John Stevens must be launched into the Sun UPDATE: John Stevens & Nachbaur incinerated

[Sol]

My memory isn't the sharpest, but how likely is it that a coach gets canned during year 2 as HC?

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[King'sPawn]

My memory isn't the sharpest, but how likely is it that a coach gets canned during year 2 as HC?

Isn't Stevens buddies with Blake?

I think nothing will happen until the Kings are mathematically eliminated.

 

[Sol]

Isn't Stevens buddies with Blake?

I think nothing will happen until the Kings are mathematically eliminated.

No idea. So there's been no talks about a short leash ?

 

[Legionnaire]

You want him launched into you? TMI dude. TMI.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

But then Stevens would suck the brightness out of the sun and create a massive black hole.

 

[Sol]

You want him launched into you? TMI dude. TMI.

God damn it. I hate you lol.

But then Stevens would suck the brightness out of the sun and create a massive black hole.

Which is very true. So stevens and co are tight knit bros? That sucks ass. The way he deploys the team is beyond awful.

 

[Little Psycho]

Great title and I agree

 

[Herby]

Of all the horrific decisions since 2014, promoting Stevens AND Blake might be the biggest mistake. It's atleast up there with Richards and Lucic.

They should have either brought in a completely new regime behind the bench and/or upstairs. Feel like we are never going to get true change in LA as long as Luc is President.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I would never wish that upon the sun.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Is there anybody who loves Stevens and thinks it would be a huge mistake if he's fired? I'm tired of the stoned face coaches behind the bench. I want to see some sticks thrown on the ice, the whole team looks like they're taking valium before games and not the stuff Vegas was taking last season.

 

[BigKing]

Still think promoting him was the right move for last season due to the circumstances at the time, particularly Doughty. They went with the complete opposite of Sutter from a personality standpoint because these millionaires wanted to have fun at work.

Well, we've already seen this core needing a hard ass coach and veteran leadership to go to another level. Let's see how long this lasts for.

I agree with the poster that worried we were back to guys just wanting to be here for the beach and no media pressure. Hell, the GM is the poster boy for that lifestyle.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

We tried to shoot Stevens into the sun, but we got trapped in our own zone.

 

[member 88115]

Great, now the sun is going to be confused.

 

[King'sPawn]

The sun will say it hasn't had enough practice yet

 

[fsanford]

Of all the horrific decisions since 2014, promoting Stevens AND Blake might be the biggest mistake. It's atleast up there with Richards and Lucic.

They should have either brought in a completely new regime behind the bench and/or upstairs. Feel like we are never going to get true change in LA as long as Luc is President.

Well Blake is guilty by hiring Steven's I get it, but he at least didn't sign Pearson/Toffoli to long term deals, not so sure the previous fella would have done that, given his tendencies in the twilight of his GM days to fall head over heals in love with guys. And I think the most horrific decision since 2014 was the Lucic deal, that was beyond stupidity. Kings are still paying for that one and if not by the grace of an idiot in Edmonton the penalty would even be longer


. The challenge for all GM's is managing having to pay your top guys stupid money vs letting them go in a league that does not allow things like luxury tax etc. Toronto better win it this year because they are going to need to pay Matthews like 12 million and Marner like 8, with Nylander still to sign. They are gonna be a 1 line team, albeit a very good one.

Blake will need to make some hard decisions, might start with a coaching change, but you also may need to look at exposing guys like Quick in expansion draft. As much as that would upset people it is a business, and age is not going to endear itself to Quick's style of play. Campbell had the pedigree to be a top net minder, its early but he has looked the part these games. And at 26 he 6 years younger than Quick


Kovy still should be a value signing, assuming Stevens understands figures out what his game is. Though given that in front of the net setup game 1 on the PP, I have my doubts about Stevens ability to figure things out.


Winnipeg is a bit like Buffalo for the Kings, in that new arena they have what like 3 wins and 7 or 8 losses, so last night was not a surprise. They just suck when they play there.

That said with Montreal and Ottawa up next, you lose 2, well lets just say, I will be more relaxed going to games because my expectations, will morph into zero. My bar tab will go up for sure.

 

[riznat]

Is there anybody who loves Stevens and thinks it would be a huge mistake if he's fired? I'm tired of the stoned face coaches behind the bench. I want to see some sticks thrown on the ice, the whole team looks like they're taking valium before games and not the stuff Vegas was taking last season.

Bring back Tom Webster

 

[Basilisk]

Of all the horrific decisions since 2014, promoting Stevens AND Blake might be the biggest mistake. It's atleast up there with Richards and Lucic.

They should have either brought in a completely new regime behind the bench and/or upstairs. Feel like we are never going to get true change in LA as long as Luc is President.

Agreed. Bring back Dave Taylor & make him President!!! Taylor drafted Brown & Kopitar & Quick!!!

 

[King'sPawn]

RJ said it best. The team has no identity.

Even if the team is executing a system poorly, it's on the coach to communicate that system. When one or two players are out of sync, that's one thing. When the entire team is scrambling, the message is not getting through.

Four players going out on a 5-on-4 powerplay is not a symptom of players who don't care. The players are unprepared.

Bleeding shots against, failing transitions, and failing sustained pressure is systemic. Counting on a rookie goalie to bail you out while getting outshot by a significant margin every game does not work.

The powerplay's inefficiency would be acceptable if it was at least generating chances. It's not. The going strategy against one of the top teams last year who added a superstar was to "confuse" them. Has there been ONE powerplay where we could say "player X got robbed by the goalie there"?

I have never been so emphatic about coaching being the problem. With Sutter, his style leads to wear down over time, so I feel it was time to go, but at least the message was clear.

I think I would like Stevens as a person or as an assistant coach. But I don't think he's the right person to send messages to the team.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The team doesn’t even know how to forecheck anymore. They only send one forward to pressure and have everyone else hanging back trying to clog up the neutral zone.

 

[Fishhead]

We should have had a go fund me to put him on Space X. Missed our chance.

I’m usually very pro coach and put everything on the players, but the shortcomings here are obvious.

 

[Little Psycho]

I still can't get over how he used Kovy as a screen against SJ since it would seem too "predictable" to put him on top, meanwhile the Jets had no problem perching Laine up top so he can do what he's good at.

 

[Seventyx7]

Launch him. Rare to see such agreement on here; must be a sign.

 

[Choralone]

So this team is in transition. The first question: is there's a destination in mind for a mind for a new identity and how to get there? Second: If there is, can it be implemented this year or does the personnel need changing, and thereby are we going to have to live through another season or more where this Frankenstein monster is lumbering around and throwing little girls in ponds? Would a different coach change that?

So far it seems Stevens successfully broke the old system but doesn't know how to put a new one together. If we needed to replace the personnel with a different type, I think Blake would have moved more quickly and made some more radical moves in the offseason. Unless Stevens turns this around quickly , I think Blake will fire Stevens somewhere between games 10 to 26. I'll take either/or.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

I’m betting this is the same group of posters who whined in the off season that we didn’t have the roster to compete. Now that we see this roster in action, it’s now all the coaches fault, lol. Oh btw, we are only 3 games in, LOL.

Obviously it’s not too early to create a ‘Kings will NOT make the playoffs’ thread, right??

 

[lumbergh]

Stevens took a mediocre team into the playoffs with no Jeff Carter for 3/4 of the season. I think game 3 of season 2 is probably a little early.

If Quick is out more than a month, it'll be a miracle if this team makes the playoffs, and Stevens might get canned for missing the playoffs.