Hiller Hotseat Thread

No way Danault was not earning minutes.
Meritocracy.
Two minutes drop off is reasonable with his play and a team player would have just worked hard and not been a baby.
Phil missed Montreal, they were looking promising and his agent was obviously talking to them.

If that was the case, Ken should've been calling them much sooner to sell high and demand a 1st rounder instead of a 2nd.
 
The rumor is that St Louis wants 3 first-round equivalents. So, maybe the 2026 and 2027 firsts and Carter George or Henry Brzustewicz.

Thomas is a legit first line center. The odds that we would find that in one of the next two drafts with what will likely be mid first-round picks isn't great, and the prospect would still be years away.

That's too much.

If that's the price for Thomas, I'd rather take a leap of faith with Elias Petersson for half (or a bit more than half) of that price.
 
That's too much.

If that's the price for Thomas, I'd rather take a leap of faith with Elias Petersson for half (or a bit more than half) of that price.
Agreed. Can’t trade George until Slukynsky has an ELC signed. Can’t trade Bruschetta period because he’s the only legit RD in the pipeline.

2 firsts, Cihar, and a second maybe? But Blues could likely get a better prospect elsewhere.

I think Petterson will be more expensive than people are expecting. But I’d be happy with getting him for a first, second, Turcotte and a reach prospect like Pinelli or Salin.
 
Agreed. Can’t trade George until Slukynsky has an ELC signed. Can’t trade Bruschetta period because he’s the only legit RD in the pipeline.

2 firsts, Cihar, and a second maybe? But Blues could likely get a better prospect elsewhere.

I think Petterson will be more expensive than people are expecting. But I’d be happy with getting him for a first, second, Turcotte and a reach prospect like Pinelli or Salin.
I believe all our prospects are a reach. Kings for a while have failed to draft have a real gem.
 
I believe all our prospects are a reach. Kings for a while have failed to draft have a real gem.
I favor trading picks and prospects when you’re actually trying to win as teams overvalue picks and get easily enticed by D+1 and +2 players. COL and VGK have succeeded so well there - they have not traded gems but have gotten gems in return. But with only one passable RD in the system and LD also questionable, I cannot get behind trading Wooley and Bruschetta.

I would argue Slukynsky is a gem. He has been elite at every level and won an NCAA title as a freshman. His stats that season were 1.90 GAA and .922 SV% in 25 games. He was a freshman, if I didn’t mention that.

My bigger fear with him is that his agent will correctly tell him he can write his own ticket and he never signs an ELC with the Kings.
 
I favor trading picks and prospects when you’re actually trying to win as teams overvalue picks and get easily enticed by D+1 and +2 players. COL and VGK have succeeded so well there - they have not traded gems but have gotten gems in return. But with only one passable RD in the system and LD also questionable, I cannot get behind trading Wooley and Bruschetta.

I would argue Slukynsky is a gem. He has been elite at every level and won an NCAA title as a freshman. His stats that season were 1.90 GAA and .922 SV% in 25 games. He was a freshman, if I didn’t mention that.

My bigger fear with him is that his agent will correctly tell him he can write his own ticket and he never signs an ELC with the Kings.
I actually think Slukynsky is the best of the goalie prospects, currently. The positive is that the Kings run a very goalie friendly system so I don't have much concern that he will sign.

Woolley the Kings should hold on to, especially as I believe his value may have dropped a bit since being traded to Kitchener. Out of all the prospects we have left, he is the one I am the most excited about. He likely won't turn out to be the best of all those we have in the pool, but he may just address the most needs currently out of any prospect within the Organization.

Brzustewicz looks stellar offensively but the Kings could potentially seek to trade him as his value is high and they may feel he is redundant with Clarke already in the system. If Brz can strengthen his game in the defensive zone, though, he will be exactly the type of D we have been searching for - a puck moving potential top pairing defenseman. That said, I think there is a fair chance the Kings will look to move him as he's not a pylon.

Pretty much anyone outside of Slukynsky, Carter, Woolley and Brz I would consider as having low impact should the Kings choose to move them.
 
KH did good getting a 2nd.
Due had 0 goals and half dozen assists.
Jesus would need to be y0ur GM to get a 1st

Please learn to understand what you read. I meant that if there was tension during the summer and/or in early season already, Ken should've traded him before Phil's value tanked to the minimum. Yes, he did well all things considered, but Phil did not struggle out of the gate without some background tensions.
 
Please learn to understand what you read. I meant that if there was tension during the summer and/or in early season already, Ken should've traded him before Phil's value tanked to the minimum. Yes, he did well all things considered, but Phil did not struggle out of the gate without some background tensions.
Totally agree if there was behind the scene tensions as play Ken should have looked to move him this past offseason and found a suitable replacement. Given how he played in the playoffs last season, he would have netted at least a 1st round pick in a league currently desperate for Centers.

That said, I'm not yet sold that he is doing much better in MTL as of yet. Sure his offensive numbers have boosted a bit, but his defensive stats have also fallen. These changes seem to be more driven by the team/structure than by his play.
 
Totally agree if there was behind the scene tensions as play Ken should have looked to move him this past offseason and found a suitable replacement. Given how he played in the playoffs last season, he would have netted at least a 1st round pick in a league currently desperate for Centers.

That said, I'm not yet sold that he is doing much better in MTL as of yet. Sure his offensive numbers have boosted a bit, but his defensive stats have also fallen. These changes seem to be more driven by the team/structure than by his play.
I don't think you can assess that very well as a new Gm coming in.
You are going to want to assess your team and players in person and not have a feel or want to make assumptions.
Ken Holland is a hockey GM, he is not a psychic in a gypsy road show.
I understand exactly what I read, some people just wanted to write off my response. LOL
 
I don't think you can assess that very well as a new Gm coming in.
You are going to want to assess your team and players in person and not have a feel or want to make assumptions.
Ken Holland is a hockey GM, he is not a psychic in a gypsy road show.
I understand exactly what I read, some people just wanted to write off my response. LOL
Fair point and that does seem like Ken's style (move initially slow and methodically, ensuring he understands the details before making a change).

That said, if it was as bad as some are assuming it was, it would be glaring and something Ken would need to address right away (you'd think others like Hiller and Luc would make it a point to brief him). If it's been overblown however, or Ken felt he could salvage it, then it makes sense for him to wait.
 
Luc and Holland breathe a sigh of relief.
They now have another excuse to blame the poor season: Fiala injury.

You can just see it in your mind's eye now: End of season press conferences with Luc, Holland, & Hiller all talking about what could have been if not for Fiala. Trust us, next season will be better with Fiala back.
 
Luc and Holland breathe a sigh of relief.
They now have another excuse to blame the poor season: Fiala injury.

You can just see it in your mind's eye now: End of season press conferences with Luc, Holland, & Hiller all talking about what could have been if not for Fiala. Trust us, next season will be better with Fiala back.
Yep, I can hear it now. They were "right there" and the move to get Breadboy had them in position to get to the "top of the division" and make a "deep playoff run".
 
The Kings were on the cusp of the Cup when Fiala went down. They were so close to taking a sip. I was days away from ordering my 2025-2026 playoff hat.
 

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