MiketheKing
Super Star
He is a gamechanger for sure
Panarin to Kings
- Thread starter Rinkrat
- Start date
VCRW
Classic player
Panarin’s turnaround in +/- since leaving the Rangers results in large part from playing on a line with a pair of 200’ players who are also offensively gifted. Playing with 9 & 11 is a perfect situation for Artemi. He can take more chances and be more creative with the puck knowing that Kopi and Juice are on the ice. And playing with 10 & 11, Juice can finally find some open ice because the threat of Panarin can’t be ignored. I really like this line. Just wish Kopi were 5 years younger.
Bollocks
Super Star
DoubleMinor
Top Forward
Puts the adage “better late than never” to a testKopi finally got his perfect left wing again...in his retirement season.
King of Pentacle5
Top Forward
Dude is a gamer for sure.
I also think QB has improved since playing with TO and Laffy. That’s been a really good line lately.
DarkLeftHand
Super Star
QB playing better when paired with straight line, ‘direct attack to the net’ type of players. What a surprise..
Ps.. future coach, please never put Byfield and Fiala back together.
Statue4Deano
Super Star
Panarin is making it apparent that Fiala is not exactly necessary. Fiala’s NMC switches to a 10 team NTC this summer… he’s got 3 years @ 7.88M cap hit left on his deal.
emsomaso
The Swedish King
On the other hand, you could also argue that this team needs more offensive talented players and not less of them!
DryKing
Power Forward
Not sure I agree. We have a solid 1st line currently which lacks a center next season. If we then assume Byfield stays on L2, he would be playing with two 3rd line wingers in TO and Laf. One of them is likely fine on the 2nd line, but not both. Out of the two, Laf still has additional upside, which means we'd be in need of a L2 winger.
Fiala may not be the right fit, but, as Emsomaso said, we need the offense.
Bollocks
Super Star
But that's exactly the problem, isn't it? We waited so long to see some progress with Byfield again...why ruin it? Is forcing Fiala instead of TO on the 2nd line going to be a big enough improvement on the offensive end to be worth it?
With both Kuzmenko and Fiala back and clear as a day Panarin-Kempe chemistry, where does Fiala slot in?Add to that the fact that this team desperately needs a top 6 center and a solid puck moving D-man...
Kuzmenko is almost certainly coming back and will have zero trade value. Granted, Fiala's trade value won't be at an all time high either, but...what can you do?
If this team was on a solid PO trajectory with Fiala in and without Panarin it would be worth the risk of trying to smash everything together into an even better team. But this team needed more than 1 relatively big roster move before Fiala's injury and it needs at least one more now that Kopitar will retire...and I really don't want Ken to trade away many 1st rounders...
Dr. Tran
Super Star
Maybe we could Fiala for a 1or 2C? Probably not straight up but in a package. Moore is another possibility but I don't think he'll get a higher return. I also don't think Kuzmenko is going to be resigned. I could be wrong but I don't see where he fits.
Bollocks
Super Star
That was my line of thinking.
Moore seems to have gelled well with QB and Laf. I'd avoid disrupting that with Fiala of all players, whose game evidently isn't a good fit with QB.
DryKing
Power Forward
I don't disagree with you; fit is a problem.
In the scenario in which Byfield moves up to center Panarin/Kempe (let's be honest, the three have shown a lot of chemistry together), I think the Kings then need to find a L2 center that meshes with Fiala.
In the scenario in which Byfield remains the L2 center and the Kings sign/trade for a top center, then I agree with you that it may be time to trade Fiala.
Fiala and Turcotte do work well together (and likely would work well with Laughton), so that may be another solution. Really all comes down to the Kings center situation for next season.
Also, isn't Kuz a FA this summer? I was thinking they likely will not resign him, rather than try to sign and trade him.
What party?
Taxi Squad
Kopi finally got his perfect left wing again...in his retirement season.
DoubleMinor
Top Forward
The more I think about it, Kuzy is redundant now that the Kings have Panarin (who can play the whole two minutes of a PP). I don’t think both on the same PP works.
With the Kings not having all that much cap space for next year I think letting Kuzy walk is probably the right move. Maybe use his money for Laughton.
Bollocks
Super Star
Well...if Ken is comfortable with QB centering the first line and hoping either Turcotte or Laughton rises to the 2. line occasion, that would be, asset wise, the optimal solution...if it works well. Maybe Ken trades for a 2nd line center in the hope that QB will solidify as this team's 1st option. Schmaltz is off the table, that leaves only Coyle and Laughton as veteran UFAs that are maybe worthy of a 2nd line duties.
What happens if Ken trades for Elias though? In that case QB is a 2nd line center...
You may be right after all that Kuz doesn't get resigned.
Though banking on Panarin to play 2min on PP for the whole season is...a bit optimistic.
DryKing
Power Forward
That's a shame as I was really hoping the Kings would have a shot at Schmaltz. In the scenerio in which Vancouver wins the 1st overall and takes McKenna, I could see them wanting to move Elias ever more (mainly to reset the mood in the locker room). I was on board with trading for Elias earlier this season, but after watching him against the Kings, I'm on the fence. The guy just had no fire and appeared totally defeated. For the amount of money he is earning, I expect more even if the points are not coming / situation is not pleasant. The other drawback, beyond his AAV, is that he is left-handed.
Still he's worth taking a chance on, though, and if the Kings can get him cheap then I'm all for it even though it's likely he will not live up to that AAV. Currently I view him as a L2 Center with marginal potential to make it back to L1 status.
I'd still prefer to focus on drafting and developing top end talent for the future, understanding that such talent will not likely be available within Panarin's window (unless we get lucky like the Ducks have).
True, I would much rather see Laughton on the roster next season than Kuz simply because of what you mention above. We also still badly need another D, in addition to Clarke, who can play the point on the PP and put Kempe in a better position.
DoubleMinor
Top Forward
That’s a good point, to think Panarin will be on every PP for two minutes over 82 games is certainly not likely.
I will say though that the Kings have greater needs to address and the cap space to keep Kuzy severely limits those other moves.
But all of it is dependent on the totality of whatever moves Holland makes in this upcoming offseason.
DoubleMinor
Top Forward
This is my issue with Elias. I just don’t see him having the competitive edge, and I really think that’s been an area of real concern with the Kings lately. I don’t think bringing in more of that is wise at all.
We have all probably had coworkers who were only there for the paycheck. That is precisely how I view Elias.
Bollocks
Super Star
But keeping Kuz at 4 million (I doubt he gets much more) + TO at 4 and trading Fiala at nearly 8 to address those greater needs saves the Kings almost 4 million and we end up significantly on the positive regarding asset +/- when all is said and done.
Sure, Kuz isn't as good as Fiala, but if TO shows consistent efford and chemistry with QB for the remainder of this season one has to wonder if it's worth keeping him and potentially making the line combinations difficult.
All this is, of course, highly dependent on which teams are on Fiala's NMC exemption list. But IMO Ken should seriously consider this scenario and explore the options...