Confirmed with Link: Kings announce signing kovalchuk to 3 year contract.

[KingsFan7824]

for sure. just playing devil'd advocate.

The Marleau to Hurricanes with a 1st for buy out would have been more reasonable without Kovalchuk's cap hit too

Considering the record, GF, and GA, without Kovalchuk over the last year and a half, compared to with him, I'm not sold that the Kings would've been in a position to take Marleau. Or to even want to waste the cap space. Or even have the cap space to waste. They don't seem to be a terrible team. Not good, at best average, but not the tank-a-thon team we've been talking about since Sept 2018. I don't know that Stevens isn't still the coach, or that Pearson and Muzzin aren't still here. Even last year, as bad as it was, they were 7-7-4 without Kovalchuk. That's not a good record, the points% gets them nowhere near a playoff spot, but it's better than the points% with him. Smaller sample size, etc.

If anyone wants the tank, it seems you should be thanking Blake for signing Kovalchuk, because the major scoreboard type stats are all atrocious with him, and black hole-ish without him. If you're pro-tank, the mistake is not playing him for the last month+, and then terminating the contract, not anything that happened on July 1st, 2018.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I actually think Blake had the tougher job starting off with an older and established team that was already bound to big contracts as opposed to having some good young players to start with in Kopitar, Brown, Cammalleri, Quick, Frolov, etc. You can’t compare the two situations.

Look at how terrible the prospect pool was when Blake stepped in, and he inherited one of the oldest and most expensive teams in the league. Now they’re slowly getting younger and have quite a bit more cap flexibility. The team’s future is a lot brighter today as opposed to what it looked like a few years ago.

You're right; we shouldn't compare the two. Blake hasn't won anything in this league as an executive.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

You're right; we shouldn't compare the two. Blake hasn't won anything in this league as an executive.

Considering what he started with, was anyone expecting him to? If so, then some people have unrealistic expectations.

 

[BigKing]

I actually think Blake had the tougher job starting off with an older and established team that was already bound to big contracts as opposed to having some good young players to start with in Kopitar, Brown, Cammalleri, Quick, Frolov, etc. You can’t compare the two situations.

Look at how terrible the prospect pool was when Blake stepped in, and he inherited one of the oldest and most expensive teams in the league. Now they’re slowly getting younger and have quite a bit more cap flexibility. The team’s future is a lot brighter today as opposed to what it looked like a few years ago.

Lombardi inherited 23/11/32 as kids while Blake inherited Kyle Clague and Wagner. Blake definitely stepped in to a worse situation with the prospect pool and contracts but he does step in to the organization that Dean pretty much built, which is a benefit when it comes to development since the Kings were a joke in that department before Dean.

He inherited one of the oldest and most expensive teams in the league and now they are slowly getting younger and have quite a bit more cap flexibility? Sure. We are in the midst of his third season so we are three years closer to these old dude contracts being gone, except for Doughty's. He also made the team older and less cap flexible by signing Kovy.

He hasn't really done anything proactive in regards to the cap space until moving Pearson for a UFA and then Muzzin. Is the cap space better than Pearson who is on a 20 goal/50 point pace? Sold him at his lowest value. It appears they are drafting well but, again, the future is going to look brighter three drafts later when you use all of your draft picks.

Regardless, he has made a lot of early mistakes like Lombardi did as well. Everything seems to be good since the Muzzin trade and, like Lombardi, the emergence of stud prospects can make you forget about Cloutier, Crawford, Hickey, Teubert etc. We just shouldn't be forgiving him for his mistakes based on the potential of the current prospects: I'll do it once they actually emerge.

 

[verbalkint47]

Considering what he started with, was anyone expecting him to? If so, then some people have unrealistic expectations.

Rob Blake? He thought we were a goal scoring winger away from being a contender

 

[Statto]

I was all over Lombardi on this very board before the Kings started making the playoffs in 2010. It comes with the territory of navigating a rebuild. You're going to be scrutinized a lot more than usual with the big club consistently losing.

Any fool with a scouting report can hold on to their picks and tank and draft highly touted prospects. That doesn't impress me in the slightest. The Muzzin trade was great, for sure. Full marks to Blake there. Could potentially be one of the best trades in Kings history if Grundstrom and Durzi AND Bjornfot reach peak potential.

My issue with Blake is moreso my issue with Luc. They're both one and the same in this regard: they came in to all this bull****ting the fanbase about how the Kings had a winning core. It was insulting and ridiculous to anyone who had been remotely paying attention to this team post-2014. So they were automatically fighting uphill with me personally after that.

First impressions do matter. Lombardi didn't come onboard talking about the 05/06 team having a contending core. At least he was honest about the entire franchise needing a rebuild top to bottom, how the franchise had a losing culture, and how he was going to change it. And he made some similar mistakes as Blake (I'll put Blake signing Kovalchuk on the same tier as Lombardi signing Cloutier and Crawford). But ultimately, Lombardi's rebuild was even more difficult. He had to do a deep dive into every system of operation in this rudderless franchise to start rebuilding the culture itself. Blake doesn't have to do that. Blake gets to operate the machine that Lombardi primarily built. Blake still has the same scouting staffs, the same training and development guys, the same everything. That doesn't mean Lombardi didn't crash the machine into a brick wall during his last few years, but it also doesn't mean that Lombardi suddenly gets zero credit for everything he did from day one in every department of this franchise top to bottom.

Anyway, Blake has a long way to go before I start signing his praises. He's a first time GM with an abysmal NHL record so far, and he's already bull****ted the fanbase once. That doesn't mean he has done a terrible job through and through. But he has a ways to go before I start building a statue in his honor.

I can’t argue with most of that. I completely agree that DL had a much bigger, more difficult job to do and his review and restructuring of the organisation was done incredibly well. It was probably the most important part of his job here, beyond what he achieved on ice as he has created an organisational foundation upon which Blake and future GM’s should be able to build upon for years to come.

I was a big DL fan and bought into his strategy from very early on. I always thought his approach was correct even if not every individual decision was right (Crawford, Cloutier). There isn’t a single GM that gets every decision right and most of them make at least a couple of very bad decisions even in otherwise successful tenures. So I’m long over the Kovi one.

We can debate how he got here but the strategy Blake is now following is the correct one. Since he’s implemented the current strategy he seems to have made mostly good decisions and has drafted well. Although, I’m sure we will end up crapping on some of his picks in 10 years time when we decide with 20/20 hindsight that it was obvious they’d bust. Right now though, with the prospect pool, we can be happy.

He seems to have gotten the coaching choice just about right for where we’re are. TM is developing the players he has and seems to be getting there in terms of transitioning to a new style and identity.

The next 18 months will make or break Blake’s tenure. After this next draft he will have a large deep prospect pool. He will need to have a solid integration plan for a number of very good prospects. However it will quickly be the case that we have a log jam at a number of positions and this will be where he earns his salary. He will have to pick the right players to keep. He will then have to move on some, whilst they have value as good prospects.

Exactly how he uses those assets apart from making sure he moves the right ones will be so key. Does he try to bring in an impact player, shore up a weakness, trade for more pick and so on? These will be the things we start to argue about in a years time. There are going to be a lot of moving parts and plenty of chances for him to crap the bed or knock it out of the park. It will be fun!

 

[Choralone]

Does it have to be either-or with Lombardi and Blake?

 

[YP44]

Considering the record, GF, and GA, without Kovalchuk over the last year and a half, compared to with him, I'm not sold that the Kings would've been in a position to take Marleau. Or to even want to waste the cap space. Or even have the cap space to waste. They don't seem to be a terrible team. Not good, at best average, but not the tank-a-thon team we've been talking about since Sept 2018. I don't know that Stevens isn't still the coach, or that Pearson and Muzzin aren't still here. Even last year, as bad as it was, they were 7-7-4 without Kovalchuk. That's not a good record, the points% gets them nowhere near a playoff spot, but it's better than the points% with him. Smaller sample size, etc.

If anyone wants the tank, it seems you should be thanking Blake for signing Kovalchuk, because the major scoreboard type stats are all atrocious with him, and black hole-ish without him. If you're pro-tank, the mistake is not playing him for the last month+, and then terminating the contract, not anything that happened on July 1st, 2018.

who said anything about tanking? Is Carolina tanking?

 

[kilowatt]

You're right; we shouldn't compare the two. Blake hasn't won anything in this league as an executive.

By Lombardi’s third year, He got the Kings all the way to 79 points. Behind a 21-year-old Anze Kopitar and a 19-year-old Drew Doughty, we had guys like Michael Handzus, Kyle Calder, Peter Harrold, Derek Armstrong, Denis Gauthier, Raitis Ivanans, and John Zeiler on the team. Our highest-scoring defenseman was Kyle Quincey.

Lombardi didn’t win his first playoff series until 2011-12. Blake and his team have done a great job drafting and signing college free agents. Why don’t we wait to complain until after the deadline?

 

[DryIslandBartender]

Considering what he started with, was anyone expecting him to? If so, then some people have unrealistic expectations.

All of a sudden it’s “look at what he had to work with!” excuse never mind that this current regime went around selling the fans that they were contenders after making the playoffs post DL.

They were going around selling the fans that they’ve righted the ship and then that preseason the wheels fell apart, because the org was all talk. The mindset wasn’t there, the conditioning wasn’t there.

Still a problem, we’ve gone back to the mid 90s era culture of suck that Luc/Blake came from.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

All of a sudden it’s “look at what he had to work with!” excuse never mind that this current regime went around selling the fans that they were contenders after making the playoffs post DL.

They were going around selling the fans that they’ve righted the ship and then that preseason the wheels fell apart, because the org was all talk. The mindset wasn’t there, the conditioning wasn’t there.

Still a problem, we’ve gone back to the mid 90s era culture of suck that Luc/Blake came from.

Now hold on, this is a case of having your cake and eating it too.

Pick a camp:

A. Blake poorly evaluated the roster--a common refrain around here, but if true, then he truly didn't have a lot to work with, especially given the recent lack of prospects/picks;

B. Blake property evaluated the roster and has a lot to work with, he's just not surrounding them with proper talent--not a very common refrain around here.

The problem is his detractors are picking C, which makes no sense--Blake poorly evaluated the roster, isn't surrounding them with talent, and apparently had a lot to work with?

You either believe that Blake poorly evaluated the team upon taking over OR that he hasn't done a good job surrounding a good core with proper support yet. You can't believe both. If you believe the first half, you're admitting Blake didn't have much to work with, and thus his work so far has to be seen in that light; if you believe the second half, then you believe in Kopitar, Doughty, and Quick, but not the depth/support (yet), and his work thus far has to be seen in a different light. You don't get to pick and choose the worst parts of everything, because it's contradictory.

 

[BigKing]

Now hold on, this is a case of having your cake and eating it too.

Pick a camp:

A. Blake poorly evaluated the roster--a common refrain around here, but if true, then he truly didn't have a lot to work with, especially given the recent lack of prospects/picks;

B. Blake property evaluated the roster and has a lot to work with, he's just not surrounding them with proper talent--not a very common refrain around here.

The problem is his detractors are picking C, which makes no sense--Blake poorly evaluated the roster, isn't surrounding them with talent, and apparently had a lot to work with?

You either believe that Blake poorly evaluated the team upon taking over OR that he hasn't done a good job surrounding a good core with proper support yet. You can't believe both. If you believe the first half, you're admitting Blake didn't have much to work with, and thus his work so far has to be seen in that light; if you believe the second half, then you believe in Kopitar, Doughty, and Quick, but not the depth/support (yet), and his work thus far has to be seen in a different light. You don't get to pick and choose the worst parts of everything, because it's contradictory.

I said they would be better in 2018 simply due to them being happy to get out from under Sutter but they were also going on three seasons with one playoff victory and appearance. Better doesn't equal contender but Bluc believed so. If you don't, you try to move Carter that off-season and kick off the rebuild.

Why it is easy to criticize Blake for not getting on with the business of rebuilding is due to Luc's comments--after they officially threw in the towel last season--about how they knew they would need to rebuild after this current season so last year's abomination just sped up the process. That means Bluc thought they had three more seasons to contend with the core that hadn't won anything the past three seasons upon taking over yet he didn't really add much to the '18 team and the prospect pool wasn't going to add much for this three-year window unless you are banking on Vilardi. So now they only have two seasons left and are coming off a first round sweep. Then he signs Kovy and gives him the 3rd year which, by Luc's math, is Year 1 of the rebuild they knew was coming.

He really misdiagnosed what he was working with. If the story was really rebuild starting in the 2021 season, then maybe you want to look at the Doughty contract and trading Carter in '17 because then they are guilty of what Lombardi was doing: trying to squeeze out one more run before the bottom falls out. Problem is, that is even worse than Lombardi because Lombardi tried to add to the '15, '16 and even '17 teams. While we are happy that Blake didn't trade anyone to add to the '18 team, there is pretty much no f***ing way they are going to win with the roster as constructed so what the hell is the plan?

It seems like they didn't have one except see how 2018 goes and then react. He reacted poorly, was wrong and then Luc comes out with this 2021 rebuild bullshit that is a face saving comment and not the real plan.

This goes back to my original criticism of Blake: he hasn't done a thing that is ground breaking or supports the statements at the time of his hire that they had to move now or risk losing him because he was such a whiz. It has been paint-by-numbers GM'ing that has been colored by reacting as opposed to being proactive. Now, that being said, I like the paint-by-numbers canvas they are working with now because it is what needs to be done but I am extremely cognizant that he was basically forced to be at this point as it wasn't what he thought would happen.

Again, none of it will matter if all of these prospects really pan out until it comes time to augment the roster via trade and/or UFA. He's basically getting a pass from most everyone on here for the first three years of his tenure. I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. His final grade is still incomplete but he'd be getting a progress report mailed mid-semester to his parents for flunking math if he was an 8th grader.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I said they would be better in 2018 simply due to them being happy to get out from under Sutter but they were also going on three seasons with one playoff victory and appearance. Better doesn't equal contender but Bluc believed so. If you don't, you try to move Carter that off-season and kick off the rebuild.

Why it is easy to criticize Blake for not getting on with the business of rebuilding is due to Luc's comments--after they officially threw in the towel last season--about how they knew they would need to rebuild after this current season so last year's abomination just sped up the process. That means Bluc thought they had three more seasons to contend with the core that hadn't won anything the past three seasons upon taking over yet he didn't really add much to the '18 team and the prospect pool wasn't going to add much for this three-year window unless you are banking on Vilardi. So now they only have two seasons left and are coming off a first round sweep. Then he signs Kovy and gives him the 3rd year which, by Luc's math, is Year 1 of the rebuild they knew was coming.

He really misdiagnosed what he was working with. If the story was really rebuild starting in the 2021 season, then maybe you want to look at the Doughty contract and trading Carter in '17 because then they are guilty of what Lombardi was doing: trying to squeeze out one more run before the bottom falls out. Problem is, that is even worse than Lombardi because Lombardi tried to add to the '15, '16 and even '17 teams. While we are happy that Blake didn't trade anyone to add to the '18 team, there is pretty much no ****ing way they are going to win with the roster as constructed so what the hell is the plan?

It seems like they didn't have one except see how 2018 goes and then react. He reacted poorly, was wrong and then Luc comes out with this 2021 rebuild bull**** that is a face saving comment and not the real plan.

This goes back to my original criticism of Blake: he hasn't done a thing that is ground breaking or supports the statements at the time of his hire that they had to move now or risk losing him because he was such a whiz. It has been paint-by-numbers GM'ing that has been colored by reacting as opposed to being proactive. Now, that being said, I like the paint-by-numbers canvas they are working with now because it is what needs to be done but I am extremely cognizant that he was basically forced to be at this point as it wasn't what he thought would happen.

Again, none of it will matter if all of these prospects really pan out until it comes time to augment the roster via trade and/or UFA. He's basically getting a pass from most everyone on here for the first three years of his tenure. I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. His final grade is still incomplete but he'd be getting a progress report mailed mid-semester to his parents for flunking math if he was an 8th grader.

I don't think anyone's giving him a 'pass;' many are giving him an incomplete. I just think it's oxymoronic to say out of one side of one's mouth that "Blake really screwed the pooch by misreading the team in 2018, we weren't a contender at all" and then out of the other side say it's an excuse that he didn't have a lot to work with.

For me personally I like that he's reactive and won't subscribe to sunk cost fallacy, but as you say, there might be an overall lack of vision there that's a drawback too.

 

[BigKing]

I don't think anyone's giving him a 'pass;' many are giving him an incomplete. I just think it's oxymoronic to say out of one side of one's mouth that "Blake really screwed the pooch by misreading the team in 2018, we weren't a contender at all" and then out of the other side say it's an excuse that he didn't have a lot to work with.

For me personally I like that he's reactive and won't subscribe to sunk cost fallacy, but as you say, there might be an overall lack of vision there that's a drawback too.

Why is it wrong for people who think he should have not run it back in 2018 to think that people are making an excuse when they say he didn't have a lot to work with? Isn't that the point: he didn't have a lot to work with but he still moved forward with trying to win with it until the bottom completely fell out?

I'm glad he finally reacted with the Muzzin trade, although the Pearson trade may have been an overreaction. The thing with the lack of vision is that you can't make the mistake of not looking both ways before crossing the street too many times: looking both ways after getting hit by a car doesn't help the situation. He didn't get killed by these first cars that him him but he'll be dead if the car that is these prospects don't pan out.

To be fair, Dean got bailed out by drafting Doughty and generally drafting pretty well save for some first round blunders. Blake knows his longevity is going to be based on how well these prospects turn out to be: he also knows that he doesn't have a Kopitar or Doughty currently in the pipeline so a high draft pick this year is a necessity. Everyone loves Turcotte, but Blake had to be gutted after losing the lottery. Hell, Luc looked like he was going to vomit.

I have no problem with Blake overseeing a tank and they appear to be drafting well. It will be interesting to see how good he is once he has to make tough/smart decisions to get to the next level, i.e. the Williams and Richards trades, Visnovsky trade, Scuderi and Mitchell signings etc. As I've said before, he hasn't done jack shit at the NHL level when it comes to moving a legit player or prospect. His "hockey trades" have been trash for trash. You can argue his Pearson trade was a "hockey trade" but it was more of a shock value/contract dump and Muzzin was a rebuild trade. He's kind of been a caretaker for the most part. His NHL talent evaluation has been poor so it is worrisome for when that is back to being relevant again for this franchise.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Why is it wrong for people who think he should have not run it back in 2018 to think that people are making an excuse when they say he didn't have a lot to work with? Isn't that the point: he didn't have a lot to work with but he still moved forward with trying to win with it until the bottom completely fell out?

I'm glad he finally reacted with the Muzzin trade, although the Pearson trade may have been an overreaction. The thing with the lack of vision is that you can't make the mistake of not looking both ways before crossing the street too many times: looking both ways after getting hit by a car doesn't help the situation. He didn't get killed by these first cars that him him but he'll be dead if the car that is these prospects don't pan out.

To be fair, Dean got bailed out by drafting Doughty and generally drafting pretty well save for some first round blunders. Blake knows his longevity is going to be based on how well these prospects turn out to be: he also knows that he doesn't have a Kopitar or Doughty currently in the pipeline so a high draft pick this year is a necessity. Everyone loves Turcotte, but Blake had to be gutted after losing the lottery. Hell, Luc looked like he was going to vomit.

I have no problem with Blake overseeing a tank and they appear to be drafting well. It will be interesting to see how good he is once he has to make tough/smart decisions to get to the next level, i.e. the Williams and Richards trades, Visnovsky trade, Scuderi and Mitchell signings etc. As I've said before, he hasn't done jack **** at the NHL level when it comes to moving a legit player or prospect. His "hockey trades" have been trash for trash. You can argue his Pearson trade was a "hockey trade" but it was more of a shock value/contract dump and Muzzin was a rebuild trade. He's kind of been a caretaker for the most part. His NHL talent evaluation has been poor so it is worrisome for when that is back to being relevant again for this franchise.

To the second boldfaced, I think that's why he's got an incomplete right now to a degree. We don't know what these current prospects are, only that the Kings have insane organizational depth in short order. Plus for that. But minus/incomplete because they haven't panned out nor do we know that they will, and he's going to have to start slinging prospects/picks for upgrades/fillouts at some point. That's the REAL test. You're right that any GM can run it into the ground and get picks; but I think Blake managed that fairly quickly given how empty the cupboards were. However, I totally disagree with what happened after that. You're downplaying the heck out of the Muzzin trade. And yes Pearson for Hagelin and other small moves (Cammy, Jokinen, etc.) are mostly just lateral shake ups but a complaint about DL was that he wasn't doing that so it's annoying that when Blake does it it's seen as a nothing move.

But going back to the first--it's problematic for me to see people saying "yeah the 2018 team sucked, how did Blake not see that" as well as saying it's an excuse that "well he didn't have a lot to work with." Yes, the problem is that he tried to move forward with nothing--but you can't also then criticize him saying it's an excuse that he had nothing to work with when part of the first complaint is that he had nothing to work with. That's some double-jeopardy criticism and just raw haterade.

 

[BigKing]

To the second boldfaced, I think that's why he's got an incomplete right now to a degree. We don't know what these current prospects are, only that the Kings have insane organizational depth in short order. Plus for that. But minus/incomplete because they haven't panned out nor do we know that they will, and he's going to have to start slinging prospects/picks for upgrades/fillouts at some point. That's the REAL test. You're right that any GM can run it into the ground and get picks; but I think Blake managed that fairly quickly given how empty the cupboards were. However, I totally disagree with what happened after that. You're downplaying the heck out of the Muzzin trade. And yes Pearson for Hagelin and other small moves (Cammy, Jokinen, etc.) are mostly just lateral shake ups but a complaint about DL was that he wasn't doing that so it's annoying that when Blake does it it's seen as a nothing move.

But going back to the first--it's problematic for me to see people saying "yeah the 2018 team sucked, how did Blake not see that" as well as saying it's an excuse that "well he didn't have a lot to work with." Yes, the problem is that he tried to move forward with nothing--but you can't also then criticize him saying it's an excuse that he had nothing to work with when part of the first complaint is that he had nothing to work with. That's some double-jeopardy criticism and just raw haterade.

Love the Muzzin trade; however, I think it is easier to trade something good for a nice haul and, furthermore, making trades to stockpile futures for a current desirable asset. Now, it doesn't mean it is a slam dunk so I give him credit for the trade and won't ride him for it if all three pieces bust but a lot of contenders would love to take Muzzin at his cap hit and with another year left. When you don't have to worry about winning and everything is future related, it is easier to "win" a trade because we *might* have three good NHL players. Like, Muzzin is getting a 1st and at least a good prospect. Blake didn't have to bamboozle anyone for that return. With Blake, it is more that he actually made the trade to signal a rebuild rather than what the trade actually was. Again, I'm glad he did it because it was obvious it needed to be done but it doesn't give me any warm and fuzzy feeling about his aptitude when it comes time to win again.

Even though I dislike Blake and apparently can't be subjective, I've said time and time again that his overall grade is incomplete because he's riding the promise of prospects and cap space after making numerous mistakes. Dean got the same treatment and I'm not going to hide from the fact that I loved Lubo and I got very frustrated with the timeline at a certain point. Hell, I wanted Lecavalier haha. Who can blame any of us though since they hadn't made in the playoffs in forever. I was one of those that joked about Cap Space being our best player. Dean wound up crushing it but it was a winding road to get there and it took the major fortune of getting Doughty and then--as KF7824 points out a lot--trading for Carter and hiring Sutter to basically save his job. Blake finished next-to-last but got screwed by the new lottery rules but, even then, Kakko is no Doughty. Would Blake trade a core prospect like O'Sullivan for an injury-plagued Williams? We'll see, but Dean seemed to make risky moves related to a plan (Greene/Stoll, Williams, Scuderi, Handzus) while Blake's biggest move so far at the NHL level--when it comes to trades--is thankfully not giving up futures for Patches. Gross.

Lombardi never won a Cup in San Jose but we at least had a guy that had done the job before while taking a horrible team and increasing their point totals every season. Blake has never done this job and hasn't shown any wizardry up to this point so I will remain very skeptical of how he will perform when winning matters again.

 

[DryIslandBartender]

the NHL level--when it comes to trades--is thankfully not giving up futures for Patches. Gross.

Bluc went around the player to get a trade done, tried to use friendships to get a discounted rate. Agent ended up getting canned.

Not exactly ethical, but the biggest issue with the rebuild is the plan and vision. Bluc has done a terrible job of outlining their vision for the team, what kind of style and how the players they are drafting and developing fit that vision.

Blake on Muzzin trade:

FOX: Rob, every trade has its own circumstances. Could you lead us into the Jake Muzzin situation in the motivation in the timing behind it?

BLAKE: Obviously, I think all of us are on the same page: We’re not happy where our team is and we understand that change has to be made. And changes are going made towards the future, and this was part of those changes.

FOX: Looking ahead, you use the word “future” — can you summarize perhaps what you’re looking for? I know it’s tough to be specific at this time because, again, maybe every day something changes around the Kings around the league. But, as specific as you can get, looking forward to what you’re looking for.

BLAKE: I think every deal kind of changes a little bit. Obviously this was surrounding around our prospects and draft picks. And if you look at the shape of the deal, that’s what it it worked out that way, and we feel need an organization for prospects and draft picks and that’s why we address that.

FOX: Today’s NHL, the status of a Kings, how much of is it acquisition of assets and how much is it cap management going forward?

BLAKE: Both. I don’t think you can be near the bottom of the league and have a high payroll. You have to take care of that aspect. You know, we’ve looked at that throughout the season, the acquisition of of prospects and draft picks and getting that in our system and developing we have to go in that direction that’s where we’re headed.

FOX: Jake’s been around for a long time. Huge part of great success. Does it make it any more difficult that personal attachment you have when you have to, or decide to, let go of a player like Jake?

BLAKE: Sure, I mean if you take a look at the history of the last eight years and then what they’ve been able to accomplish with these teams. The players that were part of that to have taken this franchise to the highest level. Jake was a big part of it. Tremendous defenseman. And going to be a good defenseman — still is a good defenseman — yeah, makes it very difficult. Never easy to do a deal like that.

FOX: Younger players, prospects, they have their unknowns, but they also have their potential. The two players that the Kings acquired in the Jake Muzzin deal, can you kind of give us a scouting report on them?

BLAKE: [Carl] Grundstrom, I think is a player that plays, some of our scouts classify, “the right way.” Plays competitively, plays heavy, does his job, brings a “compete” element every night. Sean Durzi, being in Junior, more of a power play guy. A right shot that can anchor the power play, that brings the puck up and distributes it both with speed and passing.

FOX: Rob, as always, thank you so much for your time, especially at this time of year.
BLAKE: No problem.

The bolded was repeated by Luc in a letter to the fans that the goal was to have a top farm system, as if to show that the front office is making progress and meeting goals. Not a specific plan or vision when pressed on it.

Never mind the previous year he was running around saying they are contending signing Kovy and making a run at Max.

 

[kilowatt]

Bluc went around the player to get a trade done, tried to use friendships to get a discounted rate. Agent ended up getting canned.

Not exactly ethical, but the biggest issue with the rebuild is the plan and vision. Bluc has done a terrible job of outlining their vision for the team, what kind of style and how the players they are drafting and developing fit that vision.

Blake on Muzzin trade:



The bolded was repeated by Luc in a letter to the fans that the goal was to have a top farm system, as if to show that the front office is making progress and meeting goals. Not a specific plan or vision when pressed on it.

Never mind the previous year he was running around saying they are contending signing Kovy and making a run at Max.

You’ve framed “building a top farm system” as not being a plan or not having a vision, but it sounds like it is to me.

What’s the plan? Acquire the best young players in hockey.

What would you prefer they say or do?

 

[damacles1156]

My only problem with Blake is I still don't know how he wants this current Kings roster to form into or how they are going to play. Just saying Speed/Skill over and over doesn't tell me anything. EVERY team in the NHL wants speed/skill in the lineup.

What is Blake's vision of how this franchise top/down is going to play, what values are going to be instilled in the players you draft and develop? Basically what does "Kings Hockey" Mean.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Hey guys. Habs fan here coming to ask you guys for some scouting reports on Kovalchuk after he signed with Montreal moments ago.

We know he's not what he once was. But curious to get some info on the folks who watched him much closer than we have.

Thanks!

 

[Bandit]

He signed with Montreal? So much for signing with a contender.

 

[raswilliam]

Hey guys. Habs fan here coming to ask you guys for some scouting reports on Kovalchuk after he signed with Montreal moments ago.

We know he's not what he once was. But curious to get some info on the folks who watched him much closer than we have.

Thanks!

Do not letl Kovi get caught out on the ice on the road after the home team gets the last change.

 

[SFKingshomer]

Kovalchuk must really want to stay in the NHL to agree with such a low cost on a team that isn't very good, and a 2 way contract to boot.

 

[Adam Michaels]

He signed with Montreal? So much for signing with a contender.

Yea. We were not to expecting that when the rumors that the likes of Bruins were interested.

Apparently, the deal came rather quickly over the last few days.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

Canadian media is going to DESTROY him