Speculation: How do you feel about the rebuild, and how confident are you in the team's direction?

[KyleJRM]

I'll admit to being a little confused. I'm not one of those who think that you have to trade everything not nailed down or it's not a rebuild, but I don't see the point of hanging on to guys like rakell and Gibson through four or five years of rebuilding.

It's ok to have transition seasons where you start to add present talent to mix in with your emerging youth and you become decent. But if we aren't adding anything meaningful this off-season, this sure looks like another tank year instead.

 

[Quack Shot]

I’m okay with where they are and confident in BM, but as long as the games are entertaining to some degree. The games were quite boring first half until Zegras and Drysdale came up, before then I was choosing to watch the Gulls over the Ducks.

 

[Static]

I'll be upset if they haven't added NHL talent by opening night. We have the money and the motivation to not be one of the very worst teams in the league again, so do something about it.

 

[lwvs84]

If (and big if) Barkov makes it to free agency, how much money/term would you be comfortable throwing at him?

 

[albator71]

LA is gonna be a very fast paced team to play against in the future. Turcotte and Stutzle gives them alot of speed.

Deleted

 

[ADHB]

Last time I checked Stutzle was playing for the Sens I think you meant Byfield.

You quoted a post so old the 2020 draft hadn’t even taken place yet.

 

[Gliff]

I'll be upset if they haven't added NHL talent by opening night. We have the money and the motivation to not be one of the very worst teams in the league again, so do something about it.

What if they want to tank next season because of the elite talent at the top?

If (and big if) Barkov makes it to free agency, how much money/term would you be comfortable throwing at him?

A Tavares contract forsure.
I can’t see him coming to Anaheim though.

 

[Static]

What if they want to tank next season because of the elite talent at the top?

Wouldn't compute with any of Bob's public comments/stances for the last year +.

 

[albator71]

You quoted a post so old the 2020 draft hadn’t even taken place yet.

Oh dayum sorry brother note to self check the date before posting!

 

[mightyquack]

Wouldn't compute with any of Bob's public comments/stances for the last year +.

However bringing Eakins back goes against all of those public comments and stances. No team that is actually trying to get better brings back by far the worst coach in the NHL.

 

[Static]

However bringing Eakins back goes against all of those public comments and stances. No team that is actually trying to get better brings back by far the worst coach in the NHL.

Bringing him back is more about ownership than anything else.

 

[Gliff]

Wouldn't compute with any of Bob's public comments/stances for the last year +.

When has Bob ever been consistent with what he says and does?

 

[rlstine]

However bringing Eakins back goes against all of those public comments and stances. No team that is actually trying to get better brings back by far the worst coach in the NHL.

Yeah sometimes I wonder if Bob is well aware of how bad we are and is purposely tanking while all his public talk about being competitive and trying to make the playoffs is just lip service. But then I think even that is probably giving him way too much credit.

Whatever he actually thinks it does seem like we're pretty well set up to suck for one more year, get a high pick in a good draft, and then actually start trying again the year after next. Eakins has always felt like a coach you keep around while you're just sort of killing time before you're ready to compete again. He's Andy Murray before he got fired for Daryl Sutter.

 

[Static]

When has Bob ever been consistent with what he says and does?

I think what he says and his motivations are mostly intact. The execution can be lacking.

 

[lwvs84]

A Tavares contract forsure.
I can’t see him coming to Anaheim though.

I know, but Anaheim would be dumb to not make an offer. They'll have the money and there is always a need for that caliber of player.

 

[Paul4587]

I’m waiting until the end of the off-season before I judge where we are at. I’ll be incredibly disappointed though if we don’t make serious changes to our core before then though - changes need to be made, we can’t keep bringing back the same pieces that have been involved in the last three years of failure.

 

[Bergey37]

I'll be upset if they haven't added NHL talent by opening night. We have the money and the motivation to not be one of the very worst teams in the league again, so do something about it.

I would add that, IF there are problems in the room, FIX THEM! Don’t let them fester. If Rico’s an issue, trade him for what you can get. If Gibby’s an issue, trade him for the FW talent we need. But do what you have to do. Nothing stunts development more than crappy attitudes.

 

[Paul4587]

If (and big if) Barkov makes it to free agency, how much money/term would you be comfortable throwing at him?

A lot. He’s a top 3-5 centre in the game. At least the Tavares deal.

 

[tomd]

I like that he committed to building thru the draft and largely avoiding free agency. But I would like him to stock up on picks over the next 1-2 years like other rebuilding teams are doing. And yes, that means selling off some players on the current roster.

 

[91Fedorov]

Wouldn't compute with any of Bob's public comments/stances for the last year +.

Realistically, he can't come out and say we're going to tank. They still have to sell tickets.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Realistically, he can't come out and say we're going to tank. They still have to sell tickets.

Yep they really can't, the fair weather crowd will cancel tickets and be mad Murray didn't sign a ton of UFAs and trade for Eichel to just Maybe get the 8th seed in the west if their lucky.

 

[405Entrance]

I’m indifferent. On one hand I know you can’t just sell everything or you’ll end up like Buffalo on the other I feel like he held on to some players way too long

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I think having Zegras looking much better in his second recall as a center, Drysdale showing up early, and Getz re-signed is enough window dressing for the casual fans to bring them back to the season. Hell, a majority of us bought AHL tv to watch both Zegras and Drysdale!

The direction looks so much better after seeing a lot of prospects take a step forward (Comtois, Zegras, Drysdale, and Lundy) along with Stolarz looking very good in net. Yet, the jump to being a fringe playoff team seems far away as the roster is set today. We're gonna need a lot of luck to make that jump if we don't add any top-6 players. I guess having Seattle in our division helps us make that possibility slightly more probable, though the probability isn't all that high to begin with.

 

[MMC]

I think having Zegras looking much better in his second recall as a center, Drysdale showing up early, and Getz re-signed is enough window dressing for the casual fans to bring them back to the season. Hell, a majority of us bought AHL tv to watch both Zegras and Drysdale!

The direction looks so much better after seeing a lot of prospects take a step forward (Comtois, Zegras, Drysdale, and Lundy) along with Stolarz looking very good in net. Yet, the jump to being a fringe playoff team seems far away as the roster is set today. We're gonna need a lot of luck to make that jump if we don't add any top-6 players. I guess having Seattle in our division helps us make that possibility slightly more probable, though the probability isn't all that high to begin with.

We still have a terrible team and a GM who after 3 years of failure has shown little interest or desire to make necessary improvements. We have nice pieces in play but I have no confidence the people currently in charge are the ones to make it happen

 

[DavidBL]

I'm a little confused. Lets say we're a year behind the Kings in the rebuild. What exactly did the Kings do last year that we haven't done yet?