2024-25 Season Thread

[LAKINGSFAN]

Yes they were t3, I thought Stutzle should be #1 as he looked NHL ready. But just because consensus of whoevers say a guy should go at what number.....doesnt mean they are correct and a good talent team can see through the hype and get the right guy....thats their job. If I did my job based on other people outside my company telling me what to do I would be fired....not the same but similarities. Why do some teams trade up or down? Usually a guy is miss # and teams will base their decisions on what they expect others to do

I get it. I am in agreement with needing to make some moves in the front office. I think that is a given. If we contunue this trend of giving away picks and assets (veryy few) it isnt sustainable. We cant keep overpaying for free agents and getting fleeced in trades or we will never get out of the cap issues we have had.

 

[histkng23]

Clearly bored on a Wed night with only two hockey games on the docket so I went down a rabbit hole and decided to look at old LA rosters. Good lord look at this rag tag bunch:

2007-08 Los Angeles Kings Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts | Hockey-Reference.com

Check out the latest Los Angeles Kings Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts and more on Hockey-Reference.com

www.hockey-reference.com

That summer Dumbo went bananas and signed Calder, Handzus, Preissing and Brad Stuart as UFAs to either keep as veteran players while giving the youth some shelter or to flip them at the deadline (I think he got a 1st for Stuart from Detroit).

Guiliano, I remember calling him Gonzo because of the beak, Zeiler was Frat Boy because he wore polos all the time and aviators, Andy Murray's kid Brady, somehow Lauri Tukonen (another 1st round bust but during Al Murray's tenure) was on that team. Yikes.

Just goes to show how hard it is to build a Stanley Cup team, Dumbo had this to work with but had a clear plan and followed it.

Feel I recall reading a statement by Deano during that year, why he signed all the FA's, even admitting to "overpaying" for Handzus because he was coming off a torn ACL, was to make sure the Kings were above the floor of the Salary Cap. Being insulation for Brown, Kopitar, JMFJ, etc., was also necessary. But he also hired Marc Crawford as coach, who in hindsight wasn't the best, even if he'd won a Cup with Colorado. Main turning point came with trade for Stoll & Greene, which we've discussed, but, imo, hiring Terry Murray to install a structure, amd teach players how to play proper defense (literally spray painting circles on the ice requiring players to identify where to go to in the D Zone) are the catalysts to creating the winning team we were finally blessed with...