symbology
TEAM LGK
What else could he have said?
McLellan fired
- Thread starter kingsjohn
- Start date
Statue4Deano
Super Star
The funniest part is every great GM in league history has done the same thing in building their organization. They hire from within their bubble because those are the people they’re most familiar with. Not every position but many important ones are ex-teammates or former coaches/scouts etc. Also if you ever want to build a team legacy the way the model franchises do it then you have to staff from guys who have worn the sweater at some point.
If Kopi wants to be a team exec at some point is ownership supposed to say no because he’s a re-tread? If Dustin Brown were interested in being a development coach should they say go kick rocks? If Trevor Lewis wants to be a PK coach should he be disqualified in favor of an outside voice? Silly stuff.
LAK1ngs
3rd Line Winger
Todd was finished here. Good coach, bad coach, not fair... the players weren't listening. I hate the 1 3 1 but we'll have to wait to see if it remains in place or not.
As for Blake, it sure seemed in the off season Vilardi was playing some type of hardball. Blake chose to trade him instead. We have cap issues and we were only going to fix them by trading 2 or 3 players. Face it, Anze and DD make too much at their current production levels. Maybe Blake and TMac thought they could turn PLD around. Maybe he's just a head case. Maybe playing with better wingers will help him. But I think the Blake situation now hinges on the rest of this season.
As for Hiller, I think they give him the rest of this year as a try out. I don't want another retread coach. Gods no. No more rides on the coaching merry-go-round. Maybe he'll surprise us. He sure fixed the PP the past couple years.
As for Blake, it sure seemed in the off season Vilardi was playing some type of hardball. Blake chose to trade him instead. We have cap issues and we were only going to fix them by trading 2 or 3 players. Face it, Anze and DD make too much at their current production levels. Maybe Blake and TMac thought they could turn PLD around. Maybe he's just a head case. Maybe playing with better wingers will help him. But I think the Blake situation now hinges on the rest of this season.
As for Hiller, I think they give him the rest of this year as a try out. I don't want another retread coach. Gods no. No more rides on the coaching merry-go-round. Maybe he'll surprise us. He sure fixed the PP the past couple years.
NewCastle
Take a big quaff
Absolutely agree.
One of the reasons I never liked the hire to begin with is I didn't respect him since he was the coach that got reverse swept. As great as Sutter and that team were, he never made the right adjustments in four games to close out the Kings. At that time and years since, I always chalked it up to Sutter and the team. Then add in that he was gifted the "savior" in Edmonton and they didn't do squat.
But seeing McLellan with the Kings was very revealing in how obstinate he is as a coach in strategy and lineups and so resistant to change. The lack of timeouts is mind boggling, as if he doesn't know what he would say if he did take one. McLellan was absolutely out-coached by Sutter back then. And his "system" was consistently being out-coached now and was no longer working as teams seemed to figure it out. If that's the case, the coach should have adjustments to make other than moving some players around the lineup. McLellan's strategies never seemed to change from what I saw. And I should know... I have decades under my belt of being a fan who can't skate worth a damn.
When that long presser revealed that he had said and pushed all the buttons he could re: underperforming players, that told me he was done and had nothing else to give and nothing he could come up with. No answers. So bye.
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Bollocks
Top Forward
True. It's not like Dean hired a total stranger in Sutter.
I guess it's a good thing Hiller will be at the helm for this season. He hasn't yet had a HC job and maybe he has ideas to fix some glaring issues related to OT and SO as a more offensively oriented coach. Hopefully he also has the guts to limit the TOI of the old bunch again.
If he doesn't it's going to be "meh". But the Kings will make the playoffs reliably only if they become actually good again, if they improve slightly it's probably not going to be good enough, so it's not like he has a ton to lose as an interim. Maybe that's a bit of a blessing.
Most likely isn't going to win the Cup and isn't the long term answer and if the upper management has ideas of GM change then it's a no brainer. If they are sellers by the deadline I'm sure some good draft capital can be acquired to keep the cupboard full enough to try and do some damage next season with a proven coach and possibly new GM...but who is really available for the GM job that would be a clear upgrade in the "build a winner" column?
Clif
Super Star
I like a lot of what you’re saying. Neglecting the goalie position may be my biggest Blake grievance, crowned by a refusal to so much as use a 6th round pick to get Dustin Wolf and instead assuming he could sign him as a camp invite. The ultimate in pennywise and pound foolish.
The lack of toughness has been an obvious issue for years and to this day Blake’s answer is a 13th forward in Grundstrom and a 7th dman in Englund with Todd playing them every game. Yeah, that’ll do it.
That said, the prospect pool is far better today than it was when Blake took over. Speaking of goalies, Slukynsky has crazy good stats. It’s the USHL, but this kid doesn’t lose. There are some exciting forwards in the ranks that should be filtering in over the next few seasons. There are some intriguing left dmen too.
The PLD trade will not be a disaster until he fails with top 6 talent. Until then it’s a failure in the context of this season, but it’s also incomplete re: the long-term outlook. Remains to be seen how healthy Gabe remains, or doesn’t, as well.
Kings were in pretty sorry shape when Blake was hired. He has improved the team since then. It’s sad that he may have turned a bad corner here, but we won’t know for sure just yet. And if he has, there are still future and current players to work with. If this car crashes it’s one Blake largely built. It’s not like he inherited a Ferrari and drove it into a ditch.
symbology
TEAM LGK
From Mayorsmanor.com (it is good to hear that HIller is not a "Mclellan" guy.)
Mayors Manor
"For those who may ask why the organization didn’t go outside for help, we’ll suggest two reasons (among the many). First, Hiller isn’t a ‘McLellan guy’ like say Trent Yawney, who has worked alongside McLellan for decades in their previous stops together. So this isn’t just more of the same. Hiller is his own man, as evidenced by his extensive coaching career outlined above.
The second and third considerations are money and timing. Not only is it hard to bring in a coach midseason and change what a team has been doing for years (ed. note: yes, Darryl Sutter is an example of things working out well, there are also dozens and dozens of examples where the change doesn’t work out with a Stanley Cup like 2012), it also would involve a significant investment if it was a ‘big name’ coach. The Kings are already on the hook for McLellan’s salary the remainder of this season plus all of next season. That’s no small amount either. Even as large as that number is, it’s much easier to swallow if the Kings can make the playoffs and go a few rounds this season — that added revenue will come in handy when selecting their next head coach over the summer. Yes, hockey is still a business with prudent decisions needing to be made. That’s just reality."
Mayors Manor
"For those who may ask why the organization didn’t go outside for help, we’ll suggest two reasons (among the many). First, Hiller isn’t a ‘McLellan guy’ like say Trent Yawney, who has worked alongside McLellan for decades in their previous stops together. So this isn’t just more of the same. Hiller is his own man, as evidenced by his extensive coaching career outlined above.
The second and third considerations are money and timing. Not only is it hard to bring in a coach midseason and change what a team has been doing for years (ed. note: yes, Darryl Sutter is an example of things working out well, there are also dozens and dozens of examples where the change doesn’t work out with a Stanley Cup like 2012), it also would involve a significant investment if it was a ‘big name’ coach. The Kings are already on the hook for McLellan’s salary the remainder of this season plus all of next season. That’s no small amount either. Even as large as that number is, it’s much easier to swallow if the Kings can make the playoffs and go a few rounds this season — that added revenue will come in handy when selecting their next head coach over the summer. Yes, hockey is still a business with prudent decisions needing to be made. That’s just reality."
Rog or Reg?
Super Star
Let's see, for starters he could have told the truth. Or better yet fire Todd that day.
I was laughing out loud when he reassured the media that Todd wasn't going anywhere this season. I thought it was hilarious! Because we all knew if the team kept losing and attendance started declining, Todd was history. Point blank. So yeah I thought it was pretty funny since there wasn't a shred of truth to it...
Johnnysuede71
3rd Line Winger
Yes...it was almost as if Todd was tired of having no answers and wanted the pink slip. His exasperation was palpable. I feel for the guy because I believe he is passionate and knowledgeable about the sport and a very good coach in the end. I truly believe the Kings issues lay outside of the coaching. You don't start the season the way this team did and then just fall off a cliff because of 'coaching'. Something went terribly wrong in that locker room. Something among the players. Todd knew he couldn't fix it but gave a valiant effort and finally threw up his hands.
As for whether he is just a 'developmental coach' who couldn't take a team to the promised land...I would advise you to reexamine Darryl Sutter's career. He was an also-ran who got good teams to the playoffs (and most of those teams barely squeaked in including the Kings) but only made the finals once in 11 seasons as a head coach before finally winning it all in his 13th season. The book on him for years was that he couldn't take a team all the way. Sound familiar?
deathb4dux
Top Forward
I didn't like hiring him from the beginning, he didn't get the job done in San Jose he didn't get the job done in Edmonton and he wasn't going to get the job done here in L.A.
Not real sorry to see him go.
Not real sorry to see him go.
waynet
Top Forward
Beyond his reluctance to use timeouts as a strategy, his decision to continue using probably his 2 slowest players to start OT, even though the Kings are getting crushed in OT, bordered on insanity. Kings were 47-25 last season in regulation, but a pedestrian 10-10 in OT. This season, continuing the 2 slow old guys to start OT strategy, Kings are 2-10 past regulation. That should be a red flag in every stat room the Kings own.
Johnnysuede71
3rd Line Winger
Which was good enough for 30 points and 9th place in the league. Pedestrian is a bit harsh. That said this year was abysmal I agree.
VCRW
Classic player
Can’t be repeated often enough. I still think Berube is the target.
Now Chirping
- No one is chatting at the moment.