Interesting Article

[Psych3man]

Can LA Kings rediscover Stanley Cup 'spark' with 'subtle' offseason changes?

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Sort of rehashes a lot of what has already been covered but good read. They mentioned how advanced the Kings drafting and scouting was in the years leading up to when they won it, and that made me think about how maybe a lot of these guys were drafted pre-Lombardi. Quick, Kopitar, Brown were all drafted prior (I think). Not sure who else.

He's been a good GM but maybe some of the talent he inherited.

 

[Deader2818]

He did get Quick, Kopitar and Brown from Dave Taylor but he did also draft Lewis, Martinez, King, Doughty, Voynov, Clifford, Nolan, Toffoli, and Pearson as well as Simmonds and Schenn so overall hes done a pretty good job in drafting to fill out the team and alll those players were big parts of both cups or were moved to bring in Richards. There are other picks the jury are still out on that he drafted as well (Andreoff, Shore, Mercsh, Forbert, etc)

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Dumbo has a good draft history overall but the lack of quality picks the last few years is a bit concerning.

The Kings have only had two 1st round picks the last 6 years (2012/30/Pearson, 2014/29/Kempe) so it's important that the later round picks start to pan out since the high picks were moved in deals to make this team a Cup contender/winner (2011 - Edmonton/Penner, 2013 - BJs/Carter, 2015 - Bruins/Lucic, 2016 - Carolina/Sekera). Some worked out (Penner/Carter), some did not (Lucic/Sekera) but now that the Kings are cap strapped it's even more imperative to find some gems in the later rounds. They have had success as you mentioned, it's even more important now and the pressure falls on the scouting staff.

I think of the guys you mentioned in other picks, I'm pretty sure this is the last kick at the can for Forbert. He was drafted in 2010 (15th) and yeah, the Kings' defense was overall solid the last 4-5 seasons with veterans but now with the need for a solid SAH defender this is his turn. Defenders take a litte more time than forwards to settle into the NHL, but the opportunities are here now for Forbert and I hope he takes advantage of it; the Kings could use a solid defender on an ELC.

Interesting note I found tracking the Forbert pick: the Florida Panthers traded the 15th overall to LA for the 19th overall and a 2nd round pick (59th overall, almost a 3rd round pick). That 19th overall is Nick Bjugstad, and that 59th overall is Jason Zucker. Both guys have shown to be decent NHLers, with Bjugstad being the better of the two but Zucker showing some promise.

 

[Kings4OT]

I agree about Forbert, I think this is his shot and he could really help the Kings out here. If not, it will be very disappointing and we will most likely watch a struggling D again

 

[PuckinUgly57]

As it stands, the Kings have 3 top 4 defenders in Doughty/Muzzin/Martinez. There is a significant drop off in skill after that with Scuderi/Greene/McNabb although McNabb shows flashes. I expect more from him this season, he really needs to elevate his game and establish himself in that T4 group. Right now that defense does not look intimidating at all.

That leaves 1 spot open on defense, and it'll come down to Forbert and Gravel. I was actually more impressed with Gravel than I was with Forbert but Forbert has a significant size advantage over Gravel and we know how much LA likes that. This is showtime for Forbert to justify making him a 15th overall pick and announcing he deserves to play T6 minutes in the NHL.

If neither of these guys impress, I expect Dumbo to go looking for a bargain bin move like he did with Ehrhoff last summer to round out the 7 defenders, possibly moving one of Forbert or Gravel in a trade if nothing is available on the UFA market.