Are The Kings Playing As Expected? Surpassing Expectations? Not playing to their abilities?

[Dr. Tran]

Kempe (and always Kopitar) has become my favorite player to watch (guy can just plain shoot and play defense, he's improved his game so much over the years).

I feel like Kempe is so underrated by the rest of the NHL & the media. Kopi & Doughty of course get a lot of credit, as they should. And even Byfield got some last year when he was playing well. But I don’t hear a lot of people talking about how good Kempe is & has been for several years now. If Kopi’s not our best player right now then it’s Kempe.That’s why I’m excited to see him in the 4 Nations tournament. If he does as well as he can then maybe he’ll get some recognition.

 

[Dr. Tran]

I guess I’m cautiously optimistic. I look at everyone who’s doing well; Laferriere, Kopitar, Kempe, Foegele, Clarke, Gavrikov, Anderson, Moverare, the goalies. Then those who aren’t doing well; Byfield, Danault, Moore. So there are more guys doing well than aren’t. It’s great where we’re at right now, 2nd in the Pacific, 5 game win streak, & allowing 2 goals or less in these games. But we have to keep it going. This road trip has to be more than.500. And we need Byfield, Moore, & Danault to start producing if we want to be successful.

 

[Bollocks]

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it's worth noting too, and ive been constantly trying to keep it in the back of my mind so far this season... they put in a new system. Byfield is playing a "new" position. They lost Doughty. The inconsistency should be expected to a certain degree.

The "valid excuses" this season are:
- new coach, new system
- DD injury*
- Byfield trying to learn to play center and (so far) being in a funk
- unproven guys playing (still technically rookies): Clarke, Turcotte, Moverare, Helenius/Lee/Thomas
- new guys: Foegele, Jeannot, Edmundson
- Kuemper injury

And it's not like the Kings got lucky in many wins - if anything they got unlucky in some of the losses (Ottawa, Hawks, Sabres, Bruins) /had a couple of really bad days (Vegas, Sharks) more often than they lucked out on wins. The wins they got were usually solid.

* The more I think about DD the more worried I am about his return. His stardom status could lead Hiller, whose authority on these issues is questionable** this early in his unproven HC career, into giving DD too much 5 on 5 TOI, too soon. Hopefully that won't be the case and he keeps rolling 7 defensemen which would give Hiller more room to adjust the matchups. If the Kings are behind, unleash DD/Spence/Clarke at RD. If the Kings are leading, stick with Gavi/DD/Spence at RD and sit Clarke out 5 on 5, or something along these lines. One thing is for sure - Gavi proving very effective at RD is a big thing and gives Hiller quite a lot more options moving forward...

** Though to be fair to Hiller he did lower Kopi's minutes considerably, without injury in the picture...so, hopefully this will also be the case with DD.

I feel like Kempe is so underrated by the rest of the NHL & the media. Kopi & Doughty of course get a lot of credit, as they should. And even Byfield got some last year when he was playing well. But I don’t hear a lot of people talking about how good Kempe is & has been for several years now. If Kopi’s not our best player right now then it’s Kempe.That’s why I’m excited to see him in the 4 Nations tournament. If he does as well as he can then maybe he’ll get some recognition.

He can be further ignored by the media for all I care - as long as he plays like he does I'm fine with it. Kopitar was also largely ignored for his entire career and the Kings are no worse off for it. In fact, media pushing stardom status could give better leverage to the agent come contract negotiations...

 

[Helvetica]

* The more I think about DD the more worried I am about his return. His stardom status could lead Hiller, whose authority on these issues is questionable** this early in his unproven HC career, into giving DD too much 5 on 5 TOI, too soon. Hopefully that won't be the case and he keeps rolling 7 defensemen which would give Hiller more room to adjust the matchups.

Id like to think that they'll do what they can to ease hime back in, but it's not like we don't know who doughty is at this point. I doubt we see him playing 26min a night off the rip, but i wouldn't be surprised to see his TOI on the high side. They aren't going to rush him back though. If he's ready to play, it'll be because he's 100% ready to play. Maybe his legs wont quite be there for 26min, but there's no way in hell he isnt playing 1st pairing min.

 

[xcheck]

Ask again in May. The Kings were tops in the league this time last year and then they collapsed.

 

[Bollocks]

Id like to think that they'll do what they can to ease hime back in, but it's not like we don't know who doughty is at this point. I doubt we see him playing 26min a night off the rip, but i wouldn't be surprised to see his TOI on the high side. They aren't going to rush him back though. If he's ready to play, it'll be because he's 100% ready to play. Maybe his legs wont quite be there for 26min, but there's no way in hell he isnt playing 1st pairing min.

Yeah, waiting long enough for a full recovery should be key no matter what.

IMO it will mostly depend on how well the team is playing without him. If they start struggling like last year I can see them rushing him back...at which point I kinda hope he will hinder the team and they are out of PO picture by the trade deadline, as it would be time to start planning for the Kings era without Kopi and DD...trading at least Gavi and Danault, possibly Rittich, too, if there are going to be desperate takers, should be key in that case.

Ask again in May. The Kings were tops in the league this time last year and then they collapsed.

Can't you allow the fans 5 minutes of positivity and optimism?!

 

[JayWells24]

Great comments above and well thought out analysis. For me, it is still too early to say. This is the time last year where they did a 180 and went from 3rd overall in the league to barely a playoff team. I believe the stretch was 6-20-2 or something ugly from a stretch starting in mid December.

It goes without saying this is an important road trip. 6-6-2 so far on the road is passable, but let's see if they can build on the success at home. 14 points up for the taking. If they go 4-2-2 or 4-3-1 that would be huge. Plus considering half of their road games would be in the books after this Eastern swing. That being said, they are exceeding my expectations so far, but usually Christmas time/January 1 is a good gauge on how good your team is.

Go Kings!!

 

[Clif]

Ask again in May. The Kings were tops in the league this time last year and then they collapsed.

That’s question number 2, is if this team has mettle. Last year they never recovered from Anders Lee being mean to them.

I would think last year was also a fool’s paradise to start. Forget the Canadien who said it but despite being beaten 4-1 he still felt comfortable enough to be quoted as saying “They play that little trap game there. Teams are going to figure it out.” And yeah, teams figured it out.

The aggressive game they played in MN goes beyond just a system. It reflected buy-in that matters most, to effort. Yes they’re still a highly structured team, the gap control between the forwards and D reflects that, and this is good. But hoping they are also demonstrating the buy-in that allows a team to battle when the going gets tough. As much as this much line juggling makes me uncomfortable, Hiller appears to be showing deft in-game adjustments.

 

[VCRW]

I feel like Kempe is so underrated by the rest of the NHL & the media. Kopi & Doughty of course get a lot of credit, as they should. And even Byfield got some last year when he was playing well. But I don’t hear a lot of people talking about how good Kempe is & has been for several years now. If Kopi’s not our best player right now then it’s Kempe.That’s why I’m excited to see him in the 4 Nations tournament. If he does as well as he can then maybe he’ll get some recognition.

On NHL Radio yesterday, Kouleas and Hutton agreed that Juice is the most underrated forward in the Western Conference. If he does score around 40 goals again this season, it will be hard to keep him a secret any longer.

 

[DryKing]

On NHL Radio yesterday, Kouleas and Hutton agreed that Juice is the most underrated forward in the Western Conference. If he does score around 40 goals again this season, it will be hard to keep him a secret any longer.

It's interesting as Kempe is underrated when it comes to the media but that doesn't appear to be the case when it comes to opposing team fans. So often other fanbases state how much they wish Kempe was on their team, when their team plays the Kings.

Likely the media piece comes down to East Coast bias and possibly being overshadowed by Kopi, but in all honest Kopi himself is criminally underrated when it comes to the media and All-Star game selections.

Out of all of our players, I think Kempe has the most trade value based on what he brings to the table and his steal of a contract. We'd be silly to trade him though as he the type of player every team covets.

 

[VCRW]

It's interesting as Kempe is underrated when it comes to the media but that doesn't appear to be the case when it comes to opposing team fans. So often other fanbases state how much they wish Kempe was on their team, when their team plays the Kings.

Likely the media piece comes down to East Coast bias and possibly being overshadowed by Kopi, but in all honest Kopi himself is criminally underrated when it comes to the media and All-Star game selections.

Out of all of our players, I think Kempe has the most trade value based on what he brings to the table and his steal of a contract. We'd be silly to trade him though as he the type of player every team covets.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the C goes to Kempe when (if) Kopi retires. He has been far more than the Kings initially expected in terms of talent, he's homegrown, has shown an incredible work ethic, and his leadership on the ice is pretty obvious. I would give Juice the nod over Danault, but then there's Mikey...

 

[DryKing]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the C goes to Kempe when (if) Kopi retires. He has been far more than the Kings initially expected in terms of talent, he's homegrown, has shown an incredible work ethic, and his leadership on the ice is pretty obvious. I would give Juice the nod over Danault, but then there's Mikey...

Agreed, both Kempe and Mikey would be good picks but my vote currently would go to Kempe.

I don't think Mikey has a chance of wearing the C until Doughty retires, but he seems like a leader in the vein of Norstrom (who was a pretty great Captain).

 

[VCRW]

Agreed, both Kempe and Mikey would be good picks but my vote currently would go to Kempe.

I don't think Mikey has a chance of wearing the C until Doughty retires, but he seems like a leader in the vein of Norstrom (who was a pretty great Captain).

Yup. Juice should be the guy. And I have often described Mikey as Nordstrom 2.0.

 

[05/29/93]

Great comments above and well thought out analysis. For me, it is still too early to say. This is the time last year where they did a 180 and went from 3rd overall in the league to barely a playoff team. I believe the stretch was 6-20-2 or something ugly from a stretch starting in mid December.

It goes without saying this is an important road trip. 6-6-2 so far on the road is passable, but let's see if they can build on the success at home. 14 points up for the taking. If they go 4-2-2 or 4-3-1 that would be huge. Plus considering half of their road games would be in the books after this Eastern swing. That being said, they are exceeding my expectations so far, but usually Christmas time/January 1 is a good gauge on how good your team is.

Go Kings!!

Starting when they had a 2-0 lead on the road against the Islanders and lost in OT. What do you know, tonight they had a 2-0 lead on the road against the Islanders, ….. and won, 3-1. We’ll see what happens of course, but it’s possible that a game against a team the Kings hardly play could be pivotal two seasons in a row.

 

[Pevsfreedom]

but it’s possible that a game against a team the Kings hardly play could be pivotal two seasons in a row.

Wouldn't it be something if the Islanders game each year on the road just ended us completely.

 

[xcheck]

Yeah, waiting long enough for a full recovery should be key no matter what.

IMO it will mostly depend on how well the team is playing without him. If they start struggling like last year I can see them rushing him back...at which point I kinda hope he will hinder the team and they are out of PO picture by the trade deadline, as it would be time to start planning for the Kings era without Kopi and DD...trading at least Gavi and Danault, possibly Rittich, too, if there are going to be desperate takers, should be key in that case.



Can't you allow the fans 5 minutes of positivity and optimism?!

Look, they're winning. It's fun to watch them win. But these threads about playing above expectations are not about that. So what if they're playing above/below/on-par with expectations. If they win... yay! If they lose... WTH! I say: just enjoy the ride.

 

[DarkLeftHand]

It's interesting as Kempe is underrated when it comes to the media but that doesn't appear to be the case when it comes to opposing team fans. So often other fanbases state how much they wish Kempe was on their team, when their team plays the Kings.

Likely the media piece comes down to East Coast bias and possibly being overshadowed by Kopi, but in all honest Kopi himself is criminally underrated when it comes to the media and All-Star game selections.

Out of all of our players, I think Kempe has the most trade value based on what he brings to the table and his steal of a contract. We'd be silly to trade him though as he the type of player every team covets.

It’s an interesting situation because I don’t -feel- like Kempe is a top 10 winger in the league, but if you ask me to pick 10 wingers that I would gladly trade in exchange for him, I’m pretty hard-pressed to come up with a list. Although it’s extra difficult given that a lot of top point producers are always listed as a center. Point is, I think sometimes we do not realize what an absolute gem of a player we have, especially at his cap hit. It begs the question, would you rather have TWO juices at 6 mill apiece on your roster, or one 12 million dollar McD..?

 

[DryKing]

It’s an interesting situation because I don’t -feel- like Kempe is a top 10 winger in the league, but if you ask me to pick 10 wingers that I would gladly trade in exchange for him, I’m pretty hard-pressed to come up with a list. Although it’s extra difficult given that a lot of top point producers are always listed as a center. Point is, I think sometimes we do not realize what an absolute gem of a player we have, especially at his cap hit. It begs the question, would you rather have TWO juices at 6 mill apiece on your roster, or one 12 million dollar McD..?

I totally agree with you. Kempe is currently tied for 13th out of all wingers in points and 2nd in +/- (though I agree with you that this is a bit inaccurate as many are listed as Centers). He's also quietly displaying one of the better two-way games in the league when it comes to wingers. That said, I agree with you I wouldn't yet consider him a top 10 winger in the league but...maybe we should?

 

[kIngsX]

I’m on the record that this December’s schedule will drop their record over a cliff. They’re proving me wrong so far, and I’ll be more than happy to eat my words if they continue to do so

 

[ICE24]

I will be giving my honest expert opinion in mid April.