're separate, we can clearly see some of Byfields concerns and things to work on instead of "holy shit everything with that line sucks." Am I right or am I right?

Also that last line is utter horse shit, I've never said anything remotely like that, and you've spent the past month crying about people doing exactly that to you so f***ing stop.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Re the DL rebuild - i attribute it much more to the deals he made than draft acumen (and the HOF picks from DT - 11 and 32)... Doughty was a no brainer based on a tank year where we "lost" some tie breaker on the 1,2 of Stamkos and DD. Voynov and Martinez (2nd and 4th round) were good picks. But, the rest of what made the rebuild succeed were deals based on a vision/strategy of getting good character and sound D: first he went after Stoll and Greene, then brought in guys he scouted while in Philly: Richards, Williams, and Carter. Those to me were the core moves that made the team great.

 

[Herby]

You're being as obtuse as can be. You just describe the benefits AND drawbacks of AA and somehow intentionally fail to apply why that would be bad for QB.

The idea was always that we need QB away from Brown and AA to see what his actual issues are because you can't figure out what to work on when all three of them are spending 2/3 of the game humping the puck in their own end.

Now that they're separate, we can clearly see some of Byfields concerns and things to work on instead of "holy shit everything with that line sucks." Am I right or am I right?

Also that last line is utter horse shit, I've never said anything remotely like that, and you've spent the past month crying about people doing exactly that to you so f***ing stop.

Dustin Brown, Covid, Andreas Athanasiou, broken ankle, AHL usage, Tony Granato, Rob Blake, season long viral infections, Rasmus Kupari, Todd McLellan, NHL usage, Chris Hajt, Craig Johnson, Marco Sturm

Yup, none of those were ever used. It's been a fair evaluation of on-ice performance free of excuses for the struggles of those players.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Dustin Brown, Covid, Andreas Athanasiou, broken ankle, AHL usage, Tony Granato, Rob Blake, season long viral infections, Rasmus Kupari, Todd McLellan, NHL usage, Chris Hajt, Craig Johnson, Marco Sturm

Yup, none of those were ever used. It's been a fair evaluation of on-ice performance free of excuses for the struggles of those players.

Alright, since now you're just trolling, don't publicly cry again when people pinata your shit takes like this one.