Attn: Rob Blake

[Helvetica]

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.

I dont think that's any secret though. The Kings talked about wanting to remain solid defensively, but also shift to a faster and more skilled team. You can see that in how they've drafted, some of the adjustments that they made when Todd came in as it pertains to the forecheck, and literally what management and players have said.

To me, the only argument i'm currently willing to entertain is that it's simply time for a change, and that the players havent tuned him out, so much as that they just need a different approach in the locker room. There's a much bigger conversation here, but i think we're all privy to the discussions that have taken place here as to the leadership qualities of the core group. I dont think it's coaches job to get players mentally prepared each day for a game, but maybe that characteristic isnt present in the locker room, and if they dont have players present that are capable of getting this team over the hump, then maybe they do need a coach that can do that. Sutter said that wasnt his job. Im not sure McClellan is that type of coach. But I dont think this is a structural/strat issue. I dont think it's a skill issue, although i do believe the D needs work and the goalies have been sub par. But game in, and game out, i see lots of mistakes being made. Missed reads. Fumbled passes. Bad pinches and horrible giveaways. I havent really gone through the stats, so i am curious to compare giveaways and stuff from this season to last. But ive made this point before, and that's that i dont believe the team isnt listening to coach. I dont believe they've given up. And i base that belief on the fact that when they play well, we see how the team should operate. And when they do go down a couple goals, they dont give up. They've dug themselves out of multi goal deficits many times this year. The effort is there.

It's the focus right now... so, whatever teams' need to find their focus, that's what i think this team needs. If that's a coaching change (im not certain that's going to solve it), then so be it.

 

[DryKing]

I dont think that's any secret though. The Kings talked about wanting to remain solid defensively, but also shift to a faster and more skilled team. You can see that in how they've drafted, some of the adjustments that they made when Todd came in as it pertains to the forecheck, and literally what management and players have said.

To me, the only argument i'm currently willing to entertain is that it's simply time for a change, and that the players havent tuned him out, so much as that they just need a different approach in the locker room. There's a much bigger conversation here, but i think we're all privy to the discussions that have taken place here as to the leadership qualities of the core group. I dont think it's coaches job to get players mentally prepared each day for a game, but maybe that characteristic isnt present in the locker room, and if they dont have players present that are capable of getting this team over the hump, then maybe they do need a coach that can do that. Sutter said that wasnt his job. Im not sure McClellan is that type of coach. But I dont think this is a structural/strat issue. I dont think it's a skill issue, although i do believe the D needs work and the goalies have been sub par. But game in, and game out, i see lots of mistakes being made. Missed reads. Fumbled passes. Bad pinches and horrible giveaways. I havent really gone through the stats, so i am curious to compare giveaways and stuff from this season to last. But ive made this point before, and that's that i dont believe the team isnt listening to coach. I dont believe they've given up. And i base that belief on the fact that when they play well, we see how the team should operate. And when they do go down a couple goals, they dont give up. They've dug themselves out of multi goal deficits many times this year. The effort is there.

It's the focus right now... so, whatever teams' need to find their focus, that's what i think this team needs. If that's a coaching change (im not certain that's going to solve it), then so be it.

It's weird to say but I actually think they have taken a big step forward this season. Not only are they closer to the final state they are aiming for (high skilled, fast players) but they have, to your point, shown a ton of heart and ability to get themselves back into the game when playing from behind. What they lack right now is proper composition, especially on the back end. We know Blake missed on a few draft targets that were taken before our selection (Byram, Seider, Edvinsson) any of which would have helped solidify our D (minus Edvinsson who isn't yet ready) but the big question mark is why we haven't yet converted a few of our assets to fill areas of need. The bigger problem may be that smooth skating stay at home defensemen are very hard to find. We're an overall fast team now, though, so I expect Blake will target gritty players this next draft if he can't find the right trade.

With Todd, I was disappointed when we hired him having seen his comments blaming his team after the Kings come from behind playoff series win vs the Sharks. That said he has done a good job overall. His time is definitely coming to an end, but really there is no use in firing him until a coach becomes available who we want to hire. That said, I'd be very surprised to see him relieved of his duties this season unless we see a prime target let go elsewhere.

Goaltending definitely needs to be better, but so does defensive zone coverage and turnovers. Really hard to properly evaluate the goaltending until these areas improve but it's clear that neither Quick or Petersen have been playing to their potential.

 

[SirJW]

All this fire, Todd. How much more time does Blake get?

 

[JayWells24]

Perhaps that is the hold up in letting TM go. Obviously, 11 years ago today when Lombardi axed Terry Murray he already had Sutter waiting in the wings. Quenneville? Trotz? Tippett? All 3 of those are advanced in age and may not be interested in coaching again. We don't know. Difficult to find a good one mid season. The team needs to win now and the clock is running. The blown coverage, bad reads by the D, pinching in when ill advised, errant passes, etc. are not on TM, but he is the captain of the ship and we are seeing these same mistakes over and over.

A lot of those goals given up are what you see at the end of the year when a team looks back and says "look how bad we used to be." I recall when Tom Webster took over, they replayed a lot of goals given up in his first season after they trimmed down the GA by 83 goals his 2nd year.

Go Kings but time for a change!!

 

[jammer06]

All this fire, Todd. How much more time does Blake get?

Wonder how much of Blake is a package with Luc. The inertia will be strong there considering by all accounts the balance sheet has continued to improve.

 

[jgs]

Mike Babcock is available.

 

[Ice24]

It would have been nice if Blake would have mixed in physical player in the draft, and maybe a defensemen that can make it difficult on offensive players.

 

[Bollocks]

Perhaps that is the hold up in letting TM go. Obviously, 11 years ago today when Lombardi axed Terry Murray he already had Sutter waiting in the wings. Quenneville? Trotz? Tippett? All 3 of those are advanced in age and may not be interested in coaching again. We don't know. Difficult to find a good one mid season. The team needs to win now and the clock is running. The blown coverage, bad reads by the D, pinching in when ill advised, errant passes, etc. are not on TM, but he is the captain of the ship and we are seeing these same mistakes over and over.

A lot of those goals given up are what you see at the end of the year when a team looks back and says "look how bad we used to be." I recall when Tom Webster took over, they replayed a lot of goals given up in his first season after they trimmed down the GA by 83 goals his 2nd year.

Go Kings but time for a change!!

What? Not really. I mean, if Kopi and DD and Quick were still in their prime, sure...but they aren't. There are no windows closing THIS season. Our 2 most coveted prospects (QB and BC) aren't even playing in the NHL at the moment.

It would have been nice if Blake would have mixed in physical player in the draft, and maybe a defensemen that can make it difficult on offensive players.

This isn't a solution for the problems the Kings are having now, though. It would likely take at least 3 years before that player can make an impact. Blake draft BPA in the higher rounds.

What he needs to find NOW is a Robyn Regehr type of player that he trades for. A very solid, physical, stable veteran 2nd pairing D-man.

 

[Helvetica]

It would have been nice if Blake would have mixed in physical player in the draft, and maybe a defensemen that can make it difficult on offensive players.

i think the strategy is pretty obvious, and i wont fault him for it... draft deep at center and bpa defense, which has given us a lot of RD. This gives the Kings (hopefully) strength at key positions of center and defense, and he's successfully been able to convert some of the excess centers to wing. The draft is a bit of a lottery, so theoretically, it's probably better to draft deep at a couple positions and better your chances of hitting there. If you start spreading your chips all over the place, you lesson your chances of getting the big payoff. The issue now is that he's got an abundance of RD, and hasnt converted that excess into an area of need... yet. There's time, but that window is definitely shrinking. He's quite obviously going to have to make a trade for LD, but he has the pieces to do that because he's followed a narrow strategy at the draft.

 

[orpheus]

But the Kings are doing a good job...

 

[Helvetica]

Kings have a lot of RD but can any of those players if traded bring anything in? The center position as well but I don’t see a player that was drafted having much value at this time. Potential possibly, but how long have the Kings been waiting for one of those draft picks to step up.

Vilardi, Byfield, Clarke, Durzi, Spence, Faber all have or had value. Faber was used in the deal to bring in Fiala. Spence and Durzi (yes i know they traded for him) both have value. If you think Byfield or Vilardi dont have value you're fooling yourself. I have no idea what the future holds for Turcotte, but if he can stay healthy, he may be able to work himself back into the equation.

But if your argument is that their draft picks have no value, then it's probably irrelevant which position they draft because you'd probably just make the same argument there. Either way, i dont fault them for having a draft strategy, rather than just making picks at random. I think it's a smart strategy to stock up on centers and defensemen.

 

[HeadInjury]

Hardest part is making the final moves to build a real contender. During the offseason, it looked like that is where the team was. Now, looks like we are about 3 forwards, 3 defensemen and 2 goalies away from where we need to be. Quite disappointing and not something that can be fixed in the middle of the season.

I don't put much of this on TMac. It's not like he teaches the players to make soft cross-ice passes into traffic when trying to get the puck out of their own zone.

 

[VCRW]

I don't put much of this on TMac. It's not like he teaches the players to make soft cross-ice passes into traffic when trying to get the puck out of their own zone.

McLellan demonstrates no system of accountability. The same players committing the same bonehead plays every night and still being rewarded with ice time is on the coach.

 

[DryKing]

Hardest part is making the final moves to build a real contender. During the offseason, it looked like that is where the team was. Now, looks like we are about 3 forwards, 3 defensemen and 2 goalies away from where we need to be. Quite disappointing and not something that can be fixed in the middle of the season.

I don't put much of this on TMac. It's not like he teaches the players to make soft cross-ice passes into traffic when trying to get the puck out of their own zone.

Let's be honest, though, I don't think very many people looked at our offseason roster, and the roster of other teams in our division/conference and pegged us as a contender. Many of us, including myself, predicted a step back this season after overachieving last season - despite adding Fiala. Right now I would say we are one solid LD away from being a playoff team - add a player in the vein of Willie Mitchell who can help provide leadership, calm and communication on the backend and we will see a very different product on the ice. That said, we are several key player developments away from being a contender and that will take time. There is no speedy pill to take for that.

I can't remember when we have had a better end to end forward group and prospects in the pipeline so that is a huge plus. We have done this, however, at the expense of the Kings standard format of heavily drafting defensemen and it shows. Hopefully we can get back to that this upcoming draft, and add in a solid goalie prospect as well.

As bad as games like yesterday are to watch, we are going to continue to see them until Blake can find the right trades to utilize areas of strength (RD, C) to fill areas of need (LD, G). Personally I think he has done a fantastic job so far when it comes to drafting and key trades but it will take time and we will need to have patience while we get there. Reality is we are still 2+ seasons away from being a contender and likely will take a big step once Kopi's overpriced contract falls off (sadly we are stuck with Doughty's for quite some time).

I also feel confident in that our area of need is defense, and there are few better GMs suited to guage defensive talent than Blake. We will get there.

 

[JayWells24]

McLellan demonstrates no system of accountability. The same players committing the same bonehead plays every night and still being rewarded with ice time is on the coach.

Could not have said it better myself. Last night's game is Exhibit A for usually when coaches are canned. I can't believe a move hasn't been made. We are year 4 into the TM era and the team is going backwards, not forward.

The worst part is that it seems like the fans care more than Mgt, which is extremely frustrating.

Depressing.

 

[Statue4Deano]

Could not have said it better myself. Last night's game is Exhibit A for usually when coaches are canned. I can't believe a move hasn't been made. We are year 4 into the TM era and the team is going backwards, not forward.

The worst part is that it seems like the fans care more than Mgt, which is extremely frustrating.

Depressing.

Firing TM mid-season puts Executives in the crosshairs. You can't expect them to turn up the heat on themselves. The gamble is to hold out for as long as possible and hope the team flames out in the playoffs then cut bait on TM, imo.

 

[Helvetica]

Firing TM mid-season puts Executives in the crosshairs. You can't expect them to turn up the heat on themselves.

Not saying Blake will, or should, but coaches get fired mid season all the time. If you think the problem is the coach, and you dont bother to correct that mistake, i think that puts more heat under the GM, not less.

 

[salami]

Could not have said it better myself. Last night's game is Exhibit A for usually when coaches are canned. I can't believe a move hasn't been made. We are year 4 into the TM era and the team is going backwards, not forward.

The worst part is that it seems like the fans care more than Mgt, which is extremely frustrating.

Depressing.

Unfortunately, this is year 3 if I'm not mistaken. He's contracted through '24-'25. Can we call up Sturm and send McLellan down to the A for a conditioning assignment?

 

[JayWells24]

Unfortunately, this is year 3 if I'm not mistaken. He's contracted through '24-'25. Can we call up Sturm and send McLellan down to the A for a conditioning assignment?

John Stevens started 2018-19 and was replaced in November by Willie Desjardins.

Willie finished the season in 2019 and TM was hired when the season was over.

TM 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 This is his fourth season.

Most coaches are not given that much rope to get it right.

 

[jammer06]

John Stevens started 2018-19 and was replaced in November by Willie Desjardins.

Willie finished the season in 2019 and TM was hired when the season was over.

TM 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 This is his fourth season.

Most coaches are not given that much rope to get it right.

Most GM's don't survive a hire like Desjardins