Jonathan Quick did as much for this franchise as Dustin did.
As much as Anze did. As much as Drew did.
He EARNED the right to go out a King.
They are the Four Horsemen of the L.A. Kings.
And to do Quickie so dirty is disgusting.
This team is not winning a Stanley Cup this year.
You who think the west is winnable for this team are delusional.
IF we were to get to the west finals, Colorado would stomp us out like a bonfire.
We're just not there yet. And we surrender a 1st in a deep draft for 2 mediocre rentals?
Just processing and venting:
That locker room just took a hit. It's a shock to the culture -- Quick's competitive nature, attitude, and leadership, which has been a mainstay, has just been removed.
**** Blake.
(**** Todd too)
just another reason to boo blake, dude has no loyalty to the kings as history has shown.
Can't help feel a lot of the people who are mad about this trade would also be mad if Blake did nothing. The team is tied for 1st place in the west. He made the team better. Everyone on the team deserves the chance to "go for it". I read "They aren't going to win the cup this year" a lot. I doubt the players think that way.
I love Jonathan Quick and what he's done for this franchise, but he had every opportunity to improve his play this season and he just hasn't been able to do it. Blake's job is to ice the best team possible, short and long term, and he's doing just that.
Boo Blake for improving the team. Totally!
Agree with this 100%. I don't understand these fans who keep saying "Kings don't have a chance at the cup this year, so why make a trade like this" - I'm sorry but if you're in the playoffs you have a chance. Kings fans should have learned this lesson permanently after the 8-seed performance in 2012. With the West in its current state, the Kings have a completely reasonable path, possibly even with home ice advantage, all the way to a Stanley Cup Final appearance. If the Kings make the WCF, we'll have traded away the 29th (or lower) pick of the 2023 draft. Who's losing sleep over this?
I love Jonathan Quick and what he's done for this franchise, but he had every opportunity to improve his play this season and he just hasn't been able to do it. Blake's job is to ice the best team possible, short and long term, and he's doing just that.
That’s not someone worth targeting, not for a package that includes a first-round pick. It feels like a cop-out, a move to make for the sake of it because the Kings were too cowardly to actually swing for the fences for an actual difference-maker. If the Kings want to be patient and methodical and wait for Clarke to be a difference-maker — that’s great. If they want to take a swing with their current core and add Chychrun that’s great too. This feels like an in-between move that keeps them in between the league’s actually great teams and the just okay ones. First-round fodder.
Kings are 4th in the conference in points percentage. We have a good but not great team. Colorado has won 6 straight, is getting healthy ahead of the playoffs (a la Tampa with Kucherov) and will likely crush the Kings in a 7-game series.
We should be realistic about making trades in terms of rentals versus improving the team. The Kings have a really good team (don't let the record with Quick and Cal in net take away from how good they are). But I don't see us getting past Colorado nor whatever stacked team comes out of the east.
I hope this trade works and the Kings have an extended playoff run. But I think Blake cheaped out rather than getting a more-long term package. I agree with Dom's writeup in the Athletic "NHL trade grades: Did the Kings get the wrong defenseman in Vladislav Gavrikov?"
So where does Gavrikov fit into the defensive lineup?
Apparently he told the team he wanted to keep playing beyond this season and it was pretty clear the Kings weren't going to renew his contract. So he was going to play somewhere else next season anyway. So now I don't understand why he was surprised or upset.According to all reports Quick didn’t see it coming. That sucks.