And which of the new young core would take a leadership role...and when?
Quick rebuild/retool...whichever. Do we know for a fact he would get a green light to go into a proper, 100% rebuild from the ground up?
And he'd have to trade at least DD who simply wouldn't agree to a complete rebuild and the return would very likely be underwhelming if there was a "list of teams" involved...which it would be.
This would happen if Rob didn't trade for Fiala and PLD. But he did. And because he did the Kings have a very solid first line + one top 2 LD sorted for the next, what, 7 years, if Kempe signs an extension? And they will be VERY cost controlled. If one of Clarke and QB reaches the hopeful stardom, this team already has a proper inner core in place. Imagine that. No need for a proper rebuild...3 years of proper suckage, hoping there are no Hickeys involved.
No need to significantly overpay in trade or in UFA market for elite talent.
With quality, durable and tough roster players, not with borderline AHL talent that has difficult time to show their talent at the NHL level because there are too many borderline players.
None of the players Rob traded in order to obtain PLD fit the description of "quality, durable AND tough". So with more prospects waiting for their chance at the NHL...what was Rob supposed to do? Trade Kupari and Iafallo for picks and hope those picks turn out to be more than borderline NHLers in what, 3 years time?
But Blake IS filling the holes that the drafted players can't fill (yet - at least with no certainty). Highlighting the best/worst case scenarios served one purpose here: it wasn't a high risk move. IF Gabe would be kept and panned out...the Kings are pretty much where we are now - with a long term solution. If he wouldn't, the Kings would be in a bad position, high-end talent wise. With this trade they have a legitimate 1st liner signed at a reasonable cap hit for 8 years. Kupari is irrelevant, IA is irrelevant, 2nd rounder was the main price Rob paid to fast-forward Gabe's development all while getting a grittier and much more durable frame. And an apparent leader.
In the end...if a GM has vision, but no balls to pull the trigger when good opportunity arises and no ability to properly identify risk involved with their moves...the team is doomed to be in a painful limbo.
1.) How do we know he didn't/doesn't seek ways to improve development? Is that an easy task perhaps that it makes it so obvious he doesn't? And does trying to improve development exclude the option to also try and improve the team?
2.) One of the big reasons that our current - supposedly very high end - prospect pool isn't panning out as expected (though our expectations seem to be very high) are the logjams...trading Kupari, IA, essentially Durzi + Gabe for one high end, long term solution at cost controlled contract is a step in the right direction. If he traded Gabe and a 1st for PLD and Iafallo for a 3rd to free up cap - that would be silly. It's quite obvious he knows what he needs to do.
The way they are handling QB, Anderson, Moore, Lizotte, Kaliyev and the way they handled Iafallo, Gabe and Durzi, ...
do you really want to claim the Kings don't develop well? Basically all of them are exceeding expectations apart from QB and perhaps Kaliyev who is on par, more or less.
And in the end there's a question about Gabe's health that only time will answer. Perhaps his injury before the playoffs simply scared the front office too much.
PS: I'm not trying to start a comment "war" or anything.
I'm totally on board with "agree to disagree" reply. It's a divisive topic for sure. Though I really don't understand the gloom...some even comparing it to Kovalchuk signing. It's like Rob traded the farm for a 32yo Fiala and 34yo PLD on the last legs in order to go all-in in the next 2 seasons and then *paf* team disintegrates into irrelevancy.
