2022 Offseason Thread

[Illegal_Stick]

It?s unfortunate that the bloated contracts of Kopitar and Doughty really force this team up against the cap, while no longer providing value commensurate with other players of similar cap hits. Definitely what?s keeping us in the middle, as those guys should probably be making 8-8.5 mill per compared to comparable players. Plus having two goalies earn the same $$ as the highest free agent goalies signed for this free agency period is really painful to watch. That Peterson extension unfortunately came due a year too soon, because he would have been closer to 2.5-3 mil per if it were signed today.

Cost of doing business. Gaudreau won't be worth it in 5 or 6 or 7 years. At least Kopitar and Doughty are still good players. Top center and top pair defenceman. And you wouldn't have been able to keep either at 8/8.5. So while I hear you that neither is worth 10 currently, there is a reason. Petersen - hard to argue with. He's not currently a 5 mil goalie for sure and you're right, if they had only waited, that would have been an easy contract.

 

[DarkLeftHand]

Cost of doing business, to a degree yes. Also just bad timing, as the big contracts at the time seemed to not be tempered by flat salary cap stagnation, but you don’t see Crosby, Ovechkin with the bloated contracts, by comparison. What about Hedman? Stamkos? Kucherov? Makar? We will see what Mackinnon signs for.. but is it unreasonable to expect Doughty and kopitar to have not put the screws to the Kings, if these other elite winners didn’t to their teams? It’ll be at their feet when this group doesn’t get it done this year, and the Kings have nothing left to acquire an extra piece to push them over the top, or when raises come due for Byfield, Kaliyev etc.

 

[salami]

Summer thread variety pack:

 

[Ice24]

I like what Anaheim has done, added some grit, toughness and skill to their lineup. Unfortunately, the Kings still won't have the size, toughness and skill to compete against the more physical teams at least for the near future. Believe in the process! Hopefully just a few more seasons until they are ready to compete with the Colorado's and Tampa Bays of the NHL. 2025-2026 should be a fun one. It took Colorado that many seasons to finally add the size and grit to their skill.

 

[Bollocks]

Cost of doing business, to a degree yes. Also just bad timing, as the big contracts at the time seemed to not be tempered by flat salary cap stagnation, but you don?t see Crosby, Ovechkin with the bloated contracts, by comparison. What about Hedman? Stamkos? Kucherov? Makar? We will see what Mackinnon signs for.. but is it unreasonable to expect Doughty and kopitar to have not put the screws to the Kings, if these other elite winners didn?t to their teams? It?ll be at their feet when this group doesn?t get it done this year, and the Kings have nothing left to acquire an extra piece to push them over the top, or when raises come due for Byfield, Kaliyev etc.

Nobody really expected this team to be a playoff team so soon. That's basically "messing up" with the timeline of contracts a bit...had they not make the playoffs last year it's dubious if Fiala gets signed.

But it's not like the Kings are a contender yet. When Kopitar hands off the reigns of this team in 2 years, there needs to be a new #1C in the system, otherwise they will have a very difficult time competing with the super talented teams like the Avs and the whole cap thing will be moot if you can't ice an elite talent team. Cap room is pointless if it's spent on a mediocre team.

 

[jammer06]

Pretty sure Sergachev's contract along with Cernak's contract have locked Tampa into their closing window but we'll see how it turns out for them.
Wonder if Kadri will end up in Calgary? Sutter seems like he could keep his level of play going for a few years at least.
Getting Mikey done is probably the biggest offseason focus at this point for Blake. If Durzi wants to sit out and let Clarke have a shot at his spot he's more than welcome to. I'd be surprised if he beat out Spence though.
I will say Anaheim did get better, not sure if Edmonton did. Really can't tell if Vegas is better or not since so much rides on Stone and Lehner and right now they need to heal more than anything. San Jose and Seattle seem to be spinning their wheels a bit. The Pacific is going to be another crapshoot honestly, but if the Kings are going to hang in it they need their kids to provide their improvement faster than the vets decline.

 

[drums4dmf]

I like what Anaheim has done, added some grit, toughness and skill to their lineup. Unfortunately, the Kings still won't have the size, toughness and skill to compete against the more physical teams at least for the near future. Believe in the process! Hopefully just a few more seasons until they are ready to compete with the Colorado's and Tampa Bays of the NHL. 2025-2026 should be a fun one. It took Colorado that many seasons to finally add the size and grit to their skill.

That Strome contract is terrible IMO.

 

[Ice24]

That Strome contract is terrible IMO.

We won't actually know until midway through. The nice thing is Blake understands this team is not a team that will contend for the Stanley Cup any time soon and is not making rash decisions. They have time and hopefully in a few seasons, they make that run. Add pieces one by one and not all at once.

 

[jammer06]

Under the divisional format there's a far higher chance that this team can make the 2nd-3rd round without "deserving" it. Just keep em pointed in the right direction and see where they go.

 

[AngelEyes]

Pretty sure Sergachev's contract along with Cernak's contract have locked Tampa into their closing window but we'll see how it turns out for them.
Wonder if Kadri will end up in Calgary? Sutter seems like he could keep his level of play going for a few years at least.
Getting Mikey done is probably the biggest offseason focus at this point for Blake. If Durzi wants to sit out and let Clarke have a shot at his spot he's more than welcome to. I'd be surprised if he beat out Spence though.
I will say Anaheim did get better, not sure if Edmonton did. Really can't tell if Vegas is better or not since so much rides on Stone and Lehner and right now they need to heal more than anything. San Jose and Seattle seem to be spinning their wheels a bit. The Pacific is going to be another crapshoot honestly, but if the Kings are going to hang in it they need their kids to provide their improvement faster than the vets decline.

I don't know what happened with Grubauer last year, but if he can recapture his previous form, the Kraken might surprise some folk. (I'm still scratching my head about the Jones signing. I guess they really want Joey Daccord to get a full season at their AHL 'let's-play-ice-hockey-in-the-desert' team.)

 

[Kurisu]

if the Kings are going to hang in it they need their kids to provide their improvement faster than the vets decline.

This really says it all. And is precisely why being a successful GM is such a dark magic. Look how quickly the 2014 Kings became the 2017 Kings.

 

[DyslexicTom]

I would have taken the $5.5 million spent on Kempe and put it towards the $6 million for Palat, who is basically the Justin Williams-type player that Kopitar can excel with, but that's just me.

 

[What party?]

This really says it all. And is precisely why being a successful GM is such a dark magic. Look how quickly the 2014 Kings became the 2017 Kings.

Uh, dude. Please see the below gif and evaulate WHAT ACTUALLY happened in that timeframe.

 

[drums4dmf]

I don't know what happened with Grubauer last year, but if he can recapture his previous form, the Kraken might surprise some folk. (I'm still scratching my head about the Jones signing. I guess they really want Joey Daccord to get a full season at their AHL 'let's-play-ice-hockey-in-the-desert' team.)

They picked up Jones for all of the games against SJ and LA. He loves to stand on his head against his former team

 

[jgs]

Palat would have been a great addition to the Kings but that is history now. The Kings should be better but will it be good enough to make another playoff run is questiobable at best. Other teams in the division and conference have gotten better. Calgary losing Gudreau might be the team that declines depending on what they do to replace Gudreau.

 

[Helvetica]

we picked up a top line winger, should have Doughty for the season, and expect guys like Kaliyev and Byfield to show some progress. We should be a better team than we were last season. The size/grit issue wont really be an issue until the stretch run into the playoffs. I fully expect the Kings to be competing for a 2nd/3rd seed. My concerns are goaltending, and scoring from the blue line. But overall, i expect more goals from this team than last season.

 

[hokiecat]

Pretty sure Sergachev's contract along with Cernak's contract have locked Tampa into their closing window but we'll see how it turns out for them.
Wonder if Kadri will end up in Calgary? Sutter seems like he could keep his level of play going for a few years at least.
Getting Mikey done is probably the biggest offseason focus at this point for Blake. If Durzi wants to sit out and let Clarke have a shot at his spot he's more than welcome to. I'd be surprised if he beat out Spence though.
I will say Anaheim did get better, not sure if Edmonton did. Really can't tell if Vegas is better or not since so much rides on Stone and Lehner and right now they need to heal more than anything. San Jose and Seattle seem to be spinning their wheels a bit. The Pacific is going to be another crapshoot honestly, but if the Kings are going to hang in it they need their kids to provide their improvement faster than the vets decline.

I agree with everything you said. For the Kings, I'm optimistic that having Fiala as a top line guy will free up the kids to perform without pressure of being the offensive savior.

I agree on Tampa. I feel like they got married to their players after 3 Cup runs. Is there no other Selke forward who scores< 20 goals that they could have signed for 6.1 million? I think they locked up too much of the core and for too long. A core isn't 8 guys deep.

Hopefully Blake can bridge Mikey soon

 

[Kurisu]

Man, Vegas is paying the bills on that Eichel trade. Can we have McNabb back for nothing too?

 

[moontheloon23]

I would have taken the $5.5 million spent on Kempe and put it towards the $6 million for Palat, who is basically the Justin Williams-type player that Kopitar can excel with, but that's just me.

Maybe if they were the same age, but with Kempe we're getting his peak years (25-29), and with Palat NJ is paying for his decline (31-36).

 

[drums4dmf]

Any word on contract discussions for Durzi and Anderson?