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Rumor: KHL insider hints that Kovalchuk isn't staying in LA

YP44

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Jan 30, 2012
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GoldenBearHockey said:
Hagelin is injured, not benched lol nice try though, Lewis, injured, not benched,

At least have your facts right man, cmon.

Kopitar was allowed to run free with Stevens, no defensive responsibilites, etc, there's a reason why there defence went from #1 in the league to last in the league...

WD came in, let Kovalchuk do his thing, was playing him with Toffoli and Carter until the Vancouver game on Saturday....that 5 game stretch, Kovalchuk was a -7 and had 11 shots on net, Carter was I think a plus one, had 14, and Toffoli, a plus one or minus one, and 11 shots on net,

Kovalchuk either can't, or refuses to play sound defense....that's the issue behind going to the 4th line...
Click to expand...

What!?! under Stevens LA had the lowest GAA and Kopitar won the Selke
 
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Osprey

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Feb 18, 2005
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It's strange. Kovalchuk was Blake's prized acquisition over the Summer and the interim coach is refusing to use him. You would think that Desjardins would be trying to please his GM (by using the GM's shiny new toy as much as possible) in order to keep his job past this season, yet he seems to be brazenly doing the opposite. I guess that, knowing that the season probably won't be salvaged and that Sturm is being groomed to succeed him next season, he figures that he'll be out of a job if he plays it safe and, thus, has nothing to lose by going rogue.

It sure doesn't look good on Blake, especially after the embarrassment of firing Stevens one season after promoting him, for an interim coach to appear to be on a different page from him only a few weeks after being hired. If Desjardins' risky strategy fails, Blake could get frustrated enough to act before the season even ends and promote Sturm sooner than he expected. I wonder when the last time a coach was hired and fired inside of the same season.
 
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YP44

Registered User
Jan 30, 2012
27,088
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Calgary, AB
Osprey said:
It's strange. Kovalchuk was Blake's prized acquisition over the Summer and the interim coach is refusing to use him. You would think that Desjardins would be trying to please his GM (by using the GM's shiny new toy as much as possible) in order to keep his job past this season, yet he seems to be brazenly doing the opposite. I guess that, knowing that the season probably won't be salvaged and that Sturm is being groomed to succeed him next season, he figures that he'll be out of a job if he plays it safe and, thus, has nothing to lose by going rogue.

It sure doesn't look good on Blake, especially after the embarrassment of firing Stevens one season after promoting him, for an interim coach to appear to be on a different page from him only a few weeks after being hired. If Desjardins' risky strategy fails, Blake could get frustrated enough to act before the season even ends and promote Sturm sooner than he expected. I wonder when the last time a coach was hired and fired inside of the same season.
Click to expand...

excellent question but I could see it happening this year with the goat show in LA
 
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Extra Texture

A new career
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:laugh: I have no desire to mock the Kings or their struggles, but seeing this guy’s much vaunted comeback turn into a disaster 2 months into a 3 year deal is just magnificent.

People said buyer beware in the summer and it was for good reason. Radulov only got a year and he was coming back at 30.
 
Bizz

Bizz

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Maybe he should've signed with an actual good team in the offseason. Everyone and their mother knows that LA is a doormat and will be a doormat for many years to come.
 

YP44

Registered User
Jan 30, 2012
27,088
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Bizz said:
Maybe he should've signed with an actual good team in the offseason. Everyone and their mother knows that LA is a doormat and will be a doormat for many years to come.
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Right that's why most NHL analyst had them as a bubble team at worse.

The kings window definitely is shutting if not shut, but given the results of last year there was still a crack left open. Best team in GAA, needing scoring, gets potential high end scorer. Sounds good on paper right.

Things have fallen way off the rails and I do not think anybody had LA at the bottom of the league at the end of November. Even if the window has closed it was a good window and LA made the most of it with 2 cups.

As for Dormat many years to come, it could be a fairly quick turnaround if deals are done correctly. However i have zero faith in Blake so we will see.
 
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Red Piller

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May 29, 2013
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Osprey said:
It's strange. Kovalchuk was Blake's prized acquisition over the Summer and the interim coach is refusing to use him. You would think that Desjardins would be trying to please his GM (by using the GM's shiny new toy as much as possible) in order to keep his job past this season, yet he seems to be brazenly doing the opposite. I guess that, knowing that the season probably won't be salvaged and that Sturm is being groomed to succeed him next season, he figures that he'll be out of a job if he plays it safe and, thus, has nothing to lose by going rogue.

It sure doesn't look good on Blake, especially after the embarrassment of firing Stevens one season after promoting him, for an interim coach to appear to be on a different page from him only a few weeks after being hired. If Desjardins' risky strategy fails, Blake could get frustrated enough to act before the season even ends and promote Sturm sooner than he expected. I wonder when the last time a coach was hired and fired inside of the same season.
Click to expand...

WD is awful.
 
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Cor

Cor

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Jun 24, 2012
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PPG until Willie D gets hired and sticks him on the 4th line and takes him off the powerplay.

The issue isn’t Kovy, not his skills but rather the coach himself.

Whoever trades for Kovy at a low price is going to get a very good player still.
 
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unicornpig

unicornpig

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Bizz said:
Maybe he should've signed with an actual good team in the offseason. Everyone and their mother knows that LA is a doormat and will be a doormat for many years to come.
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Bitter bitter Sharks fans, hows that karlsson trade working out
 

GoldenBearHockey

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Jan 6, 2014
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Cor said:
PPG until Willie D gets hired and sticks him on the 4th line and takes him off the powerplay.

The issue isn’t Kovy, not his skills but rather the coach himself.

Whoever trades for Kovy at a low price is going to get a very good player still.
Click to expand...

Not even remotely what happened lol but let's not get in the way of facts, he was demoted SATURDAY....for 2 games, both which the Kings won.....the previous 5 games, played with Carter and Toffoli, he was -15 or something stupid like that with 11 shots, Carter and Toffoli were both 0 or -1, and 11 and 14 shots....
 
joestevens29

joestevens29

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Tweet is very vague, but it seems quite clear that considering how bad they are doing that they will be looking at trading damn near anyone.
 

ffh

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what a coincidence he was the leading scorer for the Russians at the Olympics and they decided to demote him to the 4th line also.
 

Fat Elvis

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Until Boris the Blade (Snatch) puts Kovy back in the top 6, his trade value is nil. LA is a circus this season, but they've given us many opportunities to speculate, which as amateur GMs is great.
 

ijuka

Registered User
May 14, 2016
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Uh, Kovalchuk's play hasn't been the issue at all. The issue has been that Kings suck. How can you blame Kovalchuk? He's been the best player on his team. How could you expect him to carry players like Kopitar? He's not being paid 10mil or anything.

I think that the issue is that Kovalchuk ended up signing for 3 years on a team that apparently is planning on rebuilding, while his goal was to win the cup.
 
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