Brandt Clarke - yes or no

[Birdman]

IF he is, he won't always be. He's just a kid. Give him time to develop physically and it will likely be a very different story. Do you look like you did when you were his age?

Anderson was taking them and giving them the minute he got here

 

[VCRW]

I think you are right if the expectation is for Clarke to be our future star defenseman. If, however, the expectation is to be a niche player who is a benefit of the PP and can provide offensive spark then I say hold on to him.

I can't really get a read of Clarke's hockey IQ, though. If the thought is that it is mid-low then I agree with you in dealing with him as without a strong hockey IQ he won't be able to adjust to compensate for his weaknesses.

My feeling is as long as Doughty plays in that #1 defense position, Clarke will never give the Kings full value. Therefore, I see him as superfluous to the Kings as presently constructed, but could be an extremely valuable piece on a different roster playing a different system. He is Blake's best bargaining chip.

 

[DryKing]

My feeling is as long as Doughty plays in that #1 defense position, Clarke will never give the Kings full value. Therefore, I see him as superfluous to the Kings as presently constructed, but could be an extremely valuable piece on a different roster playing a different system. He is Blake's best bargaining chip.

I see your point, and it's valid. This seems to be the path with our top talent young players - Byfield won't be able to fully shine until Kopi retires or declines, and the same is true for Clarke in regards to Doughty.

From an Organization perspective it's a good problem to have, but if the Org wants to win now they will need to do a better job of maximizing value whether that be through a trade or internal alignment changes.

If Doughty were open to a trade, this would be the best possible time to do so while his value is up after the 4 Nations tourney and the strong play he has displayed since.

 

[kingnut]

IF he is, he won't always be. He's just a kid. Give him time to develop physically and it will likely be a very different story. Do you look like you did when you were his age?

IF he is, he won't always be. He's just a kid. Give him time to develop physically and it will likely be a very different story. Do you look like you did when you were his age?

I was a nosegaurd at 5"6 145 lbs against much bigger lineman growing up. I got knocked around pretty bad and then moved to safety. But wasn't due to being afraid to get hit. I agree he is young, but I've seen him taking several crosscheck to.the head of opposing playing.

 

[Birdman]

I see your point, and it's valid. This seems to be the path with our top talent young players - Byfield won't be able to fully shine until Kopi retires or declines, and the same is true for Clarke in regards to Doughty.

From an Organization perspective it's a good problem to have, but if the Org wants to win now they will need to do a better job of maximizing value whether that be through a trade or internal alignment changes.

If Doughty were open to a trade, this would be the best possible time to do so while his value is up after the 4 Nations tourney and the strong play he has displayed since.

Kopi is declining. The transition has begun. The telltale sign will be when Byfield supplants him on the #1 PP

 

[VCRW]

Kopi is declining. The transition has begun. The telltale sign will be when Byfield supplants him on the #1 PP

Blake had the right idea last year. He just picked the wrong player in PLD. There always seem to be flaws or controversy in Rob’s trades. He should have stuck to drafting, development and UFA signings.

 

[hokiecat]

I’m not so sure, and that’s why I ask. Seems the defense was actually playing better BEFORE he returned. Yes, the scoring dried up which exacerbates the issues, but we’ve been giving up more goals lately as well. Maybe it’s the fault of the goalies having some rough games, maybe the forwards are discombobulated, maybe it’s…

I wasn't being sarcastic. We are literally spending 11 million more in cap to be the same as we were. If not worse. Obviously Drew is a very good player. But it is like the rest of the RD (maybe all the D) have gone in the toilet since he's back. Did everybody decide to relax and let Drew be the alpha and they'll just show up and collect a check?

 

[LAKingSteve]

My feeling is as long as Doughty plays in that #1 defense position, Clarke will never give the Kings full value. Therefore, I see him as superfluous to the Kings as presently constructed, but could be an extremely valuable piece on a different roster playing a different system. He is Blake's best bargaining chip.

At this point, as much as love Drew and everything he's done for the Kings, I'd be ok with them moving on from him. Get him to a team that he wants for a solid return and clear up his $11M (minus who we get in return) off the books so we can do some real work in the offseason. Honestly, a win-win. Gives Dewey a chance to go to a contender and play for another cup.

 

[LAKingSteve]

Kopi is declining. The transition has begun. The telltale sign will be when Byfield supplants him on the #1 PP

The number 2 PP unit went out as the number 1 PP unit during Chicago at one point. So maybe it's happening already. Love Kopi but his playing time needs to decrease to save his legs. He's likely got only one more season, let him finish here but play him less.

 

[VCRW]

"Obviously" the best trade piece for the team to move forward is Doughty. But I don't believe he would waive his NMC unless it meant going home to Ontario. Even if he did waive, it would take getting Marner back for Rob & Luc to break up the band. And Marner would want at least the $11 million that is going to Dewy now.

Looking realistically at the forward roster, the most valuable trade piece without an NMC is Kempe. Next most valuable is Laferriere. Blake would be a fool to trade Kempe. I would hate to lose Laffy but there it is...

I don't know if any other GM would be brave enough to target Fiala. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to trade away 1 of the 2 guys who can score. But if the return was offensively gifted left shot defenseman???

So this all takes us back to Clarke...

 

[DryKing]

"Obviously" the best trade piece for the team to move forward is Doughty. But I don't believe he would waive his NMC unless it meant going home to Ontario. Even if he did waive, it would take getting Marner back for Rob & Luc to break up the band. And Marner would want at least the $11 million that is going to Dewy now.

Looking realistically at the forward roster, the most valuable trade piece without an NMC is Kempe. Next most valuable is Laferriere. Blake would be a fool to trade Kempe. I would hate to lose Laffy but there it is...

I don't know if any other GM would be brave enough to target Fiala. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to trade away 1 of the 2 guys who can score. But if the return was offensively gifted left shot defenseman???

So this all takes us back to Clarke...

Doughty for Marner would be amazing, even if we ended up signing Marner at $11m. We'd probably have to retain the max allowable on Doughty's contract for Toronto to even consider that, though, and likely throw in extra.

Fiala would be a great fit on Colorado who I think would welcome him. That said, trading Kempe, Laf, or Fiala should be a hard no unless the return is too good to pass up. Kempe and Laf, especially, should be forwards we build around.

Danault, Moore, Jeannot, Clarke and Spence are probably our best trade chips at the moment. They each bring something to the table that our roster needs, but at the same time we could absorb losing them without taking a step backwards. Hard to think that the return for any of these players makes us better, though, and losing Danault and/or Jeannot especially hurts our chances come playoff time.

At this point I don't see much trade deadline action for the Kings unless they either go all in (which would be a huge mistake) or finally start a legitimate rebuild around our future core.

 

[Bollocks]

does play now he is not playing meaningful / substantial minutes

Doughty for Marner would be amazing, even if we ended up signing Marner at $11m. We'd probably have to retain the max allowable on Doughty's contract for Toronto to even consider that, though, and likely throw in extra.

Fiala would be a great fit on Colorado who I think would welcome him. That said, trading Kempe, Laf, or Fiala should be a hard no unless the return is too good to pass up. Kempe and Laf, especially, should be forwards we build around.

Danault, Moore, Jeannot, Clarke and Spence are probably our best trade chips at the moment. They each bring something to the table that our roster needs, but at the same time we could absorb losing them without taking a step backwards. Hard to think that the return for any of these players makes us better, though, and losing Danault and/or Jeannot especially hurts our chances come playoff time.

At this point I don't see much trade deadline action for the Kings unless they either go all in (which would be a huge mistake) or finally start a legitimate rebuild around our future core.

The problem with Marner is he isn't really a scorer. The Kings need scorers, especially ones that can be effective on PP.

 

[Maloney27]

Blake needs to look in the mirror, the problem here is not Clarke, he needs to look at the coaching staff, they should have had a development plan for this kid and should be sticking to it. Another obvious blunder by management and coaching, same as the way they handled Dubios. It is time to clean house at the top, they have put this team in a position where it is cap strapped and have given away too many prospects and has no ability to improve. Blake continues to overpay, next will be Gavrikov, who deserves to be resigned, but he is already making nearly 6 million and does not have the stats to justify his current salary, resigning will no doubt lead to more cap hell. We have Doughty at 11 Mil for 2 more seasons after this. Love Drew, but he no longer plays at an 11 million dollar a year player. Edmundson has played better than I expected, but not at almost 4 million. Sit down, determine a development plan for Clarke and stick to it and develop this talented player and don't make the mistake of trading him and he becomes a huge star for another team.

 

[Birdman]

Hiller needs to go back to the pairings at the start of the season, and let the chips fall as they may.

 

[DarkLeftHand]

Hiller needs to go back to the pairings at the start of the season, and let the chips fall as they may.

And Doughty and Clarke can be our 4th line forwards.

 

[DryKing]

Blake needs to look in the mirror, the problem here is not Clarke, he needs to look at the coaching staff, they should have had a development plan for this kid and should be sticking to it. Another obvious blunder by management and coaching, same as the way they handled Dubios. It is time to clean house at the top, they have put this team in a position where it is cap strapped and have given away too many prospects and has no ability to improve. Blake continues to overpay, next will be Gavrikov, who deserves to be resigned, but he is already making nearly 6 million and does not have the stats to justify his current salary, resigning will no doubt lead to more cap hell. We have Doughty at 11 Mil for 2 more seasons after this. Love Drew, but he no longer plays at an 11 million dollar a year player. Edmundson has played better than I expected, but not at almost 4 million. Sit down, determine a development plan for Clarke and stick to it and develop this talented player and don't make the mistake of trading him and he becomes a huge star for another team.

When Doughty signed that $11m AAV he wasn't even the caliber of player at that time to warrant that much AAV let alone what he projected to be by the end of the contract. Like you said, Gav was overpaid due to desperation at the time but we should not continue to compound that overpayment. He's likely in the $5.5m AAV at anything over 3 years, despite the cap going up. With Edmundson the term is the biggest issue. For that term he should have been able to be plucked at far less.

I don't see this trend changing with Blake. Overpaid contracts and poor coaching choices are his Achilles Heel and likely always will be.