Who sticks?

[LAKings88]

Lucic Kopi Gabby
Pearson Carter Toffoli
King Weal(due to contract) Brown
Clifford Lewis Nolan
Andreoff

Doughty Muzzin
McNabb Erhoff
Martinez Greene
Forbort

 

[DSuttersface]

What do people rate Andy's chances of being claimed if we waved him are?
I feel like I am missing something with the worry? I don't think it would happen. Just throwing a number 15%
Real low pay sure... but have their not been others available who are similarly cheap and will also not ruin everything?
I'm bad at these stat sites. I guess he is near league minimum, and that's always nice, and with much of any upside and 2 years on contract he does have some time to grow... But he is not young.
Does anyone really want him?

I would think there is a good chance he gets claimed. He could add some value to many teams in the west. I don't think it's worth the risk as this point. I would let Mersch go back down to AHL and let me develop some more. It's a tough decision for sure.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

It's just nice to know we have the depth when inevitable injuries hit. We want these guys on the roster, but they won't fit, and they have to marinate some more? Perfect. God forbid we end up with 3-4 forward injuries but being able to THEN call up Mersch and O'Neill is a good thing.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Mersch has earned a chance, but where is he going to play? That's the only thing with him. Just too many wingers on the team already. Won't be on the top 2 lines. King and Clifford are Sutter guys. Brown, Nolan, Lewis will be on the right side. I imagine he'll start with Ontario.

Same with Shore, although it's easier to make a case for him to be a King. Would O'Neill get claimed if they kept Shore? AHL MVP last year. Cheap. If he got claimed, I doubt it would cripple the Kings or anything, but you also don't want to lose a guy if you don't have to. Either way with that one.

I think Weal and Andreoff are on the team.

Schultz, McBain, Forbort? If Forbort is ahead of McNabb, then keep him. If he's not, send him down. Schultz or McBain? No great loss either way if they were picked up. If only you could combine the two into one guy. McBain makes less than Schultz, but Schultz might be more of a Sutter guy. 7th d-man, go either way.

.01% chance of getting claimed. He's a small 27 year old forward with 0 NHL games played. No one is going to be taking a chance on a guy like that over guys they have in their system already, even if he might be better.

 

[cyclones22]

I would love to see Forbort and Mersch stay, but unless they're getting regular shifts, it doesn't make sense to keep them up. Playing big minutes on the first line/first pairing in Ontario would benefit them both more than being in the press box. They can still take steps in development and progress even more. Based on performance alone, I think they both were among the top 20 players in camp. But unfortunately that's not the overriding factor on who stays and who goes back down.

 

[kingsboy11]

I don't see Mersch or Forbort staying with the team. Both of them will get called up at some point this season. And thankfully our AHL team is actually within driving distance, so we'll probably see them called up more often. I see Weal, Shore, Andreoff and Mcbain staying.

 

[HookKing]

I don't see Mersch or Forbort staying with the team. Both of them will get called up at some point this season. And thankfully our AHL team is actually within driving distance, so we'll probably see them called up more often. I see Weal, Shore, Andreoff and Mcbain staying.

The only thing Forbort has left to prove is playing against NHL players, he won't get that in Ontario, he stays.

 

[kingsboy11]

The only thing Forbort has left to prove is playing against NHL players, he won't get that in Ontario, he stays.

How many games will he play? He'll be healthy scratch for the majority of the year just like Andreoff last year. Let Forbort dominate the AHL and give him a few call ups when injuries occur.

 

[KingsOfCali25]

Not what I think should happen but it's most likely going to be Weal, Shore, Andreoff and Schultz. I think Mersch and Forbort should make it over Andreoff and Schultz.

Lucic--Kopitar--Gaborik
Pearson--Carter--Toffoli
King--Shore--Brown
Clifford--Lewis--Weal
Nolan, Andreoff

Muzzin--Doughty
McNabb--Ehrhoff
Schultz--Martinez
Greene(Injured)

Quick
Enroth

 

[HYORI 1963]

Weal's not playing 4RW.

 

[HookKing]

How many games will he play? He'll be healthy scratch for the majority of the year just like Andreoff last year. Let Forbort dominate the AHL and give him a few call ups when injuries occur.

Let's see how he does first, if he isn't any better than Greene, McNabb etc. and Sutter won't play him then fine, send him back down. I think the Kings will need a lot more upside from the bottom 4 and they ain't getting it from McBain or Schultz. No one is going to claim McBain or Schultz. He has nothing more to gain in the AHL, he needs time against stronger, faster players.

 

[kingsfan]

Forbort will play. The Kings don't bring their kids up until they can play regularly, Super Andy not included, and I suspect that's because they don't view him as anything more than a depth forward anyway.

 

[kingsboy11]

Let's see how he does first, if he isn't any better than Greene, McNabb etc. and Sutter won't play him then fine, send him back down. I think the Kings will need a lot more upside from the bottom 4 and they ain't getting it from McBain or Schultz. No one is going to claim McBain or Schultz. He has nothing more to gain in the AHL, he needs time against stronger, faster players.

I'd rather have him play top line minutes in the AHL rather than being the 7th d-man and playing a handful of games. And the reason why I think McBain stays up is because outside of Doughty and Ehrhoff, we don't have any other puck moving defensemen now that Miller is gone.

 

[HookKing]

I'd rather have him play top line minutes in the AHL rather than being the 7th d-man and playing a handful of games. And the reason why I think McBain stays up is because outside of Doughty and Ehrhoff, we don't have any other puck moving defensemen now that Miller is gone.

That's the safe play and the wrong one. The Kings need Forbort to step up big time. Does anybody really think a D of Doughty, Muzzin, Ehrhoff, McNabb, Martinez, Greene and McBain/Schultz can beat Anaheim? The only way Forbort should go down is if DL has a top 4 D coming in via trade. That is highly unlikely. I cannot believe how many posters think McNabb can play top 4, he's barely bottom pair.

The thing I love about Forbort is he makes plays. That is why he's still up and Gravel was sent down early. Sure he will be the second coming of Muzz but that didn't turn out so badly.

 

[Trolfoli]

That's the safe play and the wrong one. The Kings need Forbort to step up big time. Does anybody really think a D of Doughty, Muzzin, Ehrhoff, McNabb, Martinez, Greene and McBain/Schultz can beat Anaheim? The only way Forbort should go down is if DL has a top 4 D coming in via trade. That is highly unlikely. I cannot believe how many posters think McNabb can play top 4, he's barely bottom pair.

The thing I love about Forbort is he makes plays. That is why he's still up and Gravel was sent down early. Sure he will be the second coming of Muzz but that didn't turn out so badly.

Muzzin's brain farts, past and future, have immunized me to McNabb on the second pair. McNabb makes 650K... it would be nice to upgrade that position, but the Kings are seem to have their cap space tied up in other players and are only spending 2.1M on the second pairing.

 

[HookKing]

Muzzin's brain farts, past and future, have immunized me to McNabb on the second pair. McNabb makes 650K... it would be nice to upgrade that position, but the Kings are seem to have their cap space tied up in other players and are only spending 2.1M on the second pairing.

Except Muzzin had the offense to counteract his D zone mistakes. McNabb doesn't. The Kings need to find out ASAP what they have in Forbort. Otherwise, everyone here will be crying in their beer when (build from the back out) Lombardi gets bent over trading Kempe/Toffoli/Pearson plus etc for a midling middle pair D man.

 

[kingsboy11]

That's the safe play and the wrong one. The Kings need Forbort to step up big time. Does anybody really think a D of Doughty, Muzzin, Ehrhoff, McNabb, Martinez, Greene and McBain/Schultz can beat Anaheim? The only way Forbort should go down is if DL has a top 4 D coming in via trade. That is highly unlikely. I cannot believe how many posters think McNabb can play top 4, he's barely bottom pair.

The thing I love about Forbort is he makes plays. That is why he's still up and Gravel was sent down early. Sure he will be the second coming of Muzz but that didn't turn out so badly.

Prospects earn their spots in our system.We can't just give a guy a spot in hopes that he can jump right in and succeed. Only exceptions were Muzzin and McNabb because of waivers and injuries. Now if Muzzin and Greene aren't ready by Wednesday, then yes, I think he makes the team. That being said, they're only listed as day to day and both should be ready by then.

Injuries will happen this year. Greene could regress. But there's no reason to force Forbort into a situation where we don't need him yet. If Forbort does come in when injuries occur and does well and deserves to keep his job, then the kings will make room for him. Look at Voynov when he came up.

 

[HookKing]

Prospects earn their spots in our system.We can't just give a guy a spot in hopes that he can jump right in and succeed. Only exceptions were Muzzin and McNabb because of waivers and injuries. Now if Muzzin and Greene aren't ready by Wednesday, then yes, I think he makes the team. That being said, they're only listed as day to day and both should be ready by then.

Injuries will happen this year. Greene could regress. But there's no reason to force Forbort into a situation where we don't need him yet. If Forbort does come in when injuries occur and does well and deserves to keep his job, then the kings will make room for him. Look at Voynov when he came up.

Forbort has earned a spot.

 

[cyclones22]

Just about every traditional and advanced stat showed McNabb was our third best defenseman last season. Shocking isn't it?

 

[HookKing]

Just about every traditional and advanced stat showed McNabb was our third best defenseman last season. Shocking isn't it?

Not really, but it does explain why there were no playoffs last year.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Nope. McNabb got progressively better in his "third NHL season."

 

[kingsboy11]

Forbort has earned a spot.

I don't think he has proven enough to show he is better than what we have yet.

 

[HookKing]

I don't think he has proven enough to show he is better than what we have yet.

You're entitled to your opinion of course. But, from what I've seen he's miles better than McBain, clearly outplayed Schultz and looked much better than McNabb. Veteran regulars of course get a pass so the comparisons to McBain and Schultz are all that matter.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

No, as much as I'm skeptical about what I've seen from him this season, McNabb was objectively VERY good last season, by every metric and even by the eye test, ESPECIALLY considering he was tossed right into the fire of a craptacular season. He SHOULD be a good 2nd pairing dman, not just serviceable; the org has great faith in him as they did in Muzzin. I'm worried about him taking a step back, sure, but let's not minimize what he did as if he was one of last year's problems. He was one of the bright spots.

Edit: last year he was second only to Muzzin in CF%, 4th on the entire team in GF%, the best GA/60 of all regular defensemen on the team, all while in and out of the lineup, in a new system, with a partner-go-round. And that's just a cursory glance. All of this last year is why I've expected more this year. And as far as why 'that explains no playoffs,' his metrics were good enough to be a #2 defenseman on just about every other team in the league.

 

[bob77]

You're entitled to your opinion of course. But, from what I've seen he's miles better than McBain, clearly outplayed Schultz and looked much better than McNabb. Veteran regulars of course get a pass so the comparisons to McBain and Schultz are all that matter.

I agree. Forbort has paid his dues. He's just stuck on waivers. If he had to clear waivers, we wouldn't be even having this discussion. My big concern is watching the D scramble around in our own end again like last year. After watching him play all year in Manchester last year, he really grows on you. He simply gets the play going the other direction, which might not seem like much, but when a team lacks that at times, it can be rather valuable. Even though he's yet to play one NHL game, they will miss him in the lineup. I really thought he played well with Doughty and wouldn't be against seeing more of that. It could free up Muzzin to be on a second pairing with someone. It would balance the units out more.