2018-19 Off Season Thread

[PuckinUgly57]

ya not sure how I feel about that signing. I know many here like him but IMO he doesn't really hustle or do much unless he is in the offensive zone. Sure we need scoring but I like players that help prevent scoring as well.

I like it - Kovalchuk is not like the other Russian floaters we like to refer to, he back checks, hits and hustles and he is nasty too. He won't put up with nonsense, which I feel has been lost a little in LA the last few years with the departure of certain personalities like Richards, Regehr, Mitchell, etc.

The $6.25 million is right around where I tagged him, I kind of thought the $5 million was too little from Boston. Blake is not done yet and just addressed a huge hole without giving up a single asset.

The drawback is that it'll be a 35+ contract so if he pulls another 2013 the Kings are on the hook for his salary; I'm sure that has been addressed by both he and Blake. Otherwise, a great start to addressing needs for 2018-19.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

This site name is cracking me up.

Los Angeles Kings sign Ilya Kovalchuk to three-year contract

Russian Machine Never Breaks

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Reminds me of that Ovechkin speech at their parade. He said he told the team last year. "We're not going to be fucking suck anymore. We're going to win Stanley Cup"

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I understand shedding salary. But instead trading Carter for a winger, why not just move him back to RW? Assuming Kempe and Valardi are the 2, 3 Centers?

It's about getting younger mainly, keep in mind moving Carter and acquiring Pacioretty actually increases salary because Paicoretty would be acquired for the long haul, not a 1 year rental. I would assume they would add about $2-3 million with Pacioretty.

I'm not sure what the overall fascination (not you specifically) is with Vilardi and assuming he is a lock for the team. He seriously needs ot blow the staff away to stay in LA and I think that puts a lot of unfair expectations on the kid from what I have seen all over the web with Kings fans.

Yes he is talented, yes he had a great Juniors season. But he is still only 18, he is not eligible for the AHL and there are a lot of veteran players on this team who have better chances to lock down spots than he does. That is the hard reality of the situation no matter what pipe dream Kings fans are living in. There simply is no rush or need to get this guy to LA barring a major wow factor or spots opening up by losing some players.

Assuming Carter is not traded, the only spot he really has is the 3C, in which (in my opinion) Amadio is his only competition. Even then Amadio has the leg up, after being shuffled between ONtario and LA a few times he was permanently recalled in January and stayed on the roster through the end of the season. Between October and December he was averaging about 8 minutes when he was up in LA (he was recalled right after Carter was injured) and then from January to the end of the POs he was averaging close to 13 minutes a game even with Carter back. My point: his game improved in Ontario and he started to gain the trust of the staff.

He was used mainly in defensive zone deployment, which is a clear cut signal that Stevens likes what he saw and that he is being groomed for that Stoll position. He has better hands and skill than Stoll but isn't as physical, which is OK because the game is moving that way anyway, but this is the guy Vilardi will need to beat out because he won't beat Kopitar, Carter or Thompson out of a spot (Thompson by default - it would be a terrible idea to put Vilardi as the C4 to start his career).

Moving Carter to RW means Kempe as the C2, and you know my stance on that - Kempe sucks as a center on the offensive side. He should stay at LW, keep Carter at C2 unless he is moved, and trade Toffoli for a better, more dynamic RW.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Kings we're not that far off from beating Vegas. Lost 2 games 1-0 and another in double OT (Mostly because of Quick, but still...). And scoring could have made a difference.

Scoring was the only difference in that series, the "old slow" Kings shut them down better than any team did, even the Caps, but whiffed on their chances.

One Hit Wonder Karlsson was reduced to a 9% shot percentage, lowest of all 4 of their series, and back to his career norm instead of the super inflated 24% throughout the year for example. Kopitar shooting over Fleury's glove, clearly beaten, in OT or Toffoli hesitating looking for a better shot/trying to be showboat fancy on a wide open net were two difference makers in the series and made Fleury look better than he really was. Brown too, wide open net and he chips it over although the puck was rolling on him.

Two hundred percent chance Kovalchuk probably buries both of those, potentially altering the series.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Tavares to meet with 5 teams prior to July 1 free agency date:

Tavares to meet with five teams ahead of free agency - Article - TSN

I'm almost positive he will resign with the Islanders but this should definitely scare the shit out of them. I would be pretty pissed if I were him, being there that long, being that good and having incompetent management around me not giving us the tools we need to successful.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Haha, Brodzinski needs a new number. No guarantee he will make the team anyway although I think he should.

 

[davnlaguna]

Are they inferring the Kings are old



And girls?

 

[PuckinUgly57]

The Golden Girls were ball busters. I actually approve of this Tweet.

=)~~

 

[Kings4OT]

I like it - Kovalchuk is not like the other Russian floaters we like to refer to, he back checks, hits and hustles and he is nasty too. He won't put up with nonsense, which I feel has been lost a little in LA the last few years with the departure of certain personalities like Richards, Regehr, Mitchell, etc.

I get what your saying, but with a quick look at his stats all the points this guy has put up he is a -116. Sure we both agree that +/- is not the end all stat for anything but it does help tell part of the story. Personally I think the cap could have been used better but I am not going to complain much....the dude can score and the Kings need that.

 

[LoCal Kings]

Yeah, not trying to assume Vilardi can step in and play C. Just think Kings should not move Carter. Of all the guys north of 30, Carter is definitely worth keeping around.

For Kovalchuk being a -116, I just hope he has realized in conversations with Kings, everyone has got play in both ends of the ice.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

The plus/minus is definitely horrible but I'm OK with him being a little loose on that considering he is an offensive weapon the Kings have not had since pretty much Palffy.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Yesterday RFAs needed their MQOs. In short, anything under $1 million required a 10% increase, $1 million and over the same amount is considered the tendered offer. The Kings qualified McDermid, LaDue and Lintuniemi but did not qualify Justin Auger, Jordan Subban and Tobias Rieder.

Not really any surprises there, I expected more from Rieder but he never really fit in and at $2.45 million MQO, no way. If a team does not qualify their RFA they immediately become free agents and can sign with any team for any amount, including the team that didn't qualify him. Rieder's agent said that is a possibility with LA but I'm guessing he won't be here.

Good experiment by Blake, moving a goalie who wasn't going to sign here this summer and getting a guy who has some speed and maybe the ability to pot 15-20 goals in a B6 role but apart from the speed he really didn't bring much. It was an evaluation thing and didn't work out but was one of those low risk/high reward moves.

Some other names we know that weren't qualified were Devante Smith-Pelly (Caps continue to negotiate), Robin Lehner (won't be back in Buffalo), Nail Yakupov (1st overall pick - safe to say he is a bust although we all knew that), Petr Mrazek (watch, he will go somewhere else and have a stellar season and Flyer fans will bitch once again), Riley Sheahan, Dylan DeMelo (SJ, also talking still). No one really the Kings should entertain IMO.

But the biggest RFA to not get qualified, due for a monstrous raise because of his elite goal scoring capability, play making skills and 200 foot game already has 88 offers on the table from my understanding: Nick Shore.

=)~~

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Kings had a deal to send Pacioretty in place but fell through. Kovalchuk signing not related to that, they were going to sign him anyway:

Draft day deal to send Pacioretty to Kings fell through - Article - TSN

Curious to know what pieces would have been headed back, article doesn't mention that.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Good article on Kovalchuk and what could be possible expectations:

NHL free agents 2018: What to expect from Ilya Kovalchuk in return to the NHL

Radulov came to mind immediately for me because Jagr is a fitness freak and defied almost all odds to remain as productive as he did into his mid 40s. He is an outlier, much like Chelios was when he was still playing into his late 40s so I don't think that is a reasonable comp (great story about Chelios I think I have shared with the board from the early 2000s when with Detroit and Ox and I attended the game together - will repost if requested).

I would be pretty stoked if he hit 25G/65 points but his overall play is what I am most intrigued to see. He became a solid two-way guy and was always a physical force. His age in that sense does concern me, especially because the game in the KHL is not nearly as physical as the NHL and the rink is bigger creating more offensive flow (and no time to take a hit) but if he is in as good shape as the Kings staff is claiming and as dedicated to his fitness level as has been historically reported I think he will be fine.

Not as fast as he once was I'm sure but if he is just a solid overall package and can produce the 60-65 points, I think that would be a steal for LA. He was the next biggest name in free agency to Tavares.

 

[Kings4OT]

Send titties and whatever for Panarin + contract extention. Rieder I would like to see again as he has speed and skill but just couldnt put those 2 thing together for whatever reason, but he is too expensive for another "looksie". Carter I was worried about him coming back, he proved me very wrong until the PO....thats what I thought he was going to be like coming back. He is someone I would like to keep as his shot will always be good, just have to be ok that a lot of his points came from being deceptively fast and that is going away. I would be good with Kovulchuk at 60pts....I dont think thats beyond reason either

 

[LoCal Kings]

At least one of the Kings bigger contracts ($3.5 M+) had to be on the table for Pacioretty (Marty, Muzz, Pearson, Toff, .... but I hope not Carter!!!). But as Puck mentioned, who / what were the other pieces? Is Montreal looking for a young forward or d-man?

Maybe they don't even have a clue. Seems like Bergevan has way too long of a leash. How is that guy still the GM, especially in a market like Montreal?

 

[PuckinUgly57]

At least one of the Kings bigger contracts ($3.5 M+) had to be on the table for Pacioretty (Marty, Muzz, Pearson, Toff, .... but I hope not Carter!!!). But as Puck mentioned, who / what were the other pieces? Is Montreal looking for a young forward or d-man?

Maybe they don't even have a clue. Seems like Bergevan has way too long of a leash. How is that guy still the GM, especially in a market like Montreal?

Well, he is French Canadian - answer your question? And I agree, he is a pretty crappy GM as a whole.

I also agree one of the contracts you mentioned were on the table but I do think it was Carter because they need a 1C badly. From what I have read, Vilardi and other higher end prospects were not part of any deal.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Send titties and whatever for Panarin + contract extention. Rieder I would like to see again as he has speed and skill but just couldnt put those 2 thing together for whatever reason, but he is too expensive for another "looksie". Carter I was worried about him coming back, he proved me very wrong until the PO....thats what I thought he was going to be like coming back. He is someone I would like to keep as his shot will always be good, just have to be ok that a lot of his points came from being deceptively fast and that is going away. I would be good with Kovulchuk at 60pts....I dont think thats beyond reason either

Great input, my .02:

1. Panarin - apparently he has no choice of destination, which is good news for LA. He also doesn't have any NMC/NTCs so he is fair game for whatever. The BJs will try and resign him but he wants to take a wait and see approach. The problem with that for Kekalainen is that the longer that goes (no extension), the more his trade value drops.

The BJs need depth scoring and improvement all over. They have some good pieces in place (franchise defender, Vezina winner in net) but were ranked 16th on offense (242 GF), the Kings right behind them at 17th (239 GF). Panarin's next closest point producer was his center Dubois with 48 points.

They have some of the same offensive issues that LA does but I think 2017-18 was an outlier because Carter was hurt, Pearson and Toffoli didn't produce as expected especially Toffoli (2 years in a row now, he needs to find his game and it may not be in LA), Kempe went cold bad after January. Brown's miracle season helped but obviously wasn't enough and I don't expect him to repeat that by any means. Panarin is a major insurance policy against that.

Their PP was ranked 25th and their PK was ranked 26th yet their defense was decent coming in at 10th. Kekalainen has stated he doesn't want a strict prospects/picks deal, he wants an NHL roster player. I think Panarin and a 2nd/3rd for Toffoli/Pearson and Muzzin/Martinez would be a fair deal.

Kings may have to throw in a decent prospect but those are ancillary pieces. This makes LA the perfect trade partner because Blake doesn't want to trade prospects and is bringing up the pipeline again, the pieces moving are needs for both teams (LA gets offense, BJs get veteran help, depth scoring and an experienced defender in any deal) and LA also gets a player as dynamic as Palffy was, a game breaker essentially by moving the same money around much like Blake did in the Gaborik/Phaneuf deal.

This move adds depth scoring and immediately puts Toffoli or Pearson on their top line, helps the back end with either Muzzin or Martinez - veteran, CUp winning defenders - in front of Bobrovsky and puck movement and gives them some experienced players who may be able to help push that team into the next tier. They have made the POs only 3 times in their 18-19 years, each time losing in the first round going a combined 4-12 (Detroit, Pittsburgh and Washington. In the Caps series this year they had a 2-0 series lead and blew it). It's time for them to step up because they have some good pieces entering their mature years.

Obviously money would be an issue but moving some combination of those players (F and D) would clear between $7.75 and $8.6 million for LA, clearly in the range for a guy like Panarin on a long term deal even with Doughty's new deal coming in after some other money movement.

2. Rieder - wasn't impressed, he never quite fit in anywhere in the lineup and didn't exactly do anything particularly well. He was fast but hey, so was Craig Johnson. At a $2.48 MQO, no thanks. Good job by Blake not qualifying him; they can still negotiate and he could be back but he is a $1-1.2 million player tops.

For a perceived B6 player capable of 15-20 goals it was a low risk high reward move and didn't pan out. Kuemper was not going to sign here anyway and they took a flyer on a player who was intriguing. He was fair value for the 35-37 points he put up the last 2 years, but for 25 total points between LA and Phoenix this season, money well spent elsewhere.

3. Carter - I think he had a set back prior to the POs, leading up to it he looked fine. I don't expect him to lose too much speed and expect him to still be a solid 2C for LA. As I alluded to however, he is at that age where he could either age gracefully or start heading towards that cliff. I think next summer depending on how he does and how the younger playres perform it may be time to start shopping him. He would get some solid pieces back.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Wed reading:

Free Agency Guide for all 31 teams:

Free-agency guides for all 31 NHL teams

Good read all around. Johnson linked to Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Mailbag: Kovalchuk impact with Kings, best Draft, Capitals backup goalie

There is some talk about Panarin in there and I loved seeing this line in the Kovalchuk question:

Can he still skate well enough to play in the NHL? That's to be determined. Los Angeles Kings president Luc Robitaille told me he can. TSN analyst and former Calgary Flames general manager Craig Button, who watched Kovalchuk at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, said he can't.

One guy is a HOF player, highest scoring left wing in NHL history, the other is Craig Button.

=)~~