Confirmed with Link Kings name Holland their 10th GM in History

[Birdman]

I agree with this, but it is not only about speed on the back end. The ability to quickly move the puck up out of the zone is critical and this team is not great at that, especially on the left side.

It just boggles me to have these conversations this time of year. It’s like people only critique what our team does on a breakout this time of year, or just don’t watch the playoffs.

Tell me one team that is being effective at doing that right now? They’re all playing the same game. Everything this time of year , especially late in the game, is get it out, and get it deep. Chips up the wall, ice it if you get into trouble. If you don’t have a play when you have a minute, it’s a sand wedge out of the zone, and 1-2-2 or 1-3-1.

Probably the 2 teams with the best 6D that have Mobile defenseman that can move the puck (Colorado/Vegas) are out. Vegas best defenseman in the Oilers series was Pieterangelo, and what I noticed was he has degraded into being even less mobile than Doughty was against the Oilers.

The playoff game has been, and will always continue to be, a game of attrition. It’s been this way since the dead puck era. There may be an outlier here and there one year, but playing hard and physical is going to wear down the opposition in a series, especially the deeper you get.

 

[Clif]

Gavy way walk. As good as Gavy is, he is a redundant piece on the left. There are those among us who have been asking for more mobility from the D especially on the left side. Gavy is not that player. Gavy for all the things that he does well, is not great at exiting the zone. It is hard to get up the ice with speed if you struggle to get out of your own zone.

I would much prefer Gavy over Edmundson, both the hand that Blake delt may see us loose Gavy, depending on how KH feels on the subject.

What I wonder is if Gavy would resign to play RD. He and Mikey were elite together. Then package Spence.

 

[symbology]

And replace him with whom? A mobile defenseman who can pass and actually defend? That's basically an upper tier 1D. Where are you going to get one?

That is not my job, if it was we would not have signed Edmundson and we would have gone after someone with more mobility and puck moving skills at that time.

On the left side the Kings have bigger, slower stay at home D. In a perfect world the Kings would have 1 Bigger RHD and 1 more mobile LHD. The D parings the Kings have now are great for playing the 1-3-1. I think that is why they are set this way. The 1-3-1 did not work well enough, so the Kings changed things up and when with a 1-2-2. It would be nice if D pairing reflected this change in playing style.

Yeah, offensive minded 1st pairing D are not easy to come by, but that would be great to have. However, a decent upgrade at that position would benefit this team and that does not only mean a top pairing D. Though the Kings are lacking in top end D talent. I am not sold on Clarke. I think his straight line skating speed is going to hold him back. Yeah, he has great edge work "tip toeing" through the offensive zone. but when the time comes flat out skate, I have not seen a lot from him yet.

KH has been brought in to improve this team. There are some that see the LD position as one that could use an upgrade. Why bring in KH if you are just going to stand pat with what has not been working for the last 4 years?

 

[symbology]

It just boggles me to have these conversations this time of year. It’s like people only critique what our team does on a breakout this time of year, or just don’t watch the playoffs.

Tell me one team that is being effective at doing that right now? They’re all playing the same game. Everything this time of year , especially late in the game, is get it out, and get it deep. Chips up the wall, ice it if you get into trouble. If you don’t have a play when you have a minute, it’s a sand wedge out of the zone, and 1-2-2 or 1-3-1.

Probably the 2 teams with the best 6D that have Mobile defenseman that can move the puck (Colorado/Vegas) are out. Vegas best defenseman in the Oilers series was Pieterangelo, and what I noticed was he has degraded into being even less mobile than Doughty was against the Oilers.

The playoff game has been, and will always continue to be, a game of attrition. It’s been this way since the dead puck era. There may be an outlier here and there one year, but playing hard and physical is going to wear down the opposition in a series, especially the deeper you get.

That has been working so well for the Kings in the 3rd period this past playoffs.

Not saying you need to completely go away from physical D. However, it is hard to argue that this team lacks offensive talent on the left side of the D. Having Kempe playing the left point on the PP is a waste of his talent IMO. Having him play the left point when the Kings are pressing and need a goal is a waste of his talent IMO. You do not see it as a problem that the coach plays Kempe out of position due to a deficiency in the D lineup? Get a big physical D on the right side and a more mobile D on the left. IMO, this is not the 1-3-1, we do not need a block wall at the blue line on the left side anymore.

There are a number of reasons that Vegas lost, one of them was because Hill's blocker looked like it was made out of swiss cheese.

 

[JWR]

I'm okay with the hire of Holland and am hopeful to see what moves he makes.
So long as they didn't hire Marc Bergevin I can't really complain

 

[Dr. Tran]

Gavy way walk. As good as Gavy is, he is a redundant piece on the left. There are those among us who have been asking for more mobility from the D especially on the left side. Gavy is not that player. Gavy for all the things that he does well, is not great at exiting the zone. It is hard to get up the ice with speed if you struggle to get out of your own zone.

I would much prefer Gavy over Edmundson, both the hand that Blake delt may see us loose Gavy, depending on how KH feels on the subject.

Everything you said I totally agree with. Our defense is not very mobile but especially on the left side. Gavy’s the best of the bunch which is why I’d prefer him. But it might be a blessing in disguise if he walks. The amount I put forward I think is reasonable. He might get more from a team desperate for a D man, especially in this market. I think the biggest thing is no trade or no movement. We need to be more flexible. If he could take a modified NT/NM, that works for us. If he wants full he has to walk. Also, I really hope KH isn’t married to the idea of offensive D on the right & defensive D on the left.

 

[DarkLeftHand]

I would give Gavy 6 x $7 million or 7 x $6 million. I might even go up to 7 x $7 million. I wouldn't go higher than that. As great as he is, he's still a defensive defenseman. And they don't get more than that, even with the cap rising.

I agree, we learned the hard way with Doughty. I’m never going above 7mil per season unless a defender has serious offensive pop to add to staunch defensive play. I don’t care that the cap is going up. That extra cap money should be spent to acquire bonafide superstars, on both ends of the ice. We need our own MacKinnon and Makar on this roster, especially given that Kopitar and Doughty are not long for this world.

 

[SirJW]

Ugh, Doughty's overpaid. Get over it. It's the price you pay when a home grown player becomes a super star. Yes Drew Doughty is a super star in hockey circles.

 

[Madness20721]

Kopitar and Doughty are not long for this world

Care to rephrase that?

 

[Halfwall]

Everything you said I totally agree with. Our defense is not very mobile but especially on the left side. Gavy’s the best of the bunch which is why I’d prefer him. But it might be a blessing in disguise if he walks. The amount I put forward I think is reasonable. He might get more from a team desperate for a D man, especially in this market. I think the biggest thing is no trade or no movement. We need to be more flexible. If he could take a modified NT/NM, that works for us. If he wants full he has to walk. Also, I really hope KH isn’t married to the idea of offensive D on the right & defensive D on the left.

Next year will be interesting especially if Kirsanov comes over--remember him? As heretical as it sounds the one I would consider moving is Mikey. He could fetch some good assets.

 

[DryKing]

Next year will be interesting especially if Kirsanov comes over--remember him? As heretical as it sounds the one I would consider moving is Mikey. He could fetch some good assets.

I have to disagree on the thought of moving Mikey. Mikey is probably the 2nd best defenseman on the team (behind Gav) and is pretty underrated when all is said and done. He has been able to match up with McDavid and Drai well and rarely has a bad game. He also has the makings of a future leader.

This would be akin to the stellar move of letting Roy walk.... Out of all D on our roster, we probably need Mikey the most.

 

[Illegal_Stick]

The one thing I will say about Mikey is he struggles against Edmonton regularly. So, is he a guy who can't play against them or is he an underachiever in the playoffs period? Assume it's the former. You wouldn't get full value for him anyway so I'd keep him. I forget what he did to McDavid, but ever since that he's been less effective against them.

 

[Halfwall]

I have to disagree on the thought of moving Mikey. Mikey is probably the 2nd best defenseman on the team (behind Gav) and is pretty underrated when all is said and done. He has been able to match up with McDavid and Drai well and rarely has a bad game. He also has the makings of a future leader.

This would be akin to the stellar move of letting Roy walk.... Out of all D on our roster, we probably need Mikey the most.

I have to disagree. He is redundant and has no puck moving or offensive capability. He has not been able to match up with McDavid or Draisaitl. He is small and gets overmatched by big forwards. In no way shape or form is he better than a healthy Doughty.

 

[Birdman]

I have to disagree. He is redundant and has no puck moving or offensive capability. He has not been able to match up with McDavid or Draisaitl. He is small and gets overmatched by big forwards. In no way shape or form is he better than a healthy Doughty.

He’s a defenseman. He has ton defend first.

Did you see Mcadrai abuse Vegas? They do it everybody. McDavid is an absolute cheat code.

The inability for folks to not understand how the game is played in the playoffs absolutely boggles me.

Anderson is signed for a gazillion years UNDER his market value. Probably the best thing that Blake actually did.

 

[Halfwall]

He’s a defenseman. He has ton defend first.

Did you see Mcadrai abuse Vegas? They do it everybody. McDavid is an absolute cheat code.

The inability for folks to not understand how the game is played in the playoffs absolutely boggles me.

Anderson is signed for a gazillion years UNDER his market value. Probably the best thing that Blake actually did.

Exactly. Unfortunately we have pretty much all defend first dmen.

 

[DryKing]

I have to disagree. He is redundant and has no puck moving or offensive capability. He has not been able to match up with McDavid or Draisaitl. He is small and gets overmatched by big forwards. In no way shape or form is he better than a healthy Doughty.

He's not better than Doughty offensively, but defensively he absolutely is. Additionally, while Doughty was out of the lineup due to injury, the Kings played fine without him. A few years back when he was out for the playoffs, we took Edmonton to game 7. Remove Mikey for the lineup, however, and the Kings struggle.

There is nothing redundant about Mikey. He is our best defensive defenseman period (Gav being our best all-around).

Doughty would be a very effective defenseman if he didn't regularly elongate his shifts and consistently play more minutes a game than he can handle. If he averaged 21 minutes a game, or less, he would probably move back to the top of the list. As it stands, however, he often plays gassed or mentally drained which leads to stellar plays like laying on his belly as McDavid skates around him.

 

[symbology]

He’s a defenseman. He has ton defend first.

Did you see Mcadrai abuse Vegas? They do it everybody. McDavid is an absolute cheat code.

The inability for folks to not understand how the game is played in the playoffs absolutely boggles me.

Anderson is signed for a gazillion years UNDER his market value. Probably the best thing that Blake actually did.

How many of the last 10 cup winning teams had the left side of their D core stacked with big stay at home D? How many of those teams even have 3 big stay at home D playing on either side?

There are more than two types of D. At the extremes you have stay at home D, then you have mobile, highly skille offensively gifted D. The Kings have 3 stay at home, no mobile, highly skilled/gifted D. The have 3 middle of the road, leaning offensive defensemen on the right side. DD is probably the best at exiting the zone and getting the puck up the ice than any other D on the team. Clarke is good as well, but he is young and gets limited mintutes. His skating is also a concern (imo). Nobody is saying the Kings need to dump all the stay at home D and go with high skilled puck movers. Many of us just feel that the Kings need a better balance to the D core and they need more mobility and offense coming from the left side.

Heck, the Panthers dumped their biggest and most physical D and replaced him with the likes of Ekman-Larsson and Mikkola (yes, he is big) then went on to win the cup.

 

[Statue4Deano]

How many of the last 10 cup winning teams had the left side of their D core stacked with big stay at home D? How many of those teams even have 3 big stay at home D playing on either side?

There are more than two types of D. At the extremes you have stay at home D, then you have mobile, highly skille offensively gifted D. The Kings have 3 stay at home, no mobile, highly skilled/gifted D. The have 3 middle of the road, leaning offensive defensemen on the right side. DD is probably the best at exiting the zone and getting the puck up the ice than any other D on the team. Nobody is saying the Kings need to dump all the stay at home D and go with high skilled puck movers. Many of us just feel that the Kings need a better balance to the D core and they need more mobility and offense coming from the left side.

Heck, the Panthers dumped their biggest and most physical D and replaced him with the likes of Ekman-Larsson and Mikkola (yes, he is big) then went on to win the cup.

What this playoffs is showing is that zone exits by d-men are more important that individual size or skillsets. Edmonton is a prime example of a not particularly big (Nurse excluded) or skilled d-Corps. (Bouchard excluded) but they’re very effective at getting the puck out of their zone and onto the stick of their forwards.

Gavrikov is particularly terrible at zone exits. It’s by far the weakest part of his game. And most of the Kings D are average to below average. This is why mobility and the skill to dependably make a breakout pass are needed more than anything. Enter: Bowen Byram…

 

[DryKing]

What this playoffs is showing is that zone exits by d-men are more important that individual size or skillsets. Edmonton is a prime example of a not particularly big (Nurse excluded) or skilled d-Corps. (Bouchard excluded) but they’re very effective at getting the puck out of their zone and onto the stick of their forwards.

Gavrikov is particularly terrible at zone exits. It’s by far the weakest part of his game. And most of the Kings D are average to below average. This is why mobility and the skill to dependably make a breakout pass are needed more than anything. Enter: Bowen Byram…

This is a very good point. We really need a backend puck mover that can improve our zone breakout.

Buffalo allegedly placed Byram on the trading block prior to season end so he may be available. I'm curious as to what the asking price would be, however, and how much Byram would be looking for, in terms of AAV, on his next contract.

 

[symbology]

What this playoffs is showing is that zone exits by d-men are more important that individual size or skillsets. Edmonton is a prime example of a not particularly big (Nurse excluded) or skilled d-Corps. (Bouchard excluded) but they’re very effective at getting the puck out of their zone and onto the stick of their forwards.

Gavrikov is particularly terrible at zone exits. It’s by far the weakest part of his game. And most of the Kings D are average to below average. This is why mobility and the skill to dependably make a breakout pass are needed more than anything. Enter: Bowen Byram…

Yep.......