It's not you - this has always been one of Blake's weaknesses. I'd even add the $7m 2 year extension for Kopitar to this list (while a player like Kane is signed for $2.75m). Not saying Kopi should have signed at Kane money, but $7m seems high.
Fire coach!
- Thread starter MiketheKing
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kingnut
Top Forward
Had discussion w coworker on exactly this. Was not happy w the 7mil/yr, but hard to argue given his points production. But it may fall off cliff after this yr.
As for Kane $, agreed, maybe 5 m/yr. Then blake would have a little more room to work with.
Statue4Deano
Super Star
Leaving Doughty and Kopitar out of the discussion because they are organizational pillars, none of these contracts were/are outrageous. Check out the contract comps on capfriendly and you'll see exactly how Blake and his team came to most of the numbers they did.
Any time a player gives away UFA years his cap hit spikes. You just gotta live with it and fill in as many holes as you can with rookies.
VCRW
Classic player
My first thought when I heard the $7 million figure was disbelief. That is a $2 million per year overpayment for a guy who will be 37 & 38 during those 2 years. Instead of a hometown discount to help the team improve, we see one last shot at big money before the whole family heads back to Slovenia. It’s disappointing.
Clif
Super Star
Drew said “too many guys” so the way I interpreted it is that many players have gotten away from the buy-in to the system over this stretch. I don’t even think it’s purely selfish per se but lots of players trying to take over and dial up the offense at the expense of the Kings’ defensive system. The amount of turnovers that have lead directly to goals is mind boggling.
Drew and Kopi know the best way to weather a slump is to stick to the game plan and odds will eventually go back your way again. It’s why Blake emphasized they need to win through defense and also why Drew backed up the coaches.
Last night the team was clearly sticking to their 1-3-1 at least to start and it was vividly obvious. Gonna be some rust - that was an elite team and Kings have been so sloppy it wasn’t a good early eye test. But theory goes play like you did when you were winning and let it take care of itself.
Only fault there is that teams really nail the Kings on the dump in and forecheck, so it could be that this system really has reached its expiration point. Which means you’ve got coaching and veteran leadership who are divided from much of the room who is trying to adjust and get wins differently but don’t have backing or direction. It is, in a word, a mess.
VCRW
Classic player
I would love to know what happened immediately before, during, or immediately after that Islander game that completely changed the season. The team has never looked the same since. Sadly, we will probably never hear the truth about this collapse. Just hope Rob is ready to be a seller at the deadline.
fonze
Rookie
woah woah slow down with your facts and reason ... hahaLeaving Doughty and Kopitar out of the discussion because they are organizational pillars, none of these contracts were/are outrageous. Check out the contract comps on capfriendly and you'll see exactly how Blake and his team came to most of the numbers they did.
Any time a player gives away UFA years his cap hit spikes. You just gotta live with it and fill in as many holes as you can with rookies.
Pevsfreedom
somehow in south carolina
It was immediately post Gavrikov injury during the game, like the next shift, like they were riding high and saw him go down and get hurt and just buckled emotionally.. IDK.
Statue4Deano
Super Star
Correct. Kings were actually playing a very competitive 1st period until Talbot let in that softy. Then he misplays the puck shot behind his net and it handcuffs Doughty who was not expecting him to touch it and leads to a turnover and a goal. 3rd goal was a shot going wide to the left of the net if Talbot doesn’t touch it. I mean there was just no reason for it. Even if he does stop that shot with his blocker it’s going to create a fat rebound in the slot at the feet of an Avs forward. 2.5 of those goals are directly his fault.
I can’t hang the entire loss on Talbot but he was abysmal. He completely undermined the team’s effort to play a structured defensive game last night. So how can anyone say the system isn’t working or the team doesn’t care when one player puts you behind the 8 ball? Makes no sense.
VCRW
Classic player
Anderson contract is excellent… as is Gavrikov’s contract. Moore’s contract is looking like a steal as is Kempe’s contract. Fiala and PLD contracts will have to be assessed further down the line, but both look as though they are overpayments right now.Leaving Doughty and Kopitar out of the discussion because they are organizational pillars, none of these contracts were/are outrageous. Check out the contract comps on capfriendly and you'll see exactly how Blake and his team came to most of the numbers they did.
Any time a player gives away UFA years his cap hit spikes. You just gotta live with it and fill in as many holes as you can with rookies.
I hated Doughty’s contract from day 1. I think that was Blake’s most egregious error. The Kopitar extension looks pretty bad too.
Statue4Deano
Super Star
If Dubois can get back to scoring 25+ goals a game while playing Center his contract is right in line with his peers. It's a bit on the high end but that's the cost of doing business if your goal is to acquire guys in their prime who are signed to contracts where they give up free agency years.
Kevin Fiala is actually on a very fair salary considering his production. Some of his comps (similar age + cap hit within 1M): Alex Debrincat 48GP 42P, Jordan Kyrou 47GP 34P, Filip Forsberg 48GP 50P, Jesper Bratt 46GP 49P, Clayton Keller 47GP 45P, Kyle Connor 30GP 29P. I take Fiala over some of but not all of those guys. He's basically paid exactly where he should be.
We've got to remember it's not 2010 any longer. It's 2024 and the cap is going up so these cap numbers are going up too.
ChiKingFan
TEAM LGK
If PLD can start scoring 25+ goals a game, I’m willing to overlook the first half of this season and ready to put Blake in the GM hall of fame.
Statue4Deano
Super Star
Dubois' expected goals are right at 14 on the season. Projected over a season that's 25. Give him a healthy Arvidsson from mid Feb. to end the season and 25 is probably right where he ends up.
I'm calling it now PLD is going to get on a heater after the all star break.
brasspucks
Nuts!
"If PLD can start scoring 25+ goals a game..." he will break Gretzky's single-season goals record in a week.
Statue4Deano
Super Star
NHL 95 with offsides turned off numbers.
At the moment the problem seems to be getting the guy off the heater, not on it.I'm calling it now PLD is going to get on a heater after the all star break.
Pevsfreedom
somehow in south carolina
you and your lonely bandwagonI'm calling it now PLD is going to get on a heater after the all star break.
i hope yer right
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