2020-21 NHL Season Thread

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Heyo. Been a minute. I see tons of trade rumors still and at the end of the day I don't think Kings need to keep stacking pics without a development plan. They need legit prospects that are on the cusp, and I'm with xis on defensive ones at that. Would like another goalie prospect too, but that's not as urgent, since Kings goaltender development is probably next to none and LA is a goaltending factory at this point.


I'm torn on the the legacy players being shipped out because they've already won cups and it'd be awesome to just have them retire as Kings. Probably too antiquated but seeing a guy wear one jersey his whole career is pretty awesome. But the other side I see, of course, is some of them go get another cup and I'd be cool with that too. Seeing rumors of Carter and Quick to Colorado, and today Dustin Brown to the Isles. But who knows. Trading for pics just to have even more pics is not the way to go anymore. Already tough to open up enough spots as is.

Kings feel like they've taken a baby step this year, but not as big I thought they would've. This is a weird year though, and it's so hard to know what's up or down with playing the same 7 teams over and over and over again. So this year, aside from Carter, Brown, Quick, Kopitar, Doughty getting another year older, is a wash. Next year Phaneuf and Kovalchuk $10mil dead money falls off too, so not all bad.

Hope you're all well, and I definitely miss the energy of live events. Side note, got a long way to go to catch Puck, but I just had my first kid this week and wife and baby are healthy, so can't complain at all.

 

[davnlaguna]

Peel done as a ref ( was retiring soon ) for saying on an open mic he made a makeup call

can’t get link to work. Google for yourself

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Hope you're all well, and I definitely miss the energy of live events. Side note, got a long way to go to catch Puck, but I just had my first kid this week and wife and baby are healthy, so can't complain at all.

Yeah baby, congratulations. Crazy to think my oldest will be 16 in October and getting ready to drive soon (permit eligible in 3 weeks). I remember telling you guys I just had her back on this board (well ESPN I think) in 2005.

Kids are pretty awesome, but probably the biggest joy and biggest headache and heartache you'll have at the same time. Enjoy the ride brother.

Also think about if you want more kids or not. If you just walk around with your wang hanging out you'll end up with a frame like this on the back of your Harley.

=)~~

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Forgot to address the post itself, got too excited about you having a kid.

=)~~

I'm torn on the the legacy players being shipped out because they've already won cups and it'd be awesome to just have them retire as Kings. Probably too antiquated but seeing a guy wear one jersey his whole career is pretty awesome. But the other side I see, of course, is some of them go get another cup and I'd be cool with that too. Seeing rumors of Carter and Quick to Colorado, and today Dustin Brown to the Isles. But who knows. Trading for pics just to have even more pics is not the way to go anymore. Already tough to open up enough spots as is.

Kings feel like they've taken a baby step this year, but not as big I thought they would've. This is a weird year though, and it's so hard to know what's up or down with playing the same 7 teams over and over and over again. So this year, aside from Carter, Brown, Quick, Kopitar, Doughty getting another year older, is a wash. Next year Phaneuf and Kovalchuk $10mil dead money falls off too, so not all bad.

I think at this point the Kings need to move those guys. Obviously Doughty and Kopitar are not going anywhere but any one of Carter, Quick or Brown should be moved.

The way Bowlby has stockpiled picks reminds me of my mother and cash. She has a accumulated a lot of it, but she hasn't done a damn thing with it. Not enough anyway and she is losing money by not making it work for her. Money does you no good shoving it under a mattress, you have to invest it through calculated risk management.

He has trimmed off players that needed to go (Muzzin, Martinez, Toffoli, etc), got prospects, draft picks and drafted and replenished the farm with quality prospects and depth. He has not however improved the NHL roster one bit. I believe this is year 3 of the rebuild (2018-19 on), by this time when Dumbo was at the wheel (2009-110, 4 years on the job) they made the playoffs and lost to Vancouver 4-2 in the WCQFs by making a 22 point improvement from 2008-09 (79 pts vs 101 pts). In 2010-11, they lost to the Sharks in the WCQFs 4-2 and in 2011-12...well we know what happened. Granted Dumbo had prime windows opening for Kopitar, Brown and Quick and had just drafted Doughty a year earlier (all guys were 25 or under) but Blake has some weapons at his disposal that have held the fort while he is brewing these prospects, mainly these same 4 guys.

He has been ultra conservative as a GM, which really isn't impressive. Doesn't take a lot to not to anything, which is why I respected Dumbo so much and IMO the best GM in Kings history hands down, Cups or not. Sure, not all moves were winners but he:
- built the team right
- cut dead weight faster than your baby will shit its pants
- he showed no hesitation moving top end prospects if necessary (Schenn, Teubert who carried high value still at the time, etc.) or players (Simmonds) to improve the team when the time was right
- brought in huge missing pieces (Mitchell, Regehr, Richards, Stoll, Greene, Carter, the list is long)
- filled gaps with bridge FA players
- leveraged said bridge players into more draft picks (Handzus, Stuart) which in itself is a coup having not spent anything but money on them (I believe he got at least a 2nd round pick from Stuart, if not two)
- paid the money to keep his players
- swung for the fences

His freewheeling spending hurt the Kings, and some moves like losing Cernak really bit the Kings, but he didn't twiddle his thumbs. There is a fine line between being patient and being scared, and Blake smells like fear. Dude needs to make moves as soon as he can (I understand under the pandemic and border issues for players) to improve the actual roster.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Changes to the Draft Lottery approved yesterday.

NHL Draft Lottery changes announced for 2021 | NHL.com

Drawings reduced to two; limits added in 2022 for teams that win, move up

www.nhl.com

Biggest changes are instead of 3 drawings now there will be 2 and you can't win the lottery twice in a 5 year span effective 2022.

Thanks NHL for screwing the Kings in 2019. I still have no idea how Chicago (I think?) jumped from like 13th to 3rd and dropped the Kings from 2nd to 5th. Ridiculous.

 

[davnlaguna]

Changes to the Draft Lottery approved yesterday.

NHL Draft Lottery changes announced for 2021 | NHL.com

Drawings reduced to two; limits added in 2022 for teams that win, move up

www.nhl.com

Biggest changes are instead of 3 drawings now there will be 2 and you can't win the lottery twice in a 5 year span effective 2022.

Thanks NHL for screwing the Kings in 2019. I still have no idea how Chicago (I think?) jumped from like 13th to 3rd and dropped the Kings from 2nd to 5th. Ridiculous.

Ok I know the odds are slim
But pretend Sabers win the lottery twice and then finish last . Teams that win that year are 12-16 range, so no one gets to move to #1
So they keep their 3rd number 1pick ? I know it’s impossible but I would love to see it.

 

[davnlaguna]

Rangers trading Brendan Lemieux to Kings for fourth-round pick – Sportsnet.ca

www.google.com

Lemieux for a 4th. To add grit to the Kings?
Leads league in penalty minutes.
kings need to work on their PK ?

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Ok I know the odds are slim
But pretend Sabers win the lottery twice and then finish last . Teams that win that year are 12-16 range, so no one gets to move to #1
So they keep their 3rd number 1pick ? I know it’s impossible but I would love to see it.

Interesting scenario. The way the league is partially rigged - and we've always known it, and the Peel incident just confirms it as well as the NHL's dealings with Vegas (the city, not the team) - I wouldn't be surprised to see the Sabers somehow hold onto that third 1st overall.

It was no coincidence Pittsburgh ended up with Crosby in 2005 after a lockout year where there were no standings.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Rangers trading Brendan Lemieux to Kings for fourth-round pick – Sportsnet.ca

www.google.com

Lemieux for a 4th. To add grit to the Kings?
Leads league in penalty minutes.
kings need to work on their PK ?

I like it. The group is small, Bowlby addressed that in the SOF meeting last week. Said what me and others have mentioned, the defense specifically is small and needs to get bigger and just general size throughout the lineup. You can't have a bunch of MacDermids in the line up but also not a lot of Lizottes/JAD types either. MacDermid is a solid teammate and can open a can of whoopass but at best a 7th defender, he cannot be played most nights.

The Kings have skewed too far into the small department overall and adding a 6'1"/215 pound bruiser is a good thing for this stage of development. He is under contract for an additional year after this so his tenure here is most likely limited but serves a specific purpose. Lemieux is an agitating, fighting, pest and will be an every night player on the B6 lines so he will keep other teams honest every night.

I used to respect his dad until the Draper incident, so I'm keeping his son and him separate in my opinion, but I think this will be a good thing for LA. Junior also is a master at drawing penalties which should help LA with PP opportunities. He doesn't dive, answers the bell, works through checks and those penalties he draws are earned.

Still need to get a legitimate scoring threat (also address in the SOF talk) but this is a low risk move to address a team toughness need.

 

[Kings4OT]

Kings should grab ghost for a test run....

 

[Kings4OT]

Probably good the kings did not grab him, he totally sucks at defence anyway.....sanhiem tho, They should trade for that guy

 

[davnlaguna]

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Kings should grab ghost for a test run....

No test run, he is under contract for two more years after 2020-21 at $4.5 million. Not a guy you take a flier on, that's a guy you plan on being a part of the plan. His game has fallen off a cliff in recent years, good thing they passed.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Market correction has occurred, PP has dried up and the lack of offense on this team fully exposed. I don't expect the Kings to put up 4 goals a game but this team just has no offensive ability it seems. Been a problem for over a decade, no creativity in their chances, no second waves, none of that. Bowlby has to make a trade or two for some mid level, capable forwards even now during the rebuild; there is a massive gap between the veterans and the younger kids, that's where these younger players will thrive because they won't be counted on to lead the charge.

Dogs up 4-2 in this one, few observations:
- some dude named Bunting owning the Kings tonight with a hat trick? Pathetic. Late 4th round pick in 2014 - FREAKING 2014 - and he of a whopping 9 NHL games experience including tonight and had 1 goal in 8 NHL games prior, the last time seeing the NHL in 2018-19. But what I have seen from this flash in the pan is something I have not seen from the Kings younger players: effort.
- I'm not sure what the issue is but the starts have been brutal for LA the last month and games have been lost in the first 20.
- any chance of the POs is over, book it. Wheels came off after that 6 game win streak, something like 3-7 or 3-8 since. Going to be a high pick again this summer. May not be top 5 but it'll be top 10.
- MacDermid...brutal. I like the beef, I have heard nothing but positive things about him as a teammate. However, I have not seen a single player stumble so much, flub passes just trying to get rid of a puck or make a pass, or biff it getting out of the zone. He's a UFA this summer so I don't think he will be back in LA.
- some players need to be benched or sent to Ontario. The Legend is definitely one of them. Any visions of a C2 need to be tempered.
- y'all know my stance on Bowlby, he has failed so far on this rebuild as far as I'm concerned. Great job accumulating a shit ton of draft picks, you did what every other effin GM does ::::clap clap clap:::. In terms of actually improving the team, he has not done a damn thing in now what will be his fourth year at the wheel.
- Austin Wagner still sucks. Dude couldn't put a puck in the ocean.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Frank Seravelli on TSN Insider Trading on Center Ice just reported Blake taking calls on Iaffalo. They've talked contract but also taking offers, he will be a GIII UFA but sounds like (my opinion) he may be overvaluing himself. Decent player but a M6 forward on a good team, not a T3 player like here in LA.

Sounds like The Italian Stallion may be on the move before Monday.

 

[davnlaguna]

Frank Seravelli on TSN Insider Trading on Center Ice just reported Blake taking calls on Iaffalo. They've talked contract but also taking offers, he will be a GIII UFA but sounds like (my opinion) he may be overvaluing himself. Decent player but a M6 forward on a good team, not a T3 player like here in LA.

Sounds like The Italian Stallion may be on the move before Monday.

It depends on the return but, Iaffalo is a replaceable piece. Kings have a few players that might be able to move into that spot. I would like to see a little upgrade on Defense, but I always think defense is more important.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Holy hell, Kurt Vagner scores a goal.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Good god, this team is awful to watch even during a rebuild when expectations are low. I don't expect them to hang in there with the likes of the Knights, Avalanche, Washington - the contenders - but do expect them to be competitive every night with everyone whether that's the lowly Ducks (not so low anymore, only 3 points behind LA) or the Knights. The 2007-2010 Kings were more palatable than this bullshit.

The 1-3-1 the Kings play is a form of the trap, it's one of the most basic schemes to play. The 4 guys up front clog the neutral zone and it is designed to force the dump in with the last "1" being a defender going back to retrieve the puck before the opposition gets to it and transition the other way. Teams that use it generally have one or some combination of all factors below:
- lack of talent (LA)
- slower team speed (LA)
- to protect younger players from being overwhelmed in the defensive zone by not letting a forecheck get set up (LA)
- to limit chances against an inexperienced goalie or to shelter him (not really LA, although Quick needs more help than he ever did before)
- Tampa Bay and Ottawa both used this system 10+ years ago, both times under Guy Boucher. Commonality? Both teams sucked at the time and were rebuilding, didn't have quality NHLers and their prospects weren't as ready as they thought (LA)

I can't count how many times Vegas simply lobbed the puck or used a stretch bank pass to get around the two guys near the boards in the "3" part and boom, either clean entry into the zone and then the possession game starts or (more often) it created 2-on-1s. This happened so much last night it was maddening. Now and again I get it, but the Knights were employing this tactic shift after shift after shift and LA got burned a ton.

I expect these guys to make some adjustments if necessary when you are getting tooled like that throughout the game but I did not see any of that. That is coaching. I also did not see the players doing what they were supposed to do to prevent that from recurring. That is execution.

The little flirt with the POs in Feb was just that, a flirt. And many teams were missing some key players, the Wild were missing like half their regulars so any dreams of that needed those circumstances to be taken into consideration. This is simply not a good enough team to compete for the POs.

Which of course brings me to the Luc and Rob Circus. Da fuq are these two doing? This is Bowlby's fourth year at the wheel and this is the product so far. I understand prospects need time to develop but in the 4 drafts since he has taken over nobody has played more than 50 games, and that is The Legend. The other two are Anderson (46GP) and Elbows (30GP).

His development obviously got hampered by the back but the two guys taken immediately after him (12th/Necas/Carolina, 13th/Suzuki/Knights) are light years ahead of him in terms of NHL production. I've watched these two and while they play on better teams, they simply are better players too overall.

I have no idea what Blake was thinking taking him, his lack of foot speed is alarming at the NHL level, no matter how smart his IQ or the hands he has (great stickhandler for sure). If anyone thinks this dude is going to be part of a 1-2 center punch down the middle, that needs to be questioned at this point for sure. His confidence seems shot too. I'm not sure what needs to happen to move his development needle forward but right now he is not looking like an NHL level player. And then don't even get me on some of the puzzling moves, like trading Dominik Kubalik to Chicago for a 5th round pick in 2019. Dude already has 44 goals in 111 NHL games. The fear was he wouldn't come to the US but gee, he did and look at him now. He also fits that mid 20s range (25, 7th round/2013)) player the Kings are severely lacking between the older core and the younger players.

I was never on board with him as a GM, he has done nothing but stock pile picks and none of those picks have really made the strides I was hoping for, and certainly not like they did under Dumbo's regime. Were I AEG, next year's goals is a PO showing for sure, there has been enough time to get this team to move forward. If that doesn't happen, I would look for a new GM - this rebuild has regressed.

 

[LAKINGSFAN]

Good god, this team is awful to watch even during a rebuild when expectations are low. I don't expect them to hang in there with the likes of the Knights, Avalanche, Washington - the contenders - but do expect them to be competitive every night with everyone whether that's the lowly Ducks (not so low anymore, only 3 points behind LA) or the Knights. The 2007-2010 Kings were more palatable than this bullshit.

The 1-3-1 the Kings play is a form of the trap, it's one of the most basic schemes to play. The 4 guys up front clog the neutral zone and it is designed to force the dump in with the last "1" being a defender going back to retrieve the puck before the opposition gets to it and transition the other way. Teams that use it generally have one or some combination of all factors below:
- lack of talent (LA)
- slower team speed (LA)
- to protect younger players from being overwhelmed in the defensive zone by not letting a forecheck get set up (LA)
- to limit chances against an inexperienced goalie or to shelter him (not really LA, although Quick needs more help than he ever did before)
- Tampa Bay and Ottawa both used this system 10+ years ago, both times under Guy Boucher. Commonality? Both teams sucked at the time and were rebuilding, didn't have quality NHLers and their prospects weren't as ready as they thought (LA)

I can't count how many times Vegas simply lobbed the puck or used a stretch bank pass to get around the two guys near the boards in the "3" part and boom, either clean entry into the zone and then the possession game starts or (more often) it created 2-on-1s. This happened so much last night it was maddening. Now and again I get it, but the Knights were employing this tactic shift after shift after shift and LA got burned a ton.

I expect these guys to make some adjustments if necessary when you are getting tooled like that throughout the game but I did not see any of that. That is coaching. I also did not see the players doing what they were supposed to do to prevent that from recurring. That is execution.

The little flirt with the POs in Feb was just that, a flirt. And many teams were missing some key players, the Wild were missing like half their regulars so any dreams of that needed those circumstances to be taken into consideration. This is simply not a good enough team to compete for the POs.

Which of course brings me to the Luc and Rob Circus. Da fuq are these two doing? This is Bowlby's fourth year at the wheel and this is the product so far. I understand prospects need time to develop but in the 4 drafts since he has taken over nobody has played more than 50 games, and that is The Legend. The other two are Anderson (46GP) and Elbows (30GP).

His development obviously got hampered by the back but the two guys taken immediately after him (12th/Necas/Carolina, 13th/Suzuki/Knights) are light years ahead of him in terms of NHL production. I've watched these two and while they play on better teams, they simply are better players too overall.

I have no idea what Blake was thinking taking him, his lack of foot speed is alarming at the NHL level, no matter how smart his IQ or the hands he has (great stickhandler for sure). If anyone thinks this dude is going to be part of a 1-2 center punch down the middle, that needs to be questioned at this point for sure. His confidence seems shot too. I'm not sure what needs to happen to move his development needle forward but right now he is not looking like an NHL level player. And then don't even get me on some of the puzzling moves, like trading Dominik Kubalik to Chicago for a 5th round pick in 2019. Dude already has 44 goals in 111 NHL games. The fear was he wouldn't come to the US but gee, he did and look at him now. He also fits that mid 20s range (25, 7th round/2013)) player the Kings are severely lacking between the older core and the younger players.

I was never on board with him as a GM, he has done nothing but stock pile picks and none of those picks have really made the strides I was hoping for, and certainly not like they did under Dumbo's regime. Were I AEG, next year's goals is a PO showing for sure, there has been enough time to get this team to move forward. If that doesn't happen, I would look for a new GM - this rebuild has regressed.

Just curious, how much do you think the ED coming up played a part in the decisions being made? For example, limiting the number of games the younger guys play to keep them on the entry level contract as well as keeping them protected in Ontario so they dont get taken by the Crack. Although I am not as down on Blake as you are I do like that he has built up the farm and freed up cap space. With that being said, I am a bit disappointed that he isnt making a splash at all come trade deadline or significant UFA singings.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

New York Rangers and L.A. Kings ready to pounce if Sabres decide to trade Jack Eichel - Forever Blueshirts

Forever Blueshirts is the leading source of local/independent news, opinion, analysis and content! New content daily!

www.google.com

Sort of hate these articles. Rangers and Kings supposedly in on getting Jack Eichel, but it says Kings need to give up the whole cupboard for him (Equivalent of 4 firsts, including Byfield) but when talking Rangers they don't have to give up all that much.

Just curious what you'd give up for Eichel. He also makes $10mil/year, which would be LA's 3rd guy making at least that.