Pevsfreedom
somehow in south carolina
I miss him out there. Reminds me of Clifford.
I miss him out there. Reminds me of Clifford.
I
Ice24
Lurker
If the Kings can secure two large nasty skilled players next off-season, they can make some noise.
J
JETS GARAGE
Lurker
Start feeding Byfield some double cheeseburgers.
Since people are bringing it up,
https://www.capfriendly.com/staff/todd-mclellan
Reportedly only one more year for Todd so, yeah he's vulnerable.
https://www.capfriendly.com/staff/todd-mclellan
Reportedly only one more year for Todd so, yeah he's vulnerable.
H
hockeygolucky
Lurker
D
DyslexicTom
Lurker
So they'll re-sign him.
B
Bill Hicks
Lurker
Even ONE un-skilled nasty player would be nice. Jeez, this team has no pushback against any physicality.
Lizotte is the one who stands up for a teammate?? Good on him but for F's sake that is just sad.
Kurisu
O Captain, My Captain!
Lizotte fighting is almost the perfect metaphor for what happened in that game. It represents everything wrong on this roster.
E
emsomaso
Lurker
Agree 100%. You could see Matt Roy being closer to Aaston-Reese, then pint-sized Lizotte, but he did nothing. I’m not bashing on Roy specifically, but the overall toughness on this team is simply embarrassing!
Clif
Super Star
Size and physicality has been the real standout issue to me this season. I knew it was an issue, but I think as an under-the-radar team last year Kings got away with it more. They also developed a strong forecheck which hasn’t been there nearly enough this year as they’ve transitioned to relying on a more skill-based approach. Right now it looks like teams know they can outmuscle them and they do so.
Beyond that, horrid goaltending, some extended lapses of non-existent defense and the Great Durzi Flub against Vegas has cost this team 5-10 points. 6-12 if you add in the inability to close against WSH in that third period. To me this year is more an issue of personnel than it is the coach and we’re seeing that. Right now I don’t want to see Todd past this contract, but I appreciate how some players have really developed under his watch and I will not take that away from him.
Players I believe we need to move on from by trade deadline next year include:
Lizotte. He’a a hell of a fourth liner and proves everyone wrong, but I will use a term by another poster on here and call him a luxury we can’t afford (poster was addressing Spence due to his size). More size elsewhere keep this man but he should have trade value and Helenius simply has to hit and take his place. It’s a necessity.
Grundstrom. Emphasis on “light” in “Dustin Brown light.” One of the biggest players on this team and he possesses an acceptable blend of hitting and scoring for a bottom 6 player but it’s not good enough given what this team really needs. Last year Nick Paul was available at the deadline and that’s a player you overpay for if you can. Not sure who else like him may be available but that is the prototypical player you need in the Grundstrom spot.
Iafallo. This team missed him very much when he was gone and I’m glad he’s back. But with a Trevor Moore extension likely there’s no room cap-wise or roster-wise for them both long term. While Moore has been here less time so smaller sample size, he has shown greater upside and has never played a bad game. Relatedly, I still believe Turcotte will hit as an effective 3rd liner and will replace Iafallo in the lineup. Moore and Turcotte as third line wingers will be fine so long as Kaliyev, Vilardi, and Byfield lean into their power forward potential in the top 6. Kempe and Fiala bring as much sturdiness and physicality as they can with their size. Our top 6 should eventually be potent consistently.
Durzi. Love him forever but the time to capitalize on him was last summer. Man oh man did I underestimate how awful it was for Blake to sit there and say we’d go into the season with an RD playing on the left side. Not good enough. Durzi+ could fetch a decent LD with size from the right team. I really believe that.
Edler.
Walker.
Goaltending remains the greatest question. So far so good for Cal in Ontario. I am thinking that having to fight for every start has been horrible for him and he has crumbled being forced to compete against Quick. Will he come back from ONT reset and ready who knows. Do they simply just let Quick walk next year who knows. Too soon to talk trade still, but later this season we should know for better or worse if that’s truly necessary.
Last edited:
DryKing
Power Forward
MacDermid was actually one of the top enforcers in the league and the atmosphere changed greatly when he suited up for the team as he did a good job holding the other team accountable. The negative is that he is a defenseman and not up to the task for that position. Had we been able to convert him to a winger I'd take him any day over Lemieux. As a defender, though, he just couldn't cut it.
W
waynet
Lurker
A ponderous clown who, more often than not, created a 5x5 PP chasing his man around the d zone. MacD...no mas.
P
Pickle_Pucks
Lurker
This team, theoretically on paper, is much better than the injury ravaged team that should have closed out Edmonton last year.
So that partially falls on the coach, though there are certainly one or two glaring holes to fix.
We have the forwards to roll 4 complete lines, make two upgrades on D, and see if that sparks the goaltending. If not, you find the goaltender next year somehow.
Can we bring back Lombardi to make a deal or two?
So that partially falls on the coach, though there are certainly one or two glaring holes to fix.
We have the forwards to roll 4 complete lines, make two upgrades on D, and see if that sparks the goaltending. If not, you find the goaltender next year somehow.
Can we bring back Lombardi to make a deal or two?
Kurisu
O Captain, My Captain!
I'm starting to think the problem is indeed McLellan. I mean sure, the players are still randomly making boneheaded decisions, but this team just has no identity from game to game.
And some of the words TM used in the presser after this los we're very discouraging for having any confidence in him. He said he was "confused" multiple times. If he's confused, that's going to leech into the teams identity.
And some of the words TM used in the presser after this los we're very discouraging for having any confidence in him. He said he was "confused" multiple times. If he's confused, that's going to leech into the teams identity.
Helvetica
Top Forward
the one thing to consider is that what he says at the presser and what he says in the locker room are probably different. Somebody made a comment about coach not tearing into the team after some of these losses, and on the lumbus feed one of the color guys indicated he could hear coach laying into the team on the bench. Even last season, when we were trying to decipher some comments about vilardi that were vague enough that nobody was really sure who he was talking about. It's become clear to me that he very much tries to mitigate any comments about the players when he speaks publicly. My point being that i think what he's saying is more a message to the team, than it is truly being "confused".
Either way, i wasnt really on the fire the coach train before, but it's an argument im starting to entertain. But the team is definitely still making poor plays in general. That fumble by grundstrom ion the pass from edler seemed pretty routine, and yet he just coughed it up right to the jackets for a goal. The first goal they just left an easy pass open in the slot. Like, these are pretty basic plays that they are simply messing up. Those arent coach issues.
D
DarkLeftHand
Lurker
Did the very talented Sharks teams he coached ever seem to have an identity? What about the Oilers? I think not. I’ve never been high on Todd, and have always and will always view him as the coach of the OTHER team involved in the beloved reverse sweep by the Kings.
Kurisu
O Captain, My Captain!
I thought exactly that when we hired him. He was in charge of the teams that we had to learn how to get over in our Cup contending era and that reverse sweep seemed to kind of define the futility of the Sharks of that era, sad Joe Thornton and all. I don't have anything strongly against him, and him babysitting our rebuild wasn't scandalous or anything, but compared to the name brand coaches over the years, I've just never understood what his brand was.
If you really think about it, all the legendary successful coaches usually have an easily identifiable philosophy or style. Daryll Evans was wondering why we started trapping in the Habs game when we were dominating with a smothering forecheck for the first two periods and they mounted a comeback. I dunno. Just rambling on a fans message board, but I genuinely don't know what TM's signature coaching philosophy really is.
We're still a few key pieces away from any of this being of real consequence anyway, but the schizophrenic style changes from game to game is maddening from a fan perspective.
[EDIT] To add that whatever his signature is, it's definitely NOT playing defense. Or especially this year, effective PK.
Last edited:
Bollocks
Top Forward
Yet the Kings defied expectations last year in both RS and playoffs.
100% of the NHL coaches that won the Cup did not win the Cup until they did.
I'm not saying he's going to do it (win it all), but I'd avoid having too many changes for this young group of players.
If Cal didn't underperform so significantly this season the Kings would be battling for 1st in their division. We have yet to see Byfield grow into the role of a 2nd line center, but he's on a good track.
If I were Rob I'd first look to improve the D this year via a trade at some point and see how it goes from there. If the Kings don't improve their performances as a natural progression and then with the D upgrade, maybe change the coach after this season, but definitely not before.
Clif
Super Star
Those Sharks teams scored a bit so I always associated him as an offensive-minded coach. I remember when he first started he said in an interview that it’s important for teams to be entertaining. I really believe that Blake picked him not only out of familiarity from San Jose but also as a shift away from the grinding d-first days of Sutter and Lombardi.
It looks like Todd encouraged the team to use their offensive skill more this year but they just haven’t been able to manage the balance of still being semi-responsible on defense. Is that a coaching deficiency or a personnel issue? I think it’s more the latter via poor decision-making. Although again I feel the main personnel issue now is how lacking this team is physically. That one’s on Blake.
