GDT ***Playoffs Rd1 GAME 5 GDT LA Kings @ Edmonton Oilers 5/1/24 7:00pm on BSW & ESPN***

[symbology]

my favorite is still hearing people say we didnt utilize dubois properly.

That fact is he was not used properly. Another fact is, may not have mattered. However, if all season you put Kopi in PLD's place and put PLD on the first line and first PP what do you think would have happened? Kopi would have had a crap offensive year, and PLD's season would have been much better.

We still may not have been totally happy with it, but PLD for sure would have had a better year.

 

[EB924]

10 seasons without a playoff win is hilariously inept. 3 straight thrashings at the hands of the Oilers. Boring, bad hockey with no direction. We’ve spent a full ****ing decade in the black hole Lombardi warned us about.

Honestly I’ve never been more embarrassed to be a Kings fan.

You must not be old enough to remember the mid to late 90's (or any time before that). That was a MUCH worse team with no direction and no real pipeline to speak of. Maybe the series winning drought was shorter but they went 7 seasons without winning a single playoff GAME. Swept by the Blues in 98 and Red Wings in 2000 before finally winning a series in 2001. Then injuries derailed any chance of sustained success which triggered the true rebuild the team really needed, and that resulted in 2012/2014.

I know people are just angry after another loss, but as a long time fan, the Kings of seasons past have given me PLENTY more to be embarrassed about than this team

 

[EB924]

This is the first time ever that I am not really mad that the Kings lost in the playoffs. Why might you ask? Because the way this team played for the last 3/4 of the season showed that they were not playing well enough to win anything. I was not even sure they would get a single win in the playoffs against the Oilers.

This team has problems, but what are the answers?

Well, I have all of the answers, though doubt that any are correct.

I do think this PLD episode was a big mistake. Long term it may work out fine, if PLD can find his game in the coming years. He was brought in as a tweener 1st/2nd line center. He was not played like that this year. He was given tweener 3rd/4th line players to play with. Luc and Blake were so proud of this move and how it was going to put the Kings over the top into contender status. Since the middle of December this team's record was not even good enough to make the playoffs.

I like Fiala, he makes mistakes, but he is one of the best skaters and is the highest skilled player on this team. The last part of the season he made fewer mistakes and took fewer penalties. He also is a great backchecker, something he does not get alot of credit for. However, the trade for Fiala was costly. We traded a 1st round pic and a Calder finalist defensemen for him. Why did Blake include Faber? Was Blake really mad that Faber chose to stay in school and not join the Kings when the team wanted him to?

These last three "big" trades were not great for Blake, IMO. The Gavi and Korpi trade was not so bad, but he overpaid to keep Gavi. The PLD trade was a disaster. Both Blake and Luc were saying this trade was HUGE for the Kings and that PLD was going to help them go far in the playoffs. If that happened, great. However, we all know how the year went and what happened. Out in 5, with only one win in OT off a lucky bounce. This team is still in cap hell, and it has an average, or below average prospect pool. Blake's vision is not working.

This team could use a new direction, new management and some new players to along with that direction. Moving away from the 1-3-1 and having a more skilled and mobile defense would do wonders IMO.

I gotta go, so I guess that is enough ranting for now.

I think Blake did a decent enough job stock piling prospects and trying to build a young, fast team. My problem with his performance is that when it came time to acquire the pieces to turn the team into a true contender he failed miserably.

Don't get me wrong, i like Fiala. He makes mistakes but at least he wants to get better and puts in the effort. That being said, he's not the kind of guy who screams "playoff performer".

We all know what PLD brings to the table. Blake gave up a ton of assets for a guy who was KNOWN to have work ethic issues. He fell in love with his size without paying attention to how he used said size (spoiler: he doesn't use it). Because blake had assembled such a small team he desperately needed size but one guy isn't going to change that. He should have been addressing that problem a long time ago.

Blake handed out sh*tty contracts and put the team in a poor cap position. With Kopi and Doughty reaching the twilight of their careers you cannot afford to hamstring yourself with sh*tty contracts.

He kept F'ing up when it came to crunch time. It seems like he constantly traded away and aquired the wrong guys.

 

[Pevsfreedom]

After Todd was fired Blake said (before Hiller even addressed the media as the new coach) there would be no changes to the Kings system. This was Rob Blake's team playing Rob Blake's system. Maybe unfair to blame Hiller for any of that, as he was doing what he was told.

If the Kings continue with Blake, and try to run this system/team again next year, I seriously doubt I will pay much attention to the LA Kings. It hurts to say that, but this year has been an absolute FAILURE for the Kings. The person mostly to blame for that is Blake and whoever else is helping Blake make decisions. (Marc and Luc on PLD, I am sure).

If Blake's still here next season I may be a very distant fan. I've taken off seasons before

 

[RoS]

If the Kings continue with Blake, and try to run this system/team again next year, I seriously doubt I will pay much attention to the LA Kings. It hurts to say that, but this year has been an absolute FAILURE for the Kings. The person mostly to blame for that is Blake and whoever else is helping Blake make decisions. (Marc and Luc on PLD, I am sure).

I've unfortunately felt this way for Blake's entire tenure. I am so excited for the possibility of his (and Luc's) departure, and to be passionate about this team again!

 

[Statue4Deano]

my favorite is still hearing people say we didnt utilize dubois properly.

I have zero interest in defending Blake or Dubois but it made no sense to acquire a guy whose averaged about 25 goals per season in his career playing 17+ minutes per game who you just invested 8M a year for 8 years just to put him on the 3rd line next to a rookie who isn’t known for his skill level.

 

[Pevsfreedom]

I have zero interest in defending Blake or Dubois but it made no sense to acquire a guy whose averaged about 25 goals per season in his career playing 17+ minutes per game who you just invested 8M a year for 8 years just to put him on the 3rd line next to a rookie who isn’t known for his skill level.

also have zero interest because who cares but dubois was given time to shine - he was on 1pp, 1st line, guy got pulled and demoted every time and by the end of the season was almost a 4th line grinder. i personally would have ran 80, 22, and 55 together all year - but i don't think anything will fix his determination and the fact he's last on the ice and first off every shift.

 

[Statue4Deano]

That fact is he was not used properly. Another fact is, may not have mattered. However, if all season you put Kopi in PLD's place and put PLD on the first line and first PP what do you think would have happened? Kopi would have had a crap offensive year, and PLD's season would have been much better.

We still may not have been totally happy with it, but PLD for sure would have had a better year.

It’s pretty clear there was a disconnect between management and coaching on why Dubois was acquired.

 

[Statue4Deano]

You must not be old enough to remember the mid to late 90's (or any time before that). That was a MUCH worse team with no direction and no real pipeline to speak of. Maybe the series winning drought was shorter but they went 7 seasons without winning a single playoff GAME. Swept by the Blues in 98 and Red Wings in 2000 before finally winning a series in 2001. Then injuries derailed any chance of sustained success which triggered the true rebuild the team really needed, and that resulted in 2012/2014.

I know people are just angry after another loss, but as a long time fan, the Kings of seasons past have given me PLENTY more to be embarrassed about than this team

I remember those years vividly. I can unequivocally say it’s more embarrassing to be a fan now. The mid to late 90s teams were terrible in the wake of Gretzky but what expectations did we have as a fan base? None. Ownership were literal crooks. Management was incompetent and all we had was a lone Stanley Cup Final appearance for the first 30 years of the organization.

This season we had expectations. We as fans now know what a winning team looks like. We now know what a competent management group looks like. We now know what’s possible when the right organizational structure is in place. Today we have none of that. That’s what’s embarrassing. It’s been a decade of fumbling and bumbling and lies and incompetence from the top down. And the results on the ice are a manifestation of the poor decision making up top.

 

[JayWells24]

If Blake's still here next season I may be a very distant fan. I've taken off seasons before

I won't spend a nickel on this team until Flake is gone. Will be watching from a distance at best if he is still here.

 

[Statue4Deano]

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Rosen and this tweet sounds rooted in a personal grievance but you gotta admit what he’s implying here makes sense.

 

[Moog]

Congratulations to Danny B., Luc ,& Rob under your leadership you managed to revert the Kings back to their old form of : Not making the playoffs, 1 round and out, at best get booted in the 2nd round.

Somewhere Tim Leiweke is having a chuckle.

To Danny B.: Do what you did with Galaxy - CLEAN OUT THE FRONT OFFICE BRO CULTURE! Look what it did for Galaxy.
The Kings need the exact same thing. Get it done!

 

[Nyssa42]

I want to congratulate the Oilers & wish them all the best in their journey towards winning the Stanley Cup. But I can't. F**k them. McDavid's great, whatever. He's still the most boring superstar on the planet. But I truly despise Divesaitl. I hope he never wins the Cup, either with the Oilers or anywhere else. Anyway, I hate that team, I hate their players, I hate their fans, & I hope they get bounced in the next round.

but how do you REALLY feel??

 

[EB924]

I remember those years vividly. I can unequivocally say it’s more embarrassing to be a fan now. The mid to late 90s teams were terrible in the wake of Gretzky but what expectations did we have as a fan base? None. Ownership were literal crooks. Management was incompetent and all we had was a lone Stanley Cup Final appearance for the first 30 years of the organization.

This season we had expectations. We as fans now know what a winning team looks like. We now know what a competent management group looks like. We now know what’s possible when the right organizational structure is in place. Today we have none of that. That’s what’s embarrassing. It’s been a decade of fumbling and bumbling and lies and incompetence from the top down. And the results on the ice are a manifestation of the poor decision making up top.

Eh, I guess we're just different. I would be much more embarrassed if our current ownership/management were crooks and didn't care about even trying to win.

While I can criticize personnel decisions I can say with certainty that Blake has been trying to build a contending team. He even got about 2/3 the way there IMHO. Management has made a lot of mistakes, but the Kings as an organization are light years better than anything before Lombardi came in. I would argue that it's pretty hard to undo a lot oft he foundational improvements that Lombardi and co made during those years. A lot of that kind of stuff is still in place, we just don't have the right roster to compete with the best, and that's on Blake.
I think it's simply about having the wrong vision for how to build a successful team to compete in today's NHL.

 

[Clif]

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Rosen and this tweet sounds rooted in a personal grievance but you gotta admit what he’s implying here makes sense.

View attachment 9326

Further context:

Props to “James X” for calling them out for trying to be all mysterioso. Rosen backpeddles as much as clarifies. “Poor management.” Thanks bud, no sh*t.

 

[Statue4Deano]

Further context:

View attachment 9328

Props to “James X” for calling them out for trying to be all mysterioso. Rosen backpeddles as much as clarifies. “Poor management.” Thanks bud, no sh*t.

**** it. Let’s steal the Dodgers model.

Bring back Dean Lombardi in the Andrew Friedman role, make him President and let someone like Mark Yannetti handle the day to day ops in the Brandon Gomes GM role. Cheeseman can operate in the role of Mark Walter.

It’s time for a new/old vision.

 

[DoubleMinor]

So this season has ended. Mercifully.

It started with lots of promise but went off the tracks pretty quickly.
The Kings were really good at the beginning of the season when teams were figuring things out. Once things ramped up a bit in December the Kings began to struggle.
The playoff push was difficult for the Kings as speed and strength of the league took its toll.
The playoffs were another level and the Kings just couldn’t compete. They weren’t good enough in any area.

This season was a real disappointment. Instead of taking the promised next step and winning a playoff series or two, the team pretty much self-destructed.

Game 3 was an embarrassment. I left the arena with over 11 minutes remaining because I couldn’t stand watching it.

I don’t know what the organization will do. I’m not clear on whether Blake has another year on his contract or not. I’ve read he has a year left and also read that his contract is expiring.
Phil is already paying Todd not to coach here next year. Not sure he wants to pay Rob not to be GM if there is term left.

As disappointing as the season was the Kings found a new level in the playoffs. Several players were just not good at all…Moore, Roy, Fiala, and Gavrikov were pretty lousy. Others were just not playing well enough. A few were OK. But no one played a that well, in my opinion. Kempe was pretty good. Kopi was pretty good as well. But no one else.

Goalie was the primary concern going into the season. While Talbot and Rittich were good enough to get into the playoffs both were exposed once they started. Neither is good enough. Neither should be back. (Rittich as a backup or in Ontario wouldn’t be the worst move but hardly worth worrying about.).

EDM was better. They are good. They clearly deserved to win. They got better this year.

Obviously it was difficult and painful watching how the game unfolded last night. Another night watching the EDM PP shred the Kings, and another miserable night watching the Kings PP.
Certainly the story of the series was special teams.

Adding insult to injury was the embarrassing display from the referees. While EDM gets more than their share of calls, last night was another level.

NHL refs are bad. They’ve been bad for at least a few years (or decades). I don’t say that as an excuse. I do not believe that the refs are necessarily trying to help one team win. They are just bad.

But, it does the league no favors when two of the top players in the league use the tactics that Connor and Leon display. I understand gamesmanship. I understand working the refs. But these guys are on a completely different level.
I don’t have any respect for them. I think it’s bad for the game.

There is no mistaking the fact that sports have become a business. It’s less about sport and competition and more about the dollars and growing the game for economic reasons. One of the reasons I can still have the passion for hockey is that the NHL is less a business than the other sports. (Not that they aren’t trying, hockey is just not popular enough to be completely corrupted by the dollars.).

The spectacle with the refs last night was truly ridiculous. It feeds the narrative that the league is relentlessly trying to get McDavid to the Cup Finals. It’s a narrative that this league cannot afford.

Draisital is a terrific player. But his antics and tactics are garbage. There is no place for that in the game. It’s disrespectful to the league, opponents and fans. Flopping and embellishing are not honest. I accept some of it is part of the game. He has just taken it way beyond what should be acceptable.
I’m probably in the very small minority but I still believe in pure competition, the hard but clean spirit of competition. I see the soccer style nonsense and it makes me sick and disgusted.

I will reiterate that I do not believe these refs made bad calls to help EDM win. They were just overmatched in an environment where the star player begged for calls throughout the series, the other star player used tactics to get favorable calls, and these two star players created an atmosphere where the fans think the only “fair” call is one that favors their team. These bad refs fell victim to all of that.

Last night came off as illegitimate. The NHL should be concerned about how that looked.

All of this, from the Kings performance, to the EDM superiority and the pitiful refereeing, seems like a perfect ending to a very frustrating season.

I know all this will pass for the most part. And it should be an interesting offseason. And I’m sure I’ll be ready for next year long before it actually starts!
GKG

 

[Clif]

**** it. Let’s steal the Dodgers model.

Bring back Dean Lombardi in the Andrew Friedman role, make him President and let someone like Mark Yannetti handle the day to day ops in the Brandon Gomes GM role. Cheeseman can operate in the role of Mark Walter.

It’s time for a new/old vision.

As much as you and I both know that won’t happen, I am totally with you in spirit on this. Would really love Yanetti to have more of his own influence too.

Dean, get off that ranch in Idaho and come home.

 

[NewCastle]

Go rangers I guess get 32 another cup

Definitely this. The only reason I've been rooting for NYR all season... solely for Quick to prove he's greater than he's ever gotten credit for (outside of LA). Seeing him rise the ranks of the all-time win list and then maybe another Cup.

Screw Blake.

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[Statue4Deano]

As much as you and I both know that won’t happen, I am totally with you in spirit on this. Would really love Yanetti to have more of his own influence too.

Dean, get off that ranch in Idaho and come home.

What’s so frustrating is the residue of Lombardi’s design is still all over the franchise because he built something to last. The weakest links are all fixes installed after he left.

From Day 1, DL talked about building an organization that had weight and a legacy like Detroit. And against all odds the relentless bastard did it. Now, he did start chasing his tail once the weight of several poor choices collapsed inward but that’s when he should’ve been given a chance to step back and let someone else drive. It didn’t mean he needed to be completely removed from the equation.

It’s so easy for me to create a whole dramatic intra-company political narrative between the concurrent rise of DL focused on hockey ops and Luc focused on business ops. It gets even spicier when you consider that Luc took over Dean’s title of President after the firing.

However I’m trying to resist that urge and just focus on the fact that Luc is the President and he knows nothing about building a winner.