Offseason thread

[PuckinUgly57]

I asked this question a while back: Can Sutter, and more importantly, Lombardi, survive the season and still be employed by the Kings if the team has a bad year (i.e., no playoffs). Honestly, I want Lombardi to stay, even if the Kings miss the playoffs again. He obviously did a great job building the team, and then has made some bad decisions recently which have costs the Kings. The last thing we want is a desperate GM who starts to make far-fetched moves.

As long as Lombardi is in it for the long haul, I think he will do well. That said, I think no major moves this season at all. Not until after Expansion Draft. Question is will Anshutz / AEG tolerate another bad season?

Personally, I think if the Kings have a craptastic season I think both Dumbo and Sutter are safe. The issue is because even with the WCQF meltdown last season, the Kings were literally an hour or so away from winning the division title only a year after missing the POs by less than 5 points (if I recall). That shows management and ownership the group is still competitive and intact, and that the coaching and game strategy is working. The Kings have a defined system and it works.

These 2 seasons were right after winning a Stanley Cup, so IMO opinion they are both safe no matter what happens this season. However, I do think this will be the last "leash" year. While the team as a whole has been pretty decent the last few years, even with the debacles of Richards, Stoll, Voynov, Brown's contract, Lucic and Sekera trades, etc. Dumbo has not been as successful as he was in the two other stages of the franchise under his watch (rebuilding - 100% nailed it, getting the team to a competitive stage and augmenting it with trades to make it a legitimate contender - 100% nailed it, keeping the team as a legitimate contender - this is where he is struggling with moves that didn't pan out but in his defense he also had to navigate through the some things that changed the complexion of the team that were out of left field). Looking at his overall body of work in (now - crazy how it flew by) 10 years, he has done well.

Now if the Kings were rudderless, had high picks year after year, constant change (coaches, staff, players, etc.), couldn't draft players who are going to be part of the franchise moving forwards, couldn't make a high end trade that on paper looks like a slam dunk, etc. and missed the playoffs I think you're on to something.