Thread: Kings acquire Keaton Ellerby from Florida for a pick

Originally Posted by roenick

He is going to help right away. Darryl obvious is partial to veteran d-men with size. One less rook in the lineup.

At least DL is trying to allow this team to work their way out of this without blowing it up.

Well, Ellerby only has 20 more games of NHL experience....

Davis Drewiske - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by moontheloon23

Well, Ellerby only has 20 more games of NHL experience....

Davis Drewiske - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm guessing Ellerby had a lot more playing time than Drewiske.

Originally Posted by Riofan

I tell you what I do like: Florida fans say he's a good skater and has a good outlet pass, the expectations of being a 1st round pick are gone and Ellerby has the chance to fill a bottom 6 role with a new organization.

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Not a chance he will play in our bottom 6.

Originally Posted by King'sPawn

Keaton Ellerby is one of the players I was hoping DL would trade down to draft back in 2007. He was very big with a lot of upside. Unfortunately, he hasn't turned the corner yet to be a gamebreaker, but he is still relatively young with a lot of upside.

A big, mobile, defensive defenseman? Favorable Florida feedback likens him to a poor man's Jay Bouwmeester, which is very high praise (as long as you don't rely on him for offensive output). Even people who weren't very high on him admitted he has outplayed the vets at times, but that he's a 5/6 defenseman.

While people are saying this indicates trouble for Drewiske, I also think it spells a little bit of trouble for Muzzin. Remember one of the biggest draws for Muzzin is that he has size... and, well, now he's not the only one who has it. Ellerby looks like he's a lot more likely to play in Matt Greene's role as the tough stay-at-home defenseman. Add to Sutter's comments that he wanted Muzzin to be able to play more minutes, and Ellerby averages 3 more minutes per game, so he's capable.

Just guessing, obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised to have the pairings on Sunday be:

Scuderi - Doughty (lefty/righty, stay-at-home/puckmover)
Ellerby - Voynov (lefty/righty, stay-at-home/puckmover)
Martinez - Drewiske (stay-at-home/puckmover)

Either way, I am very excited about the trade. Acquiring him about five years later than I hoped, but I think this is a great move.

Me too. I remember sitting at the Kodak theater when pick #4 was coming around, and we knew it was going to be a defenseman. Ellerby or Alzner, upside or low-risk stability...who's it gonna be?.........From the Seattle Thunderbirds, Thomas Hickey! WTF?!?!?! Clearly this is about righting a 5 year old wrong. This is the guy we should have had, and we finally got him. I think he'll do just fine here, especially with Sutter behind the bench and when Greene and Mitchell get back. I really like this trade.

Originally Posted by Tre West

I don't think the Kings will ever retire Blake's number. Especially the current management. He was a great defenseman in his time, but I would sooner retire Greene or Mitchell's number ahead of Blake's. They both played better when it counted, played harder when it counted, and both raised a f'n CUP! Can I get a hell yeah???

I was just asking myself why can't Ellerby wear his #4 on the Kings?

It's not like Blake is going to unretire and play again, and as Tre says the days of possibility of retiring his number went bye bye on June 11, 2012. Not to mention better candidates from the past such as Butch and others who have special places in the fans memories.

Karma can be a bitch some times.

Here's to Keaton Ellerby becoming the Matt Moulson and Teddy Purcell we get coming back.

Love this guy. I wanted him his draft year, and even though he hasn't met the very high expectations people had for him, he's still a damn good dman.

He reminds me of a Braydon Coburn. Tall, lanky, physical defenseman with great reach, and good in their own zone. What I like most is just how mobile, and good of a skater Ellerby is.

He's still only 24, and has had success in a big role in the AHL for Rochester. It's clear he's not going to be a cornerstone of a franchise, but he should be able to thrive in a sound defensive system, and the weight of high expectations taken off his back.

Originally Posted by King'sPawn

Just a couple points, because I don't completely agree:

1) the move isn't about acquiring a superstar. As I said in the other thread, the defensemen are, for the most part, playing out of their element, with different roles. The acquisition of Ellerby, who will be playing a role similar to Greene (defensive and tough), helps provide stability and should improve the corps as a whole. A fifth round pick is certainly worth that.

2) Even if it was for a singular player, you're right that teams don't usually let players go for a fifth, but this is slightly different as it's a numbers game. Remember the Kings acquired Quincey from waivers. The Islanders acquired Hickey from waivers (while many call him a bust, he's been serviceable on NYI). So... you may be right that superstars aren't usually traded for 5th round picks, complete duds aren't necessarily given away either; sometimes they are just victims of numbers.

That's very true and I agree with your points. Ellerby would have to be catastrophically bad for this move to be a mistake. But with that said, if he could fetch more than a 5th, Florida would have traded him somewhere else. Trading a player is different situation than losing him to waivers in a numbers game.

In the Times write up DL mentioned it was the best deal of what was out there (not a direct quote but this is what he said it to this effect). I fully took it to mean they were other, more expensive deals out there. This is a total win to me. Ellerby has looked very good out there so far. I totally see him as a younger version of Greene (or growing into that type of player). This could be a very good deal.