2022 Offseason Thread

[LAKingSteve]

Do you think perhaps there's a reason the conventional wisdom within actual NHL circles and the media figures who talk to those NHL circles recognize the Kings as having one of if not the best group of prospects in the entire league? You're talking about cleaning house of the entire scouting department because you aren't happy with the speed at which the prospects are developing. Maybe that's a you problem and not a problem of the scouting dept?

Exactly. Byfield, Turcotte, Clarke...all these first rounders were highly ranked by all the experts. As you get into the second round and deeper, the likelihood of any of those guys being a "star" shrinks. Even your first rounders don't always develop as expected which may be the issue with Vilardi and Kupari (both also had significant injuries early on). Turcotte is really the only one I'm truly concerned about being a miss...but I'm not sure if that's a skill thing or once again an injury issue. I expect QB and Clarke to be stars and fit in nicely with the likes of Arvi, Danault, Fiala and Doughty as this team builds a new core. I also think that guys like Kaliyev & Grans (off the top of my head) will be much more than serviceable.

 

[gokor84]

The Kings draft well but don't know how to develop a first round forward prospect. You dont stash them in AHL for 2 years then put on limited NHL roles and ask why they are not contributing. On top of that go and sign/trade for veteran players to further block their path . Next year is going to even worse with no notable UFAs that the kids can replace.

 

[Illegal_Stick]

Do you think perhaps there's a reason the conventional wisdom within actual NHL circles and the media figures who talk to those NHL circles recognize the Kings as having one of if not the best group of prospects in the entire league? You're talking about cleaning house of the entire scouting department because you aren't happy with the speed at which the prospects are developing. Maybe that's a you problem and not a problem of the scouting dept?

As I said, for now, there is still time and there is still hope that these players pan out. If they don't, then how could you not look at amateur scouting? The NHL media loves the prospect pool because it consists of a lot of players who are supposed to turn into great players. If most don't, you wouldn't look at the people who chose those players? For now, there's no move to make, patience is required for young players (again, as I already said.) If in two years, the majority haven't panned out it's not a "me" problem, it's an organizational one.

To be clear: To me, it appears that Blake and his scouts of all levels have done great work and his first round selections APPEAR to be far better than the previous regimes, but thus far he has done great on college signings and phenomenal on trades and free agents. There is one area we don't have conclusive success with and it is the most difficult: amateur scouting (for players within the draft.)

 

[roenick]

As I said, for now, there is still time and there is still hope that these players pan out. If they don't, then how could you not look at amateur scouting? The NHL media loves the prospect pool because it consists of a lot of players who are supposed to turn into great players. If most don't, you wouldn't look at the people who chose those players? For now, there's no move to make, patience is required for young players (again, as I already said.) If in two years, the majority haven't panned out it's not a "me" problem, it's an organizational one.

To be clear: To me, it appears that Blake and his scouts of all levels have done great work and his first round selections APPEAR to be far better than the previous regimes, but thus far he has done great on college signings and phenomenal on trades and free agents. There is one area we don't have conclusive success with and it is the most difficult: amateur scouting (for players within the draft.)

jt and I have been talking about this. Do you think, perhaps, it is more about Blake choosing the "safe" players? He seems risk intolerant when selecting players at the draft table. They want safe "their kinds of players" and you hear the words "players we can trust" a lot. In essence his picks are safe choices. In contrary to this philosophy you see a team like Tampa Bay (ironically enough drafted by Al Murray who is their head of scouting) shooting for the moon on high risk/high reward players (their 1st rounder fits this bill as does the one they drafted when they traded up with the LAK). I would love for Blake to start taking some chances with picks.

I have full faith in Yanetti. I think he can find the players he is being asked to find. Losing him, to me at least, would be a big detriment to the club.

 

[Illegal_Stick]

jt and I have been talking about this. Do you think, perhaps, it is more about Blake choosing the "safe" players? He seems risk intolerant when selecting players at the draft table. They want safe "their kinds of players" and you hear the words "players we can trust" a lot. In essence his picks are safe choices. In contrary to this philosophy you see a team like Tampa Bay (ironically enough drafted by Al Murray who is their head of scouting) shooting for the moon on high risk/high reward players (their 1st rounder fits this bill as does the one they drafted when they traded up with the LAK). I would love for Blake to start taking some chances with picks.

I have full faith in Yanetti. I think he can find the players he is being asked to find. Losing him, to me at least, would be a big detriment to the club.

I see what you're saying about Blake and I'd almost agree, except for Byfield. I know he was projected to go as high as second, but there was a safer pick to be had there and he's currently doing just fine for the Sens. Outside of that pick, I can see what you're saying. Maybe he looks at some of the swings DL took and it makes him very risk adverse. He certainly wouldn't want a Hickey on his watch. Yanetti seems like a genius every time I hear him talk, so when I say if all these picks fail, I'm not thinking - Yanetti needs to go. I guess the better way to say it would've been - they would need to sit down and look at how they do things and re-consider their approach.

And...

Al Murray is the head of TB scouting? WTF! Al Murray who everyone wanted fired here for so long? How do I not know this? Maybe blocked it out.

 

[Bollocks]

jt and I have been talking about this. Do you think, perhaps, it is more about Blake choosing the "safe" players? He seems risk intolerant when selecting players at the draft table. They want safe "their kinds of players" and you hear the words "players we can trust" a lot. In essence his picks are safe choices. In contrary to this philosophy you see a team like Tampa Bay (ironically enough drafted by Al Murray who is their head of scouting) shooting for the moon on high risk/high reward players (their 1st rounder fits this bill as does the one they drafted when they traded up with the LAK). I would love for Blake to start taking some chances with picks.

I have full faith in Yanetti. I think he can find the players he is being asked to find. Losing him, to me at least, would be a big detriment to the club.

You sure he's so "safe"?

I haven't followed this year's draft all that much, but previous years...Grans is very much a high upside pick, Pinelli, a player on loan in Europe in some "scrub league"? Kirsanov isn't a "safe" pick by any definition - none of the Russian players are unless they are really standing out. Has 2 KHL seasons under his belt as a 19yo. Simontaival, a skilled but undersized winger who also played 2 seasons already in Liiga at 20yo? Holding his own there, Finland U20 international. Chromiak is a highly skilled offensive prospect who - at the time of draft - spent only half a season in NA. Nousiainen is a skilled undersized D-man that could surprise some people.

He may not go out on a limb in first round that much...and IMO he's correct to do that. At the time of draft, Turcotte was almost everyone's favorite choice as a Mike Richards type of player. If he doesn't pan out, s*** happens. Look at Dach and Kakko - they aren't exactly lighting it up, are they? And they might never do. Hindsight.

He took a risk with Vilardi, in a way. So far it didn't pan out. But he wasn't exactly a "safe pick".

I think he manages this risk very well and as a result the Kings have a very deep and highly regarded prospect pool where they can now afford to trade away some chips for whatever they need. And this is more important than doing anything in his power to land a superstar without a top 1-2 pick. And in the end - who cares if Faber doesn't ever pan out in the aftermath, for example (though I'm pretty sure he will)? And that's the key here. If he'd pick many more stardom wild cards OR if he was only picking extremely safe picks, there wouldn't be so many shiny things to choose from at all.

 

[Clif]

Yep, lots of examples. Kaliyev wasn’t safe at all - he fell because he was regarded as a on-trick pony. Clarke had knocks against his skating and d-zone coverage. This last draft they picked a number of reaches/projects. They also traded into the 7th to take a kid who had played only 2 games all season.

I think there’s more of a mix than it looks like but Blake’s insistence on slow cooking the prospects and Todd’s emphasis on doling out minutes based on very high trust levels limits the wow factor we’ve been able to see as of yet.

Plus this is still a team that emphasizes defensive responsibility for all players. You don’t make it if you don’t play it safe to significant extent.

 

[Statue4Deano]

Matthew Tkachuk is done in Calgary. Seems to me he’s the exact type of abrasive winger with size and skill this team could use on the 1st line for 7 or so years. He’s 24 and just had his first 40 goal season.

Blake has the assets to make that deal but should he?

 

[SOBER]

Do you think perhaps there's a reason the conventional wisdom within actual NHL circles and the media figures who talk to those NHL circles recognize the Kings as having one of if not the best group of prospects in the entire league? You're talking about cleaning house of the entire scouting department because you aren't happy with the speed at which the prospects are developing. Maybe that's a you problem and not a problem of the scouting dept?

That's not a problem with the scouting department, it's a problem with the development department, these players aren't coming up at the correct pace and being put in the best position to succeed in the NHL team and so far other than Kaliyev, we have not seen any real results. This more indicates the management of the prospects instead of the scouting of the prospects as the problem.

 

[Ice24]

Matthew Tkachuk is done in Calgary. Seems to me he?s the exact type of abrasive winger with size and skill this team could use on the 1st line for 7 or so years. He?s 24 and just had his first 40 goal season.

Blake has the assets to make that deal but should he?

Great regular season player, however big-time money and best friends with Drew.

 

[What party?]

Matthew Tkachuk is done in Calgary. Seems to me he?s the exact type of abrasive winger with size and skill this team could use on the 1st line for 7 or so years. He?s 24 and just had his first 40 goal season.

Blake has the assets to make that deal but should he?

The internet has made me laugh on this topic today, to that end the joke to beat: Gaudreau for Tkachuk 1 for 1.

 

[Ice24]

Tkachuk, great regular season player. 4 goals in 12 playoff games this past season, 10 points in 12 games. Iaffalo, Valardi, JAD

 

[DryKing]

Great regular season player, however big-time money and best friends with Drew.

Yep he's a great player and the type we are looking for in every way except character. The cheap shots he took on Drew, even as a rookie, make me want no part of him.

 

[Statue4Deano]

Yep he's a great player and the type we are looking for in every way except character. The cheap shots he took on Drew, even as a rookie, make me want no part of him.

I really don't think Doughty took any of their on ice battles personally. Not sure why any of us should care more than the players involved.

 

[DryKing]

I really don't think Doughty took any of their on ice battles personally. Not sure why any of us should care more than the players involved.

Not sure I agree. Doughty has made it pretty plain that he has zero respect for Tkachuk - which doesn't mean he can't laugh about get roasted by a friend. Doughty is quoted as saying he has no respect for Doughty and would never talk to him off the ice. To me that doesn't sound like forgive and forget.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1180719327990837251

 

[Illegal_Stick]

I think given the cap, Tkachuk is a moot point. I don’t like the guy, but he would make this team better and DD would have to get over it (and he would.) and for those of you saying you wouldn’t want a player like this, reminder: we literally have a guy who bit someone last year lol.

 

[Illegal_Stick]

Tkachuk, great regular season player. 4 goals in 12 playoff games this past season, 10 points in 12 games. Iaffalo, Valardi, JAD

I'm always interested to see the way people have written him off as a playoff performer. I can't stand the guy, but there are a lot of legends who took a while to figure out how to play in the playoffs. Good players find a way, he will eventually be a good playoff performer, he's a hard worker not some floater. Don't want the guy on our team, but it has nothing to do with concerns about his playoff stats. Yzerman comes to mind as someone who was not able to compete in the.... no I can't do it, I can't compare Yzerman and Tkachuk. I'm out. I tried.

 

[jom]

I think you people are out your minds not wanting Tkachuk on the Kings. There have been many players similar to him on the Kings and fans loved them. I don't get it.

Now the asking price might be high so maybe it's not doable but any team could use a player like Tkachuk. JMO.

jom

 

[Pickle_Pucks]

Tkachuk is ("would be") the turnkey winger for AK + QB. The Kings are going to roll 3 lines massively and just punish other teams' weaknesses.

For QB to succeed he needs some real talent, grit, and experience on his side. Unfortunately AI doesn't cut it.

For me, a winger (it'll never be Tkachuk...) for QB is the #1 priority by a HUMUNGOUS margin right now.

Our D will be much better with Drew back, more stability and the younger guys continuing to improve. Still need one more upgrade on the wing.

Obviously AI would have to be moved in any deal...but really all the focus needs to be on finding on someone to play with QB + AK....

Assuming that we are rolling:

Fiala - Anze - Juice
Thousand Oaks - Phil - Arvi
AK - QB - ??? (Need an improvement over Iafallo....)
Grundy - Lizotte - Lemieux (whoever...)

That leaves Iafallo + Kupari + Vilardi PLUS PLUS to find a suitable winger for QB. Kupari has looked promising but the Kings need to go all in on supporting QB.

 

[DryKing]

Tkachuk is ("would be") the turnkey winger for AK + QB. The Kings are going to roll 3 lines massively and just punish other teams' weaknesses.

For QB to succeed he needs some real talent, grit, and experience on his side. Unfortunately AI doesn't cut it.

For me, a winger (it'll never be Tkachuk...) for QB is the #1 priority by a HUMUNGOUS margin right now.

Our D will be much better with Drew back, more stability and the younger guys continuing to improve. Still need one more upgrade on the wing.

Obviously AI would have to be moved in any deal...but really all the focus needs to be on finding on someone to play with QB + AK....

Assuming that we are rolling:

Fiala - Anze - Juice
Thousand Oaks - Phil - Arvi
AK - QB - ??? (Need an improvement over Iafallo....)
Grundy - Lizotte - Lemieux (whoever...)

That leaves Iafallo + Kupari + Vilardi PLUS PLUS to find a suitable winger for QB. Kupari has looked promising but the Kings need to go all in on supporting QB.

And yet, with more experience, Kupari projects to be the type of winger Byfield needs. Trading Kupari would be a big mistake unless the return is unbelievable. Kaliyev, on the other hand, really isn't a great fit with Byfield based on skating but the two could still be successful together provided the other wing has speed. Kempe would be a great fit if the goal is to provide an experienced winger with the skill to bring out Byfield's best.

Fagemo and Thomas also project to be good fits with Byfield if/when they develop into solid NHL players. Turcotte would also be excellent on his wing if he can continue to develop and stay healthy, and Pinelli has potential.

With several options to fill Byfield's wing, the priority, imo, remains LD.