Fire coach!

[Statue4Deano]

It’s often just a case of different personality delivering a more coherent or believable message in a way that inspires confidence and creates agreement in the way to achieve the goal. The hope is that a new voice will be heard because the old voice has become like the adult trombone voices in a Peanuts cartoon.

I don't disagree with you but I think there's a bunch of folks who assume just firing one coach and putting in a new voice will flip the switch on this team. For those folks I'd like to refresh their memories of 2012 when the Kings fired Terry Murray because, in part, they had an elite defense but couldn't score. Everyone seems to forget that Sutter didn't fix things just by being a new voice. What actually fixed things were the roster changes. Bringing in Jeff Carter was the piece that really put them over the top.

Also, check out Brown's quote in this Hockey News article from 2012. I don't see players getting emotionally detached, yet. The 2nd period of this past Detroit game was the closest it's been but look at their response in the 3rd period. There is a bit of self-loathing in the Kings game at the moment because they're going through an extended unlucky streak but I don't see real quit yet.

"Darryl brings a different style of coaching, definitely more intensity, more in-your-face attitude," defenceman Matt Greene said. "I think some guys needed somebody to get in their face."
Greene describes Sutter and Murray as "polar opposites," saying Murray often allowed players to figure out their own solutions to problems. Nobody could solve the Kings' scoring woes before Murray's firing, and Sutter's team didn't figure it out for another couple of months until Jeff Carter arrived at the trade deadline.
"He pushes the right buttons," Brown said. "One problem we had as a team before he got here was getting emotionally attached to a game. He brought that emotional level up. ... Sometimes he's hard to read. He jokes around a lot, and then he can flip it around and be pretty serious. It's a good balance."

https://thehockeynews.com/news/the-new-voice-la-kings-cant-understand-coach-sutter-sometimes-but-theyre-winning-with-him

 

[VCRW]

I honestly don't remember if he's done or not. I remember he was a bit emotional out the door from Vancouver.

He’s working for NHL Network. Haven’t heard him say he’s done with coaching.

 

[SirJW]

If they fire McLellan mid-season it will be Marco Sturm from Ontario.

 

[Birdman]

If they fire McLellan mid-season it will be Marco Sturm from Ontario.

Or Sutter.

If they bring him in, expect big strapping bodies to follow.

 

[Rog or Reg?]

Cyrpt food, Staples Food...it's always kinda sucked. They brought in that Ludo Bird and I was hopefully...it's chicken strips on a bun. Absolute garbage. We don't generally eat in the arena, I strongly suggest Craft by Smoke and Fire which recently opened up. Lazy Dog isn't bad either. Lots of better values outside the arena.

Out on the balcony, which evidently is closed for some type of remodeling, there was a concession stand on the left that sold pulled pork sandwiches and garlic fries which were as good as any restaurant in town. It was kind of pricey. but it was delicious. Eating those sandwiches out on the balcony prior to the game was kind of a ritual for my wife and I. Unless we hit The Pantry first which we did quite often

It's a shame all the other venues are stepping up their game as far as the quality of food, while the Crypt has taken a giant step backwards. Even their nachos were horrible. Conversely the nachos at Sofi Stadium are fantastic. There was a lot of talk about how bad the food was at SoFi...not compared to the Crypt. And Dodger Stadium has really stepped up the quality of their concessions.

 

[emsomaso]

One win and this thread went from "Fire the coach" to "I don't like the nachos"....

 

[MiketheKing]

Hire Rittich! Great game, he was the difference maker tonight

 

[Rog or Reg?]

One win and this thread went from "Fire the coach" to "I don't like the nachos"....

Sorry, my bad.

This thread took a left turn somewhere around "We have one of the wealthiest owners in professional sports..." and I started with the price of concessions, etc.

 

[Dexter]

anyone that doesn't think Vegas wouldn't fire Cassidy in a hot second if they thought it would improve their chances to repeat is a fool. That organization has made it clear from day 1 what they value and everyone there seems to be on board with it.

As for Blake, available options include
Berube
Colliton
Evason
Gallant
Granato (if health allows)
Sturm
Sutter
Woodcroft

I don't think he'd go as far back as Hartley and try and pull him back from the KHL. The other clues would have to be from his time in the Hockey Canada which is where I believe he met Willie D and became a fan of his. Personally if you think the Toddfather should be out, get ready for Coach Sturm since that's the most likely scenario. There's no chance that Wroblewski or Stothers could be on the table.

Disco Dan is the coach for Coachella so might be available.

 

[LAKingSteve]

Out on the balcony, which evidently is closed for some type of remodeling, there was a concession stand on the left that sold pulled pork sandwiches and garlic fries which were as good as any restaurant in town. It was kind of pricey. but it was delicious. Eating those sandwiches out on the balcony prior to the game was kind of a ritual for my wife and I. Unless we hit The Pantry first which we did quite often

I think you can still buy from the walk up window inside. At least I've seen it open a few games.

 

[LAKingSteve]

One win and this thread went from "Fire the coach" to "I don't like the nachos"....

We started the food talk before the win :

 

[Rog or Reg?]

I think you can still buy from the walk up window inside. At least I've seen it open a few games.

Thanks! That's right, there is a walk-up window inside. I think in 2007 we caught a couple of rainy nights there and opted to buy our pulled pork and garlic fries inside.

By far the best food option in the joint!

 

[emsomaso]

We started the food talk before the win :

I know, but my quote wouldn’t have been ”as fun” if I had cared about that… ;-)

 

[NewCastle]

Concur with all the posts above: Fire coach!

 

[Illegal_Stick]

Either this is a good team and you fire the coach or this still isn't a good team and you fire the GM. The only people I trust completely right now are the scouts. They've done a great job over and over again. If this team can't win, you have to look at Vilardi, Iafallo, Durzi, Faber, Walker and even Quick. Blake was never afraid to take the big swing, which I appreciated, but I think we'd all agree PLD was a mistake, I would argue that trading Faber for elite scoring made sense, but think he should have targeted DeBrincat, as Fiala makes so many key mistakes per game, I don't know if you can even call that elite scoring. Hands as good as I've ever seen, but brain seems to be less than stellar, whether it's blatant giveaways or brutal/dumb penalties.

Blake seemed to make the right moves when we were getting rid of aging players to start the rebuild, but I don't know since then. Fiala I could live with, if not for the PLD trade on top of it. Those are looooong contracts. Blake did insist on Byfield and got us Moore, I just can't see anyone saving themselves if this tank continues. At some point, doesn't Blake fire Todd just out of self preservation?

 

[DryKing]

Either this is a good team and you fire the coach or this still isn't a good team and you fire the GM. The only people I trust completely right now are the scouts. They've done a great job over and over again. If this team can't win, you have to look at Vilardi, Iafallo, Durzi, Faber, Walker and even Quick. Blake was never afraid to take the big swing, which I appreciated, but I think we'd all agree PLD was a mistake, I would argue that trading Faber for elite scoring made sense, but think he should have targeted DeBrincat, as Fiala makes so many key mistakes per game, I don't know if you can even call that elite scoring. Hands as good as I've ever seen, but brain seems to be less than stellar, whether it's blatant giveaways or brutal/dumb penalties.

Blake seemed to make the right moves when we were getting rid of aging players to start the rebuild, but I don't know since then. Fiala I could live with, if not for the PLD trade on top of it. Those are looooong contracts. Blake did insist on Byfield and got us Moore, I just can't see anyone saving themselves if this tank continues. At some point, doesn't Blake fire Todd just out of self preservation?

I think Blake has enough money in the back with ownership/leadership to ride out a losing streak, even should the the season end missing the playoffs I think he has done enough good to be ok. Having a poor season again, however, next season would likely end his tenure. Best thing he can do right now is stay methodical and stick to the plan - worst thing would be to make a knee jerk reaction.

The Fiala trade was brilliant at the time but hasn't aged as well mainly due to Faber being such a stud and exactly the type of D we could use. That said, Fiala has been prone to turnovers but he has done exactly what he was brought in to do - rack up points. He was second on the team last year in points (would have been first if not for injury) and is top 3 this year. He has brought to the table exactly what Blake expected him to.

The PLD contract has started with a whimper but will end with a roar. Yes Blake signed him for top dollar and a long term, but that contract will pay large dividends before it is over and end up being a great deal, provided he stays healthy. People claimed Blake overpaid for Danault as well, and look how well that has been going since. The one thing we have to give Blake props for is having a plan. He clearly has a target window which does not start this year (evidenced by the lack of payroll mobility and being saved by some lucky goalie signings that have overachieved and an unfortunate, but also beneficial, LITR).

Next season, however, has to be part of that window and likely is when Blake will truly be held accountable should the team fail to meet expectations - provided he doesn't do something silly and instead stays the course in the meantime.

As for Todd he has done a good job so far in his tenure with the Kings and deserves the chance to right the ship. End of the day they are still 21-12-8 which is a great record by Kings standards. He'll get them moving in the right direction again, with the playoffs being his audition to see if he remains our coach next season when the stakes get high.

 

[Clif]

The Fiala trade was brilliant at the time but hasn't aged as well mainly due to Faber being such a stud and exactly the type of D we could use. That said, Fiala has been prone to turnovers but he has done exactly what he was brought in to do - rack up points. He was second on the team last year in points (would have been first if not for injury) and is top 3 this year. He has brought to the table exactly what Blake expected him to.

I know you’re not saying this at all as you are defending the Fiala trade (great post overall too), but just to go a little further this is likely the easiest trade Blake will have made considering the pieces involved. Here’s a picture of Brock while already a Kings prospect.

Here’s an article when the trade went down and quite a quote from him:

“Ever since I started playing hockey, obviously growing up in Minnesota, it’s always been the Gophers and the Wild,” Faber said. “Those are the teams I wanted to play for someday. So playing for the Gophers right now, and possibly having the opportunity to play for the Wild in the future, it gives me chills thinking about it.”

Look, I get that all NHL players had teams as kids they dreamt of playing for, but Faber already rejected an ELC with the Kings so he could return to college, and if he opted for another year beyond he’d be a free agent. By my math, Blake was smart as hell not to risk this one and just as lucky MN got cap squeezed with Fiala.

 

[DryKing]

I know you’re not saying this at all as you are defending the Fiala trade (great post overall too), but just to go a little further this was likely the easiest trade Blake will have made considering the pieces involved. Here’s a picture of Brock while already a Kings prospect.

View attachment 8273

Here’s an article when the trade went down and quite a quote from him:

“Ever since I started playing hockey, obviously growing up in Minnesota, it’s always been the Gophers and the Wild,” Faber said. “Those are the teams I wanted to play for someday. So playing for the Gophers right now, and possibly having the opportunity to play for the Wild in the future, it gives me chills thinking about it.”

Look, I get that all NHL players had teams as kids they dreamt of playing for, but Faber already rejected an ELC with the Kings so he could return to college, and if he opted for another year beyond he’d be a free agent. By my math, Blake was smart as hell not to risk this one and just as lucky MN got cap squeezed with Fiala.

Wow that is crazy, thank you for sharing. I didn't realize how much he essentially forced the Kings had there. Makes the outcome of that trade even better.

 

[santiclaws]

Wow that is crazy, thank you for sharing. I didn't realize how much he essentially forced the Kings had there. Makes the outcome of that trade even better.

Nah. That was after he got over being traded. I recall his initial quotes immediately after actually showed that he was kinda pissed and pretty disappointed about being traded away. Obviously being traded to his hometown team softened the blow.

 

[Statue4Deano]

Faber probably would’ve been fine signing with LA but when you’re a highly regarded NCAA prospect and you reject the initial attempt by the team to get you to turn pro, a clock starts ticking in the GMs head.

The Fiala trade was necessary and fair to both sides. Kings got a point per game winger in his prime on a very favorable contract. Zero regrets.