2024-25 Off Season Thread

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Screenshots off Google

 

[Kings4OT]

Ya pretty devastating for the family, especially the sister whos wedding they came for....she will carry this heavily

 

[davnlaguna]

"Mr. Higgins stated that he had consumed approximately 5-6 beers prior to the accident

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Confirmed. Unbelievable, just riding their bikes and some dumbass drunk driver kills them.

I was never a huge fan of his but that is just hard to comprehend. I feel terrible for the family and I hope that clown gets life.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Man. Went to bed hoping that was fake, but wow. And Gudreau chose Columbus partially because he wanted to raise his family there.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

There's something up with that franchise though. The reason we have those massive safety nets on each side of the rink is because that little girl was killed in Columbus. A few years ago, the fireworks incident that killed that goalie. The reason PLD wears that jersey number still. Now this one.

 

[Kings4OT]

There's something up with that franchise though. The reason we have those massive safety nets on each side of the rink is because that little girl was killed in Columbus. A few years ago, the fireworks incident that killed that goalie. The reason PLD wears that jersey number still. Now this one.

Wasnt this in Canada tho? I thought they went back home for sisters wedding

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

New Jersey I think. He's American. Sister's wedding was supposed to be today.

But I just mean, 3 legit tragedies with this franchise that I can't remember any other franchise even having one like it. And they were only founded in the Year 2000.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Johnny Gaudreau’s sister Katie’s wedding canceled after NHL star and brother Matthew killed by drunk driver

Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, had been set to serve as groomsmen in Katie and her fiancé Devin Joyce’s nuptials in New Jersey on Friday afternoon.

pagesix.com

And this image will haunt my dreams. I have a 3 year old and this is so unbelievably sad.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

They are absolutely cursed, I would not want to play for them.

Seems every summer also we hear of some death with NHL players.

 

[Kings4OT]

That Jarvis deal, why have a cap if they are going to let teams play around it in different ways. Defered $, ltir...either have a cap or dont. Its like finding a way to bribe a ref because its not specified.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

When Blowby finally gets the boot, how long would you say it should take a competent GM to rebuild not only the team but the farm too?

 

[CaptHowdy00]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/56...nce-rankings-2024/?source=user_shared_articleNHL front-office confidence rankings, 2024: How fans feel about every team

31. Los Angeles Kings​

Last year: 13th
“Blake has made mistakes that have hampered the team’s ability to build out a proper roster. The large deal handed to Petersen blew up in the team’s face and the PLD signing was a disaster. They managed to unload that contract, but it stung.”

“Strategy was always to build around what was left from the championship teams. It hasn’t worked and now we are stuck in the mediocre middle.”


The luster surrounding the Rob Blake era has officially worn out. Three straight first-round exits at the hands of the same team will certainly have that effect — a showcase of exactly how far away the Kings are from contending. Being stuck in the middle was the biggest concern around meshing two eras and that seems to have come to a head over the last year. The public views the Kings front office as borderline bottom five and the internal feeling from the team’s own fan base has sunk precipitously. No team saw a bigger drop in confidence than the Kings, with 92 percent of their fans less confident than they were a year ago.


That hinges almost entirely on the trade and subsequent signing of Pierre-Luc Dubois, a move that seemed fine at the time but ended up as one of the most disastrous decisions in recent memory.

The rest of the work here is a mixed bag, with Quinton Byfield’s new extension an obvious highlight and the Joel Edmundson deal a lowlight. But the Dubois deal casts a massive shadow over everything and anything else this front office has done over the last year.

 

[Kings4OT]

When Blowby finally gets the boot, how long would you say it should take a competent GM to rebuild not only the team but the farm too?

Depends where you draft, if you dont get a true star/big time player it could take a long time....5 years? If really lucky and a good GM otherwise closer to 10. Buster is 5 years removed from being drafted. You have to hope your guy is NHL ready off the get and build around what he can do. A few good FAs and a deal or 2 and you can get somewhere if you dont squander your cap.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

I don't really think you recover. You just start from scratch basically. It's almost better to inherit a complete wreck, where you're already drafting high.

But Lombardi did things that Blake clearly hasn't done. Revamp minor league system, create a culture, etc.

We still don't know what Blake's vision ever was. Draft centers indefinitely and maybe convert the ones who can't play center? And the ultimate irony, is LA was supposed to be unbelievable strong up the middle, and we're not.

I try to be grounded with with it all. Is this team as bad as the old Kings? No. Didn't make the playoffs for over a decade type team. But Kings are benefitting mightily from a crappy division. There's not much other way to frame that.

Really just the Petersen and PLD trades. Walker alone fetched a 1st round pick at the trade deadline. Just all this equity that seems to be maximized elsewhere. Which comes down to development. So many top prospects just not panning out. If a guy or two take that next step, maybe we sing a different tune. So therein lies where a new GM could make that difference.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Lot of jersey number changes coming up:

Kings Shake Up Jersey Numbers Ahead of NHL Season

A few updates here on the jersey number front. Akil Thomas took the liberty this morning of announcing his own change, via his participating in the NHLPA Rookie Showcase. Thomas is one of several Kings players to change their number this season, as...

fanrecap.com

Interesting to me is Laferriere switching to #14, I mentioned during the season he sure does remind me of Justin Williams, a gamer being groomed. Hope that is the case, wearing Mr Game 7s number has some huge shoes to fill.

 

[Kings4OT]

Lot of jersey number changes coming up:

Kings Shake Up Jersey Numbers Ahead of NHL Season

A few updates here on the jersey number front. Akil Thomas took the liberty this morning of announcing his own change, via his participating in the NHLPA Rookie Showcase. Thomas is one of several Kings players to change their number this season, as...

fanrecap.com

Interesting to me is Laferriere switching to #14, I mentioned during the season he sure does remind me of Justin Williams, a gamer being groomed. Hope that is the case, wearing Mr Game 7s number has some huge shoes to fill.

If he has just 1/3 of Williams career, thats still 1 cup! Get er done!

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

https://athlonsports.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/oilers-leon-draisaitl-issues-warning-connor-mcdavid-extension

Draisaitl extension. Kicks in next season at $14mil/year cap hit. Allegedly this is to set up McDavid signing next off-season. But Edmonton sure does feel like they might need to win it this year. Those are potent insane cap hits.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

https://athlonsports.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/oilers-leon-draisaitl-issues-warning-connor-mcdavid-extension

Draisaitl extension. Kicks in next season at $14mil/year cap hit. Allegedly this is to set up McDavid signing next off-season. But Edmonton sure does feel like they might need to win it this year. Those are potent insane cap hits.

Isn't he like 29? He delivered a ton of value on his current deal, he's getting paid for what he's done vs what he will do. Similar to Doughty, he was a steal on that 8 year/$56 million deal.

All of a sudden his $11 million cap hit doesn't look so bad. Back half of Draisaitl contract will probably not age well.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

https://athlonsports.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/oilers-leon-draisaitl-issues-warning-connor-mcdavid-extension

Draisaitl extension. Kicks in next season at $14mil/year cap hit. Allegedly this is to set up McDavid signing next off-season. But Edmonton sure does feel like they might need to win it this year. Those are potent insane cap hits.

I hope Blowby isn’t the GM by the time McDavid is an FA. Blowby will fuck it up and ship him off somewhere else for a bag of pucks.