2019-20 Off Season Thread

[LoCal Kings]

Smart move by Quacks. The big cap hit for Perry's buyout is next year at $6M (other years are around $2M). The only current players with expiring contracts they would want to resign next year are Terry and Sprong.

With Perry gone, gotta say my disdain for the Ducks is a little less strong now. Certainly less spite than I have for the Sharks.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Thanks for the explanation Puck. I always enjoy reading your posts.

I do agree that I was not Happy with Blake when he went chasing the money (especially the Sharks).

I am on the fence with the Vilardi pick. I think it was a high risk high reward and still hoping that he can get the issues with his back resolved and help this team at some point.

I would have preferred not to have signed Kovalchuck and save that money for someone else. Also, I dont like that he wasnt utilized by the coaching staff. That being said, I wasnt a fan of hiring big Willy as the replacement for Stevens.

Blake always chased the money, I figured that out in the mid 1990s about him and then he was a brief holdout in 1998 before he got his 3 year/$16.5 million deal from LA, the last one until he hit UFA in 2001. The Pronger deal had him doing back flips, which is also a big reason why I hate the Blues - there was no reason to give an RFA like Pronger that much money, he went from making $5.175 million to $9.5 million like that. They were one of the few teams along with the Rangers, Detroit and Washington to seriously escalate salaries around that time leading to the lockout of 2004-05.

He took less after he left LA the second time to join the Sharks, I think it was a 2 year/$10 million deal and all of a sudden he is back to putting up 40-50 points. He mailed it in when he came back here in 2006, it's not like he didn't know what was going on with the rebuild and I think he snowed Dumbo into getting another fat contract but had no intention of delivering the value he was signed to do (which wasn't points).

Then you have the internal stuff too like him relinquishing the C entering camp in 2000-01, public comments he made, etc. and the guy simply has low ethical standards in my opinion. How he has lingered around the LA organization on and off for 3 decades collecting some huge dollars is surprising to me, clearly I'm in the wrong line of business.

Vilardi would have been a top 3-5 pick if not for the injury history, which is why he became available at 11th for LA. His skill level and IQ is off the charts, so I understand why LA took him although his skating is average and tabbed to be not up to speed for NHL play but his intelligence and ability to make things happen could compensate for that.

It usually takes about 3 years for a player to get their first taste of NHL experience, which means Vilardi would be ready to get a legitimate shot at the big club this upcoming season. The Kings actually had him penciled in at RW3 for 2018-19 expecting him to make the team but he was held out of camp because of the back.

However, he has barely played any hockey the last year, didn't suit up for Team Canada at the WJCs last winter and was shut down during a conditioning assignment in Ontario and hasn't played any hockey in almost 7 months. I hope he can get healthy, Muzzin's career started similarly with a long term back issue, but it should be concerning at this point with him considering he is only one of 11 players drafted in 2017 who has yet to see NHL action but deemed the most NHL ready of that group.

I was OK with Kovalchuk, it's the term that got me. Three years was one year too much. I too agree he was completely mismanaged when Desjardins came on board, that dude blew one year on his contract on arguably the purest sniper LA has and was clueless how to play him. No coincidence that as soon as Slick Willy comes on board he goes from a PPG player to struggling the entire year.

The whole Desjardins signing was odd, the guy last coached an NHL team in 2016-17 and was completely off the NHL map as a viable candidate for openings in 2017-18. His signing was quite a surprise to me, sounds like it was more of a favor - which I am also sick of seeing in LA - than anything to try and get him exposure for this season; I don't think he was ever in the cards for a permanent position. He has returned to the WHL as coach of Medicine Hat again, he will probably be successful there because of the young kids and not veteran NHLers.

It's funny to read the conspiracy theories that Blake hired him to tank so the Kings could lock up the 1st or 2nd overall pick, I don't think there is any truth to that - the guy simply is not an NHL head coach. If it was deliberate, I guess the HGs laid the karma down quick by having the Kings lose the draft lottery.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

My wife thinks he will be an ice girl next year.
Ok she thinks his knee is still bad but not Permanent IR bad and he will retire

Were I him, in real life age he is young at 34, lives in Coto or whatever, has millions in the bank, has a kid and wife, had a successful NHL career and lingering injuries that could debilitate him in his older years, I'd hang them up too and find a local business venture. Start a gourmet bakery or something and call it Corey's Cupcakes or some fitting crap like that.

I actually see him in the booth with Hayward and Ahlers soon. There's nothing left for him to prove except he isn't a douche off the ice.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Speaking of Vilardi, Q&A with LA correspondent Lisa Dillman from The Athletic from last night:



We all knew this but his status is a serious concern. I'm on that site a lot and seeing some of the Kings homers calling this guy as having a legitimate shot to make the roster is annoying.

Take the Kings goggles off, if he does make the team at some point in the next 2 years call it gravy.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Quick contract updates: Kings working on resigning Leipsic, he will be tendered his MQO so he is in the fold for next season.

Brodzinski unfortunately will not be retained and will be a GVI UFA July 1. Bummer too, he has a wicked shot and I think his season went into the toilet with the shoulder injury and then being mismanaged by Desjardins.

I think a 1 year deal for under $1 million would have been a nice contract to see how he does healthy, he has shown he has some hands but the Kings need to clear spots and dollars.

 

[LAKINGSFAN]

Thats really too bad regarding Vilardi. I was really hoping we got a steal in that draft.

I liked Leipsic. Has speed and a descent pair of hands. He seemed to be the only one that tried to create on his own. With that said, I guess Toffoli and Doughty try but never with any success.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Thats really too bad regarding Vilardi. I was really hoping we got a steal in that draft.

It's not too late but it's not looking good. You guys know my stance on prospects - they are just that until they show they belong in the NHL - so no matter how highly regarded they are, I don't buy shit until I see them in an NHL uniform.

Saw Anderson-Dolan, Wagner, Luff, Auger, etc. like anyone else this season. Do I think they are NHL players? Nope although Wagner and Luff looked the best. The two who I do think are are Sean Walker and Matt Roy, they got extended playing time down the stretch and showed they could hang in the NHL with around 40 and 25 games respectively and even that has some hesitation to it, Brayden McStiff looked great his first year in LA and it was all downhill from there. In a small sample size however but enough to experience different game situations, Walker and Roy passed the initial test.

The defense, IMO anyway, is going to look like Doughty/Martinez/Fudd (Forbort)/Roy/Walker. Anderson, Durzi, Brickley, MacDermid, LaDue, etc. will all be duking it out for the 6-7 defender spots and I think it'll be two of MacDermid, LaDue and Brickley. I'm hoping they move LaDue, he is pretty useless too.

I've been around this sport for over 4 decades and know better than to believe the hype, especially when it comes to LA who until the last 10 years or so didn't exactly have a good track record of developing prospects, and even that has taken a hit since 2012 (Pearson) and possibly 2014 (Kempe, although he is in middle ground right now between T6 player and B6 player). The Kings have not done well since 2014 whether that be lack of picks because of the win now trades or players not panning out no matter where they were picked.

Lisa Dillman on The Athletic cited Gretzky and his bad back in 1992-93 where he missed half the season, Robitaille was interim captain until he returned late in the season and they made a run to the SCFs as evidence Vilardi is still possible. While she has a point, I haven't rebutted her comment with my point, which is Gretzky was 31 years old and the best player in the league at that time, not a 19 year old who's NHL career hasn't even left the starting line yet.

Can't even come close to comparing the two and their situations but I am hoping for the best for him. If not, the Kings took a huge gamble and lost and it will be a significant blemish on Blake's record as a GM.

I liked Leipsic. Has speed and a descent pair of hands. He seemed to be the only one that tried to create on his own. With that said, I guess Toffoli and Doughty try but never with any success.

I like Leipsic a lot too, he's fast, shifty, creative and has a little bit of sandpaper to him for being a smaller guy. I would like to see those skills translate into more production (goals, not assists) but he has shown enough to warrant a spot on the B6.

Doughty can create on his own, that isn't a problem. I think he and the veterans definitely played below their standards in 2018-19 from the get go, there was no sense of urgency in their games and they looked like they went through the motions. This dates back to camp and is well documented, and while I think firing Stevens was a little premature this was his Training Camp so he has to take responsibility for that. That cannot be blamed on Desjardins.

The times Doughty did look engaged, he tried to do too much himself which just ended up hurting the team since no one else was pulling their load.

Toffoli, that guy just needs to go. I sarcastically call him "The Ringer" because most of his goals are of the slam dunk variety due to other peoples' work, I dedicated a thread to him earlier this season. He can't create on his own, he isn't a checker, he isn't strong on the puck. He's essentially pretty useless when he isn't tapping in goals:

OT: The Ringer

He had 12 goals to this point which was Feb 8, he would score only 1 more goal (3/25/19) until the end of the season on April 6. Second year in a row he has gone cold after Jan 1 and third year in a row he has had huge stretches of not producing.

Move him this weekend.

 

[LoCal Kings]

I think Blake really wants to pump up Toffoli first. I think they wait until January / February to trade him in the hopes he has a good 1st half.

Either way, I agree his days are numbered.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I think Blake really wants to pump up Toffoli first. I think they wait until January / February to trade him in the hopes he has a good 1st half.

Either way, I agree his days are numbered.

He already has an pretty inflated reputation around the league, although a few executives have mentioned he isn't really effective unless someone else is doing the work (this was in The Athletic earlier this season) like I've been saying for years. The only year he did create on his own and was successful was 2015-16 when he scored 30 or 31 or whatever.

Looking at his goal totals the last 3 seasons:

Oct - Dec
2016-17: 8
2017-18: 17
2018-19: 6

Jan - Apr
2016-17: 8
2017-18: 7
2018-19: 7

In the Jan - Apr months in both 2016-17 and 2018-19, he had a few multi goal games or a few games where he scored 4 goals in 3 games, stuff like that to make the numbers look better than they actually were.

I'm all for moving him now if the Kings get something decent, his time has run out in LA. He never made that transition into becoming that secondary leader on this team like they expected him to, and on top of that he is very streaky even by a goal scorer's definition.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Thanks for the explanation Puck. I always enjoy reading your posts.

I do agree that I was not Happy with Blake when he went chasing the money (especially the Sharks).

I am on the fence with the Vilardi pick. I think it was a high risk high reward and still hoping that he can get the issues with his back resolved and help this team at some point.

I would have preferred not to have signed Kovalchuck and save that money for someone else. Also, I dont like that he wasnt utilized by the coaching staff. That being said, I wasnt a fan of hiring big Willy as the replacement for Stevens.

Yeah I am coming around to Puck's side on hating Blake for the state of the team, but I am still waiting to see what plays out this summer (And maybe next). As you mentioned above, the coaching decisions were the most glaring to me. The whole "We only interviewed one guy, and that was John Stevens. He's our guy" approach seriously backfired. The team was clearly not motivated from the start and if you believe Toffoli's comments, practices were a joke. So then Blake goes and gets Willie Desjardins. Holy Cow. It's hard to remember anything remarkable about that guy... at all. The only thing that stands out is (As you also mentioned)was his handling of the Kovalchuk situation. Kovalchuk is healthy eating ice cream with his kids in LA while most of the Kings couldn't complete an average pass.

I think Blake's commitment to stop trading 1st round picks and at least attempt to rebuild the farm was the best thing he's done, and I think he should get a little credit for starting that process a few years ago. If you are to believe it's always scrolling 3 years after a given draft, the results of last year are more to do with us having nothing in the cupboard from previous missing 1st round picks.

If you look at this team on paper, it's pretty frustrating, because they shouldn't be THAT bad. Top 5 center, Top 5 Defenseman, and at least a serviceable goalie who when he played like he did in the Vegas series last year, looked like the goalie he can be (I'd argue top 5, but won't begrudge those who disagree).

Blake also got stupid unlucky with Carter's flukey achilles injury. That basically looks at this point like it derailed his career. Maybe like a torn ACL, which takes 2 years to heel, he gets some of his form back (I would put it in the unlikely category though). That really screwed a lot up for this team at the tail end of chasing cups.

The team has some young talent though, and after this draft, I don't think they're that far off from having some good young players and contracts in complimentary roles.

I guess at the end of the day, I am just not a huge fan of crazy turnover, so getting a new GM pretty close to what we just did, doesn't bode well for the franchise. You made your pick in Blake and Robitaille, now let it play out for at least another year, and see what happens.

 

[LoCal Kings]

What's Lombardi up to these days?

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I think Blake's commitment to stop trading 1st round picks and at least attempt to rebuild the farm was the best thing he's done, and I think he should get a little credit for starting that process a few years ago. If you are to believe it's always scrolling 3 years after a given draft, the results of last year are more to do with us having nothing in the cupboard from previous missing 1st round picks.

I've given him credit for that, the bleeding needed to stop after Dumbo traded high picks to keep winning. We can't (I can't, anyway) be mad at Dumbo for that, that's the price you pay to remain competitive when you have won it all and have a team still in its window to win. That's part of the business and the Kings are paying the price for that now.

Blake has kept his word that he won't trade picks when he was introduced as GM 2 years ago and has went the collegiate UFA route to stockpile the cupboard mainly with players who are closer to NHL status than the guys who have been drafted, it buys them time to properly develop those players.

It still remains to be seen if that'll happen but I think this is the season we start seeing a lot of youth on the roster so we will find out soon enough.

I guess at the end of the day, I am just not a huge fan of crazy turnover, so getting a new GM pretty close to what we just did, doesn't bode well for the franchise. You made your pick in Blake and Robitaille, now let it play out for at least another year, and see what happens.

I'm not for it either, McLellan is the fourth coach in 24 months, three under Blake's watch. Consistency is needed and I hope Blake and his team can turn this ship around, but if not I hope AEG let's him go and finally gets it that hiring alumni and filling posh spots with guys who don't have team management experience is not a smart move.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

What's Lombardi up to these days?

Senior Advisor to the GM of the Flyers, he was hired when Hextall was GM who was fired in November and replaced by Chuck Fletcher.

I'd have to connect the dots to see if Fletcher and Dumbo have a history, but I'm curious to see if they keep Dumbo on now that his protection in Hextall is gone. I think he is a great executive but when new management comes in they tend to bring i their old staff or familiar faces.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

My criticism of the Kings and their drafting and developing since 2012 is warranted. Sucks to be right in this case because it hurts LA but I'm over the knob gobbling of Futa and his staff when they really haven't turned out any decent players for quite some time. The two Cups were a while ago, stop living off that.

This was posted in The Athletic a few moment ago, and they went back to the 2014-17 drafts. I go back to 2012 because Pearson was pretty much the only player out of that draft that benefited LA (Colin Miller was taken in the 5th round but we know what happened there). It needs to be brought up that Pearson was draft eligible in 2010 and 2011 but was passed over. He was close to 20 when the Kings took him in June 2012, they were getting as close to an NHL ready prospect as possible and not looking at years of development.

First, the expected value of picks valuation:

Then the ugly, Cernak never even played for LA (Ben Bishop deal) and is looking like he will turn into a T4 RH defender that LA has missed for so many years after the Voynov fiasco:

Not good. I'm actually going to join a buddy tonight to watch the draft, the first time I have done this in over a decade. Last time it was with excitement (Doughty), this time it's with concern - hope LA doesn't screw up that 5th overall.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Couple more charts:

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Kings take Turcotte at 5th, he was my initial want but Byram would have been a great pick.

Avalanche shopping Barrie, explains why they took Byram at 4th with Johnson and Makar on the right side already. Cap shedding.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

From Instagram. There are so many layers to this one I can't stop laughing. The page is called "Hardnosedhockey" and the caption is "With the 12th pick".

That looks like Turcotte's pops. Welcome to LA!

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Kings did pretty well. 5th pick was made for them. Colorado has two potential studs on defense to go along with that insane top line.

There was a run on defenseman, but LA still got one.

They seem really excited to be picking 2nd tomorrow though. They can review what went down and get the "How did THAT guy fall out of the first round?!?!" pick. At least based on comments from LAInsider.com

 

[Kings4OT]

Hoping for hogslander, leason would be a hood pick as well

 

[Kings4OT]

Of course with 4 or 5 good players left at that pick....kings will jump off the board