Confirmed with Link: What to do With Iafallo / Update: Iafallo re-signed 4 years, 16 million

[unicornpig]

I bet he costs more than 3-3.5

career high is 43 points, thats while attached to kopitars hip. combined with a flat cap for next few years i doubt he does.

 

[Kurrilino]

Some people here need a reality check

We signed an undrafted player straight out of the NCAA for free, He slotted onto first line wing straight out of camp to play with Kopitar and Brown who both had career years that year. In 3 years hes progressed to a reliable 50pt 1LW whos 4th on the team in scoring as we speak, plays PP & PK and is defensively reliable. And all that for a future contract in the 4M range?

Some people here will never be happy unless he dekes his way through 7 players on every goal then drops off their grandmas shopping on the way home from the rink.

Getting him for free is irrelevant.
The fact that he makes the 1st line out of camp with a career high of 43 points playing top line minutes beside an elite center
doesn't show how good he is, it shows in what poor shape the Kings are.
All teams who pay 4-5 million for a player like Iafallo have one thing in common, they don't win the cup and are in cap hell.

Just look at the recent Cup winners and see what reality looks like
Tampa: 1st line winger Kucherov, 33 goals 52 assists
St Louis: 1st line winger Tarasenko, 33 goals 35 assists
Washington: 1st line winger Ovechkin, 49 Goals 38 assists

Pay him 3 mill and play him 3rd line and PK.
If he doesn't like that, so be it and trade him at the deadline

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Getting him for free is irrelevant.
The fact that he makes the 1st line out of camp with a career high of 43 points playing top line minutes beside an elite center
doesn't show how good he is, it shows in what poor shape the Kings are.
All teams who pay 4-5 million for a player like Iafallo have one thing in common, they don't win the cup and are in cap hell.

Just look at the recent Cup winners and see what reality looks like
Tampa: 1st line winger Kucherov, 33 goals 52 assists
St Louis: 1st line winger Tarasenko, 33 goals 35 assists
Washington: 1st line winger Ovechkin, 49 Goals 38 assists

Pay him 3 mill and play him 3rd line and PK.
If he doesn't like that, so be it and trade him at the deadline

Washington's other top six Wingers--TJ Oshie 47 pts, Tom Wilson 35 pts, mishmash of other guys with no more than 27 points (Vrana, Connolly)
ST. Louis other top six wingers--Perron 46 pts, Schwartz 36 points, no other forwards with more than 33
TBL's other top six wingers--Killorn, Cirelli, Palat, all in the 40s, no other forward more than 31

That's what reality looks like for sure. Thanks for helping illustrate that Iafallo is a FINE top line winger, and that the upgrade needs to come from elsewhere.

Edit: I'll let you check the contracts on those guys on your own, but you're not gonna be happy about the result.

 

[Schmooley]

Washington's other top six Wingers--TJ Oshie 47 pts, Tom Wilson 35 pts, mishmash of other guys with no more than 27 points (Vrana, Connolly)
ST. Louis other top six wingers--Perron 46 pts, Schwartz 36 points, no other forwards with more than 33
TBL's other top six wingers--Killorn, Cirelli, Palat, all in the 40s, no other forward more than 31

That's what reality looks like for sure. Thanks for helping illustrate that Iafallo is a FINE top line winger, and that the upgrade needs to come from elsewhere.

I think all those players you mentioned are better than Iafallo besides Connolly. Points aside, Iafallo doesnt have much of an impact. The most noticeable thing he does is kill penalties. Really hoping there are better options in the system for the first line. If not then they are in trouble its not Iafallos fault.
I just want to know if you think hes having a good season?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I think all those players you mentioned are better than Iafallo besides Connolly. Points aside, Iafallo doesnt have much of an impact. The most noticeable thing he does is kill penalties. Really hoping there are better options in the system for the first line. If not then they are in trouble its not Iafallos fault.
I just want to know if you think hes having a good season?

That's fine, I don't care to argue the finer details on 'overall game' there because it's pretty clear that those who don't want Iafallo on our top line 1. don't care about the many many posts of made about perspectives on production and 2. if you aren't going to see literal FACTS on 1, then you're not going to want to discuss the intangibles and other aspects of his game anyway.

I think Iafallo is having a fine season, he's still right on target for 20g 50p despite the recent power outage. If it were Kopitar-Kucherov-Iafallo, no one would be complaining about Iafallo, is my point, and the rush to trade him will just find out lacking options next to Kopitar for the umpteenth year in a row until someone can replace him. If anything , the 'problem' right now is Brown.

 

[unicornpig]

Washington's other top six Wingers--TJ Oshie 47 pts, Tom Wilson 35 pts, mishmash of other guys with no more than 27 points (Vrana, Connolly)
ST. Louis other top six wingers--Perron 46 pts, Schwartz 36 points, no other forwards with more than 33
TBL's other top six wingers--Killorn, Cirelli, Palat, all in the 40s, no other forward more than 31

That's what reality looks like for sure. Thanks for helping illustrate that Iafallo is a FINE top line winger, and that the upgrade needs to come from elsewhere.

Edit: I'll let you check the contracts on those guys on your own, but you're not gonna be happy about the result.

This is a terrible argument that iafallo is a top line winger

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

This is a terrible argument that iafallo is a top line winger

--he produces like many other top-line wingers, in actual results, scoring pace, and rankings in the standings;
--he plays big minutes in all situations with our 1C when many others can't;
--he has some of the best advanced stats on the team.

Really everytime someone tries to make an argument that he's not a good top six player, as above, it ends up blowing up in their face with more evidence that he is.

Curious what your case is that he's not? Other than "he doesn't look like it." Not every top six is full of Kucherovs, my point was EVERY team has Tanner Pearson complementary types in their top six and that Iafallo is actually amongst the better of them.

 

[kings11]

--he produces like many other top-line wingers, in actual results, scoring pace, and rankings in the standings;
--he plays big minutes in all situations with our 1C when many others can't;
--he has some of the best advanced stats on the team.

Really everytime someone tries to make an argument that he's not a good top six player, as above, it ends up blowing up in their face with more evidence that he is.

Curious what your case is that he's not? Other than "he doesn't look like it." Not every top six is full of Kucherovs, my point was EVERY team has Tanner Pearson complementary types in their top six and that Iafallo is actually amongst the better of them.

To me it'll always come down cost, if he costs what a few on here say which is $4.5-$5 per X term. then i'd look to move him. I see him as a temporary top 6 player that will be moved down the lineup within the next 2 seasons once the kids get their seasoning in the AHL. Then it becomes, why do we have a $4-$5 mill per player on our bottom 6, unless you guys think he'll have the same impact minus Kopitar(see Brownie for likely results). Now, i'm not saying trade him for the sake of moving him. My thing is that I know he has value to a contender and that they would overpay for him.. maybe a young, dynamic Dman under 25YO could be had... just saying

 

[Schmooley]

Hes tied at 30th for left wingers and 57th for all wingers in points. Bottom of the leagues first liners and representative of the Kings in the standings.

 

[Kurrilino]

Washington's other top six Wingers--TJ Oshie 47 pts, Tom Wilson 35 pts, mishmash of other guys with no more than 27 points (Vrana, Connolly)
ST. Louis other top six wingers--Perron 46 pts, Schwartz 36 points, no other forwards with more than 33
TBL's other top six wingers--Killorn, Cirelli, Palat, all in the 40s, no other forward more than 31

That's what reality looks like for sure. Thanks for helping illustrate that Iafallo is a FINE top line winger, and that the upgrade needs to come from elsewhere.

Edit: I'll let you check the contracts on those guys on your own, but you're not gonna be happy about the result.

uhmm... great and all but there is a problem.
Iafallo plays top 3 not top 6. Comparing him to 2nd line wingers or finding players who are worse than him is not helping at all.
If your top line winger isn't scoring goals, you are in trouble. Doesn't matter what team or league.

I also look at it another way like someone else posted already. Teams with bad wingers are bottom of the league.
Teams with goal scoring wingers are top of the league. We can keep telling our self that we have fine top line wingers but reallity shows we are bottom of the league. Most reason for that is not getting lot's of goals against us, it is that we are not scoring any goals.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

uhmm... great and all but there is a problem.
Iafallo plays top 3 not top 6. Comparing him to 2nd line wingers or finding players who are worse than him is not helping at all.
If your top line winger isn't scoring goals, you are in trouble. Doesn't matter what team or league.

I also look at it another way like someone else posted already. Teams with bad wingers are bottom of the league.
Teams with goal scoring wingers are top of the league. We can keep telling our self that we have fine top line wingers but reallity shows we are bottom of the league. Most reason for that is not getting lot's of goals against us, it is that we are not scoring any goals.

I did that because on most other teams they rotate their top six more frequently than we do, that's for sure; it was only a matter of time before the complaint changed to "well Oshie isn't REALLY a top 3 winger" so was just preemptively addressing that concern by showing that on each team the next five wingers were actually lower than Iafallo, MUCH lower in many cases.

And it shows--Iafallo is not a 'bad' winger. He's a top-liner by production. The problem that you illustrate is not Iafallo; it's additional elite talent. Instead of blaming Iafallo for not being Ovechkin, we should be looking elsewhere. If Iafallo weren't there, we'd be in even MORE pain.

To me it'll always come down cost, if he costs what a few on here say which is $4.5-$5 per X term. then i'd look to move him. I see him as a temporary top 6 player that will be moved down the lineup within the next 2 seasons once the kids get their seasoning in the AHL. Then it becomes, why do we have a $4-$5 mill per player on our bottom 6, unless you guys think he'll have the same impact minus Kopitar(see Brownie for likely results). Now, i'm not saying trade him for the sake of moving him. My thing is that I know he has value to a contender and that they would overpay for him.. maybe a young, dynamic Dman under 25YO could be had... just saying

I think the question earlier on in the thread was 'who replaces him' and for this season later on I'd say Turcotte. I agree it's only a matter of time before he gets pushed down, but the amount of time is the question. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in softer matchups, I do think he compares favorably to Killorn in TB.

If he weren't surgically attached to Kopitar by TMac since we don't have any other options I'd love to see what he could do with Vilardi.

 

[kings11]

I did that because on most other teams they rotate their top six more frequently than we do, that's for sure; it was only a matter of time before the complaint changed to "well Oshie isn't REALLY a top 3 winger" so was just preemptively addressing that concern by showing that on each team the next five wingers were actually lower than Iafallo, MUCH lower in many cases.

And it shows--Iafallo is not a 'bad' winger. He's a top-liner by production. The problem that you illustrate is not Iafallo; it's additional elite talent. Instead of blaming Iafallo for not being Ovechkin, we should be looking elsewhere. If Iafallo weren't there, we'd be in even MORE pain.




I think the question earlier on in the thread was 'who replaces him' and for this season later on I'd say Turcotte. I agree it's only a matter of time before he gets pushed down, but the amount of time is the question. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in softer matchups, I do think he compares favorably to Killorn in TB.

If he weren't surgically attached to Kopitar by TMac since we don't have any other options I'd love to see what he could do with Vilardi.

I'd love to see Vilardi with Kopi at least once this season, I think while they'd be slow they would also comtrol the puck like no ones business.. But to your point, I think Turcotte is that super skilled, gritty, edgy A-hole player that would thrive with Kopiatr and vice versa. I could see Brad Marchand type production from Turcotte

 

[Schmooley]

I did that because on most other teams they rotate their top six more frequently than we do, that's for sure; it was only a matter of time before the complaint changed to "well Oshie isn't REALLY a top 3 winger" so was just preemptively addressing that concern by showing that on each team the next five wingers were actually lower than Iafallo, MUCH lower in many cases.

And it shows--Iafallo is not a 'bad' winger. He's a top-liner by production. The problem that you illustrate is not Iafallo; it's additional elite talent. Instead of blaming Iafallo for not being Ovechkin, we should be looking elsewhere. If Iafallo weren't there, we'd be in even MORE pain.




I think the question earlier on in the thread was 'who replaces him' and for this season later on I'd say Turcotte. I agree it's only a matter of time before he gets pushed down, but the amount of time is the question. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in softer matchups, I do think he compares favorably to Killorn in TB.

If he weren't surgically attached to Kopitar by TMac since we don't have any other options I'd love to see what he could do with Vilardi.

I agree with you mostly. They should be adding elite players and not subtracting good players. Id keep Iafallo unless someone offers a huge package this deadline but I dont see that happening.
I just dont get why he gets a pass to play mediocre. Vilardi gets flack and is a rookie that started hot and is obviously being groomed to play a 200 foot game and work on things like supporting his defensemen below his goal line at the expense of offensive production. While playing against top competition on a line with an emotionless Jeff Carter.
Iafallo is being talked about on the broadcast as a core player and is on the top line with Kopitar, first power play, and when the goalie is pulled. He hasnt come through yet to be a difference maker when it counts. Hes not a setup man or a shooter and isnt that chippy this year. They should be careful about paying him so much because of the player he is and his contribution to winning games.

 

[Kurrilino]

I did that because on most other teams they rotate their top six more frequently than we do, that's for sure; it was only a matter of time before the complaint changed to "well Oshie isn't REALLY a top 3 winger" so was just preemptively addressing that concern by showing that on each team the next five wingers were actually lower than Iafallo, MUCH lower in many cases.

And it shows--Iafallo is not a 'bad' winger. He's a top-liner by production. The problem that you illustrate is not Iafallo; it's additional elite talent. Instead of blaming Iafallo for not being Ovechkin, we should be looking elsewhere. If Iafallo weren't there, we'd be in even MORE pain.

I would totally agree with that statement if Iafallo would be handled as what you propose.
It will come down to what Iafallo will be asking for. If it's in the 2.5-3 mill range i would be fine and move him to the 3rd line and PK.
As soon as he is asking top line money in the 4+million range i would trade him instantly.

But as you already mentioned. The problem is not Iafallo as a player.
It is that someone like Iafallo has to play top winger.
Our top line players got 1 goal each in the last 10 games
If we can't get any better winger who click with a little bit more offensive and speedy style, we will stay at the bottom for a long time.
Kaliyev and Fagemo actually don't look too bad. I would give each of them a try for a couple of games beside Kopitar
and see what happens. It can't get any worse

 

[Mats26]

I am a fan of Iaffallo and if the price is sub 4 million for 3-4 years I am ok with that. He will eventually move down a line or 2 by the tail end of his contract but will still be serviceable because of his 2 way play. If he gets moved in a package for a better bigger scoring winger, or a LHD, both of which fits our core age group, I have no issues there. I just hope we don't lose him for nothing this summer.

My issue currently is the line blender that we have going on, we need stability.
We also have 7 top forward prospects already playing Pro hockey in NA.
Kupari-Byfield-Turcotte-Fagemo-Thomas-Madden-Kaliyev. (+ Bulat soon). They all need a shot on the Kings within 12 months. We will need to eventually move some forwards from the roster.

 

[Visnovsky]

I'd push for LW prospect Rodion Amirov, a former 1st rounder from 2020. I'd also give the Leafs our 3rd round 2021 pick. So Iafallo + 2021 3rd for Amirov. Close?

And this is especially true if the Kings can't sign IA for an unlimited term (3-8 yrs) at 4M per.

Late first or Sandin is fine with me.

Only Sandin

There's a big gap between Amirov, Sandin and our first this year. If 2021 1st round pick would do the trick, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger - if Kings would be adamant on the price being Amirov or Sandin, I probably would not pull the trigger and would look for a cheaper option (around our first). Appreciate the replies though.

 

[Kurrilino]

There's a big gap between Amirov, Sandin and our first this year. If 2021 1st round pick would do the trick, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger - if Kings would be adamant on the price being Amirov or Sandin, I probably would not pull the trigger and would look for a cheaper option (around our first). Appreciate the replies though.

I would also prefer the 1st rounder deal. Let do paperwork

 

[verbalkint47]

Other than "he doesn't look like it." Not every top six is full of Kucherovs, my point was EVERY team has Tanner Pearson complementary types in their top six and that Iafallo is actually amongst the better of them.

I think some fans have unrealistic and outdated expectations in the salary cap era. It's not the 80's anymore.. How many teams have three 80-90 point players on their top line? Maybe 5 in the entire league? And of those, who has the depth and cap space to have three 60 point players on their 2nd line. Tampa Bay maybe?

The Leafs have Hyman on their top line, the Bruins play Craig Smith in the top 6. Every team has "traditional 3rd line or middle 6" guys that play on the top 2 lines. It's partly because of the salary cap, but also you need players with different skill sets on a line. Unless your players are dominant like Tampa you need a mix. Playmaker, scorer, and a puck hound.

I get that people clamor for Palffy or prime Gaborik on the top line, but I think Iafallo does just fine in his role. He isn't the reason for our struggles. We have no 2nd line and half of our already thin and inexperienced defense is out injured.

 

[Schmooley]

I think some fans have unrealistic and outdated expectations in the salary cap era. It's not the 80's anymore.. How many teams have three 80-90 point players on their top line? Maybe 5 in the entire league? And of those, who has the depth and cap space to have three 60 point players on their 2nd line. Tampa Bay maybe?

The Leafs have Hyman on their top line, the Bruins play Craig Smith in the top 6. Every team has "traditional 3rd line or middle 6" guys that play on the top 2 lines. It's partly because of the salary cap, but also you need players with different skill sets on a line. Unless your players are dominant like Tampa you need a mix. Playmaker, scorer, and a puck hound.

I get that people clamor for Palffy or prime Gaborik on the top line, but I think Iafallo does just fine in his role. He isn't the reason for our struggles. We have no 2nd line and half of our already thin and inexperienced defense is out injured.

I think its more that people like myself dont think he should get 5 million+ on his next contract. And when hes not playing well he should be held accountable like other players that get moved around the lineup. He gets a ton of opportunities and when hes not producing he should get moved off the powerplay and extra man situations at the end of games when hes not contributing. Otherwise yea he is absolutely not the problem with the Kings.
Also these examples arent that good. Hyman is more of an impactful player and Smith is worse but also on a second line that gets heavily criticized for not producing on what people call a one line team. Smith isnt stapled to Kopitar on a first line and every power play.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

I would totally agree with that statement if Iafallo would be handled as what you propose.
It will come down to what Iafallo will be asking for. If it's in the 2.5-3 mill range i would be fine and move him to the 3rd line and PK.
As soon as he is asking top line money in the 4+million range i would trade him instantly.

But as you already mentioned. The problem is not Iafallo as a player.
It is that someone like Iafallo has to play top winger.
Our top line players got 1 goal each in the last 10 games
If we can't get any better winger who click with a little bit more offensive and speedy style, we will stay at the bottom for a long time.
Kaliyev and Fagemo actually don't look too bad. I would give each of them a try for a couple of games beside Kopitar
and see what happens. It can't get any worse

I don't Yafallo at any price he's a 3rd liner and drags Kopi down! Yafallo has ridden the coattails like Dusty! I'd trade his ass to Buffalo along with Vilardi who's no 2nd line Centre for Buffalo's 2nd rounder this year and 1st rounder next year

 

[verbalkint47]

I think its more that people like myself dont think he should get 5 million+ on his next contract. And when hes not playing well he should be held accountable like other players that get moved around the lineup. He gets a ton of opportunities and when hes not producing he should get moved off the powerplay and extra man situations at the end of games when hes not contributing. Otherwise yea he is absolutely not the problem with the Kings.
Also these examples arent that good. Hyman is more of an impactful player and Smith is worse but also on a second line that gets heavily criticized for not producing on what people call a one line team. Smith isnt stapled to Kopitar on a first line and every power play.

I definitely agree with your first sentence, $5 mil/yr is too much. As far as accountability, T-Mac keeps playing him. This tells me he either doesn't see an issue or doesn't trust that anyone else on the roster would do better. That's not really an Iafallo issue.

As for the examples, I was more just showing that even top heavy teams use traditional 3rd line and middle 6 guys in their top 6. But your point about Iafallo being stapled to Kopitar, unlike the examples I provided, is fair. I've seen people refer to Iafallo as Kopitar's Pascal Dupuis. Seems fairly accurate but Kopitar likes playing with and they work together. If you can resign him to a decent rate, just keep him with Kopitar as they slide down from top line to 3rd line over the next 4 years. It wont cause cap problems.

 

[ibleedkings]

I don't Yafallo at any price he's a 3rd liner and drags Kopi down! Yafallo has ridden the coattails like Dusty! I'd trade his ass to Buffalo along with Vilardi who's no 2nd line Centre for Buffalo's 2nd rounder this year and 1st rounder next year

You wonder why people put you on ignore lol

 

[YP44]

I don't Yafallo at any price he's a 3rd liner and drags Kopi down! Yafallo has ridden the coattails like Dusty! I'd trade his ass to Buffalo along with Vilardi who's no 2nd line Centre for Buffalo's 2nd rounder this year and 1st rounder next year

I was overlooking the typo on the name as I was unsure if it was some joke that went over my head, but you lost me at "ridden this coattails like Dusty". Brown has played the most games in franchise history and is a saint.

I am team pro Vilardi but if Buffalo was willing to deal their 2022 first unprotected I would have to think about it.

 

[Eagle Fang]

I don't Yafallo at any price he's a 3rd liner and drags Kopi down! Yafallo has ridden the coattails like Dusty! I'd trade his ass to Buffalo along with Vilardi who's no 2nd line Centre for Buffalo's 2nd rounder this year and 1st rounder next year

He's struggled in the last stretch of games for sure, but that's a bit premature. Every young player goes through down patches... heck, even great players do. People LOL at Kopitar's annual January/February slumps.

Vilardi has played 47 NHL games with a .47 ppg. That's right around 40pts in a 82-game season. If he had 40 pts in his rookie NHL season, I think a lot of people would be excited about his future.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

He's struggled in the last stretch of games for sure, but that's a bit premature. Every young player goes through down patches... heck, even great players do. People LOL at Kopitar's annual January/February slumps.

Vilardi has played 47 NHL games with a .47 ppg. That's right around 40pts in a 82-game season. If he had 40 pts in his rookie NHL season, I think a lot of people would be excited about his future.

People are unstoppably drooling over Stutzle and he's on pace for 45.