Hiller Hotseat Thread
- Thread starter Birdman
- Start date
Bollocks
Super Star
Judging by our luck, the Kings will win 5-0 with Dumoulin and Ceci both getting one goal each.
Axl Rhoadz
3rd Line Winger
Can’t wait to see the look on your faces when you see the buffoon that Holland brings in next….
Illegal_Stick
Super Star
He has to go. I mean even if you like the guy, nothing is working. People have been fired for far less. The closer it gets to Christmas, the more worried I get they won't do it. This is it for the Luc era - what a complete disaster.
VCRW
Classic player
I don’t want to watch this beer league hockey team… especially the displays of sheer stupidity that Hiller, Fiala and Byfield produce with such regularity. Turns out the Faber trade was really the beginning of the end. But before that disaster, Blake should have never listened to Brown, Kopi and Drew when they demanded a retool instead of a rebuild. That was Rob’s most grievous error. Set the team back 10 years.
Illegal_Stick
Super Star
Definitely agree, BUT they still could've handled the retool better and been decent right now - Faber, Durzi, Walker, Roy could've helped. Better drafting - Stutzle (over Byfield) and/or Seider or even Zegras (over Turcotte). And yes, the draft is tricky, so maybe the Turcotte example isn't fair - but the Kings themselves knew Stutzle was the better player and decided to hope and wish for Byfield. Add Iafallo and Vilardi to all this, you have a decent team.
No team makes 100% right moves, but there are some pretty egregious mistakes here for a team focusing on re-tooling the roster. No team should have the "best prospects" and three years later be signing guys like Ceci and Dumoulin to desperately fill out the D core.
Choosing Hiller over Sturm (or any other available coach) added to the problems, as he stuck to a system that has won nothing and has made LA an undesirable location.
I mean how many guys need to reject a trade to this team before ownership wonders what is wrong with this organization. Top of my head - Ullmark, Rantanen, Marchand, Andersson all said no to being sent to play hockey in California. That is insane!
This organization needs a fill rebuild from management on down.
symbology
TEAM LGK
Statue4Deano
Super Star
If he makes it to Jan 1 he’s finishing out the season. This is still a high floor low ceiling team and they should sneak into the playoffs. Another 1st round exit gives Holland the chance to fire Hiller and a clean slate going into 2026-27.
Bill Hicks
LGK Agitator
How to break Hiller's voodoo stranglehold.
Let the moms run a practice
Play broomball
30 minute scrimmage with 2 pucks and no goalies
Play kickball with beer in hand (it's an official rule, I do believe)
Find a team rep to be a slumpbuster ( Perry is my vote )
Use soccer nets
Something, anything, at this point.
I'm well aware how stupid this is.
Let the moms run a practice
Play broomball
30 minute scrimmage with 2 pucks and no goalies
Play kickball with beer in hand (it's an official rule, I do believe)
Find a team rep to be a slumpbuster ( Perry is my vote )
Use soccer nets
Something, anything, at this point.
I'm well aware how stupid this is.
Clif
Super Star
I think Peterson’s failure was problem number one. Blake had no other goalie options. The Chychrun trade was reportedly all but done except for hiccup that sounded like AZ didn’t want Peterson going back. This was freidman reporting.
We get Gavrikov instead, then Peterson has to be unloaded with good assets going back that summer. It took a lot of oxygen out of team planning.
Blake couldn’t have helped Peterson get on track, but he could have had another young goalie in the system when he started his rebuild. Instead Peterson was the sole “heir apparent.”
Otherwise the trades he didn’t make are always what bother me. Kaliyev, JAD, Thomas, Bjornfot, Turcotte, and Kupari all could have been used as pieces in their D+1 or D+2 years.
Illegal_Stick
Super Star
Didn’t know that about Chycrun. Makes sense. Cal certainly was the first sign of trouble. I guess in fairness to all involved it shows you how easily you can mess it up BUT even those of us surprised by Cal’s contract were surprised by it. It don’t seem necessary. He wasn’t going anywhere else. Even if he was great, he surely would’ve taken less.
It’s not that different that Byfield - you’re trying to get smart and predict things rather than going with the obvious choices. You’re a genius if it works but the reason is because it probably won’t work.
Clif
Super Star
Yeah and Marek reported that the trade appeared so imminent that Kings players were reportedly checking their phones the whole time during a team Super Bowl party. He compared it to an Agatha Christie novel where the light goes off on a train and when it comes back on someone is missing. Man i love Marek.
As you said, can’t get it all right. GM’s make mistakes along even the most successful runs. Unfortunately Blake made a whole lot of them that culminated in what we have today. Could have even gotten away with it if not for Hiller’s playoff performance.
This is like the "Are we there yet?" haha
Birdman
TEAM LGK
Bollocks
Super Star
After all these years and all that happened since that retool vs. rebuild, do you really, really think rookie GM Rob had free reign to decide as he wishes on that matter? Come on.
I stand by what I said multiple times - him hiring Willie-D was IMO an intentional team sabotage in order to squeeze a green light for a retool from the upper management.
Bollocks
Super Star
This does look dire.
One thing to point out:
No way he could keep all of the mentioned (Faber, Durzi, Walker, Roy) - at least one of them would have to go regardless, as there was Doughty, and only one of them could play LD (and wasn't that great at it) and it's questionable how well Durzi would develop had he played 10 min/game instead of 20. And Spence never gets a chance and he likely joins the list of would've-beens that didn't get traded for a return (Kaliyev, JAD, Thomas, Bjornfot, Turcotte, and Kupari, that Clif noted). Clarke doesn't get drafted either, but it's entirely possible that someone like Sillinger gets drafted instead to fill the center need in the prospect pipeline.
Now that I think about it...drafting Stützle might've caused Sturm to be hired instead of Hiller, too, who knows...
But in this scenario the Kings might end up with sub-par goaltending that doesn't get them any farther than they got anyways. It's true though that the future would look brighter.