2024-25 Season Thread

[PuckinUgly57]

Ya probably Kypreos, but he was the only one that called Rantanen...so theres that I guess. Trading Buster would be admitting they screwed up (yet fucking again)....I doubt they do that

Playing conspiracy theorist here, but maybe that was the point of the damage control - plump his value up including giving him a long term deal instead of a bridge. That would be the quintonsential (see what I did there) chess move, checkmate.

If so that means they decided last summer he isnt part of the long term plan and identified he most likely will not develop into that star 1C/2C. Locked him up.long term knowing the cap is going up and $6.25 million will be easier to absorb starting in 2025-26 for basically all teams vs if they moved him now. Cost certainty for any team who acquires him.

I think any trade involving Buster would be a summer move when teams have the most space. Only two pressing contracts this summer will be Laferriere and Gavrikov. But that's assuming Buster is available to begin with.

That would be something and if so fooled me to a T. But Blake isn't that smart so...carry on.

 

[Kings4OT]

McJesus blew his wad on that no cup goal. Oil not good and hes been barely around since

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Ducks did the Kings a solid and beat the Canucks 5-2. Granted it was a B2B for Vancouver but that keeps them away from PD3 some more. Canucks had a 2-0 lead early, similar to LA last night but Anaheim rattled off 5 in a row.

Big test for LA coming up tomorrow against Dallas, feels like forever since LA has won in that building.

Then as if the schedule makers didn't screw with LA as it was with such a road heavy schedule most of this season so far they play the Blues three times in a week with a stop against Chicago in between. Strange.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Yup, that's how I see it too. Rittich is a decent goalie but not a legitimate starter, plus he's also on an expiring contract himself. Clarke, Turcotte minimal value, TOTM not productive enough for the term and cash left on his deal.

Kempe would have to be the centerpiece but he has evolved into the Kings best player overall and is on a steal of a deal. He is eligible to sign an extension this summer, we will know what his ask is and if the Kings would be willing to meet it.

Blake signed Doughty to that 8 year/$88 million deal so I don't see why they wouldn't invest in their home grown star for $10+ million AAV but hes done some crazy things so who knows.

But the Canes would start with Kempe in the conversation and even for Rantanen that weakens the Kings moving Kempe.

I don't think Rantanen is having the same value right now. There is real talk that his stats have always been inflated by playing with Mackinnon, especially seeing what Martin Necas has been able to do since arriving in Colorado. I am trying not to be a homer, but I don't think even a 1 for 1 trade for Kempe is fair from the Kings standpoint. The point of working with Carolina is under the premise that they absolutely cannot afford to lose Rantanen in the summer like they just did to Guentzel last summer. They've been Rob Blaking assets into the league and don't have as much to show for it. They may be more likely to make a move. They are in their win-now window, but their goaltending is a massive problem, and they still haven't really separated themselves from the pack in any way.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I completely forgot about this guy, a read on how the stretch run looks:

LAK Stretch Run: How will it be different? — The Fourth Period

Dennis Bernstein checks in on the LA Kings and touches on their approach heading into the trade deadline.

www.thefourthperiod.com

Thought this was interesting about Buster:

Quinton Byfield may never become the volume shooter required to become a big-time goal scoring center but his career-high four assists in the victory of Vegas indicates he’s becoming more comfortable as a facilitator.

Umm...he wasn't drafted 2OA to be a facilitator ans certainly not paid $6.25 million to be one. His job was to drive a line and score. Centers do pass, that's their job too, but he just doesn't seem to have a goal scoring mindset or ability.

 

[Kings4OT]

I completely forgot about this guy, a read on how the stretch run looks:

LAK Stretch Run: How will it be different? — The Fourth Period

Dennis Bernstein checks in on the LA Kings and touches on their approach heading into the trade deadline.

www.thefourthperiod.com

Thought this was interesting about Buster:

Quinton Byfield may never become the volume shooter required to become a big-time goal scoring center but his career-high four assists in the victory of Vegas indicates he’s becoming more comfortable as a facilitator.

Umm...he wasn't drafted 2OA to be a facilitator ans certainly not paid $6.25 million to be one. His job was to drive a line and score. Centers do pass, that's their job too, but he just doesn't seem to have a goal scoring mindset or ability.

A lot of his passes are just that, passes....not facilitating anything except getting the puck to a guy who drives to a danger area and makes the real pass to the shooter. He gets some good plays here and there, but at a rate of a b6. Not sure that changes.

2 of those 4 were good plays, 2 had zero to do with him in the play and his 5th A was awarded by me for his play when Vegas scored

 

[PuckinUgly57]

But but but...he's only 21.

Report: Dallas Stars Have Massive Offer on the Table for Pending RFA Wyatt Johnston

21-year-old Wyatt Johnston is proving that his impressive first two seasons in the NHL were no fluke, and the Dallas Stars are getting ready...

www.nhltraderumors.me

I could have lived with Buster's contract if he put up two solid seasons in a row, he's shown last season was a fluke and the previous seasons and this season is who he really is.

 

[Kings4OT]

Rumor is Kings are in on Rantanen, looking at Jake Evans to mitigate loss down the middle which points to Buster.

Kings fans who want Rantanen are in for a treat and dont watch him at all....he is basically the Finnish PLG or Pencakes. So those of you looking for miracles and 120 points while not working hard to back check or even look like hes expending energy are going to be on the hate train in 3 games.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Rumor is Kings are in on Rantanen, looking at Jake Evans to mitigate loss down the middle which points to Buster.

Kings fans who want Rantanen are in for a treat and dont watch him at all....he is basically the Finnish PLG or Pencakes. So those of you looking for miracles and 120 points while not working hard to back check or even look like hes expending energy are going to be on the hate train in 3 games.

I really hope that isn't true, he is going to cost an arm and a leg and the Kings simply are not contenders. One player won't push them over the top. But this is such a Blake move to save his job I could see it happening.

 

[Kings4OT]

I really hope that isn't true, he is going to cost an arm and a leg and the Kings simply are not contenders. One player won't push them over the top. But this is such a Blake move to save his job I could see it happening.

Buster + for sure, Canes are high on Spence the Fuckers...i dont want him to go

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Buster + for sure, Canes are high on Spence the Fuckers...i dont want him to go

No problem moving Buster, watched the Canes game earlier and Rantanen was all over creating havoc. Buster is afraid to go anywhere near the paint, the Kings need more players who go into the dirty areas.

Spence is turning into a solid defender, he's really rounded out his game especially for a guy his size. His shots get through too and he has more decisiveness than Clarke, I'd much rather move Clarke who is either several years away from becoming a T4 defender or won't turn into that at all.

If Buster, Clarke and a first would do it I'd be all over that but only if Rantanen agrees to an extension beforehand.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

Sorry for not being around, also I haven’t watched a single game of hockey this season even the Kings. In part it’s life and in part because I’m on strike until Blake is gone.
Anyway, I was reading the sports section when I came across this article.

Would Kings really trade Quinton Byfield? Why L.A. could make a bold deadline move

The Kings have salary-cap space and a need for a second-line center to improve their struggling power play. But will they make a bold move at the trade deadline?

www.latimes.com

Would Kings really trade Quinton Byfield? Why L.A. could make a bold deadline move​

The Kings’ needs are obvious with Friday’s NHL deadline looming, but is the price to meet them too high? For the Ducks, the question is will they make a push to end their six-year playoff drought or continue their build for the future?

The Kings entered the weekend third in the Pacific Division, five points up on Vancouver for the division’s final automatic postseason berth. But after being eliminated by Edmonton in the first round in each of the last three postseasons, simply getting to the playoffs is no longer enough. The only way to show progress is to get past the first round for the first time in more than a decade. And this team may need help to do that.
The Kings’ biggest wants are a second-line center and a right-handed-shooting winger who can help a feeble offense that ranked 24th in the 32-team league in goals and 30th on the power play, where it had a 14.7% success rate, entering Saturday night’s game with the St. Louis Blues. (how are they in the hunt with numbers like that is mind blowing.)
The Kings’ biggest wants are a second-line center and a right-handed-shooting winger who can help a feeble offense that ranked 24th in the 32-team league in goals and 30th on the power play, where it had a 14.7% success rate, entering Saturday night’s game with the St. Louis Blues.
The Kings haven’t won a postseason series in Rob Blake’s eight seasons as general manager, leaving him on the hot seat as another first-round series with Edmonton looms. A team spokesman declined an opportunity to have Blake discuss his plans for the trade deadline, and coach Jim Hiller offered little insight into their plans.

“Blakey and I talk about it,” he said. “Those guys have been working on that for a long time; talking, meeting, watching videos, evaluating players. We just go with what we’ve got. If we get to add somebody that helps us, we’ll take that too.”
Last season, with just $2.5 million in cap space at the deadline, the Kings stood pat, then made their customary early exit from the postseason. This season Blake has nearly double the space to work with — in addition to the knowledge that the cap will rise by $7.5 million before next season and $25.5 million over the next three seasons.


Over the last week the Kings have begun positioning themselves as potential players at the trade deadline. They need a dependable top-six forward to complement Quinton Byfield, Alex Laferriere and Warren Foegele — and Blake may be getting desperate (I bet he is) because the highly touted Byfield, 22, reportedly has emerged as a piece the Kings might be willing to give up.
Among the players the Kings have been linked to are center Ryan Donato of the Chicago Blackhawks and Luke Kunin, a right-handed-shooting forward with the San José Sharks. A more ambitious approach could yield forward Rickard Rakell, whom the rebuilding Pittsburgh Penguins might be willing to part with. Rakell, who spent 10 seasons with the Ducks, can play on either wing and has 25 goals and 24 assists this season.
In addition to Byfield, the Kings have 21-year-old defenseman Brandt Clarke to offer in trade, although the team repeatedly has said Clarke won’t be moved.

If the question for the Kings is how much will they to pay for what they need, the Ducks have to decide if they’re content to sit out the deadline altogether. The team’s long-suffering fans hasn’t seen a playoff game — must less a winning season — since 2019. But the Ducks, the second-hottest team in the Western Conference at 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, entered Saturday night’s game with Chicago just six points out of a wild-card berth with 24 games to play.

(The rest of the article is about the Dux and I don’t care)

AEG needs to clean the front office. Get rid of all of them and start over.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Kings, Hurricanes Nearing Trade?

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Saturday Headlines that the ball in the Carolina Hurricanes court when it comes to making a decision on the future of Mikk

www.si.com

Gaining momentum but this article doesn't say what would be sent back in return. Solid work from Sports Illustrated.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Rumor is Kings are in on Rantanen, looking at Jake Evans to mitigate loss down the middle which points to Buster.

Kings fans who want Rantanen are in for a treat and dont watch him at all....he is basically the Finnish PLG or Pencakes. So those of you looking for miracles and 120 points while not working hard to back check or even look like hes expending energy are going to be on the hate train in 3 games.

This is sort of my fear. But PLD on the Kings under McLlelan wasn't even PLD. Rantanen going from MacKinnon to Carolina is such a drastic shift. Probably very maximized efficiency playing with Makar and MacKinnon, then thrown into a defensive system. Maybe he'd land somewhere in between in playing in LA. Yeah I don't know. This has Blake trade written all over it though, so I'm thinking it'll happen. Carolina doesn't want draft picks, so you're for sure assuming real rostered assets going back. I'd rather move Byfield than Kempe, but maybe rather move nether. Who knows. I hated the way this team was built coming into the year, and they seem primed to fall to Edmonton for 4th year in a row, so who knows?

 

[Kings4OT]

Wish there was some way to make TOTM and Master Clarke worth more, package them with gold bars or something. Rantanen wouldnt hurt my feelings to get, but Kings are weak down the middle...which is Kings team building 101 so more likely Blake nabs headcase Petterson and we watch Buster become Sakic 2.0