Madness20721
3rd Line Winger
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2023
- Messages
- 287
Buy him out, fire Blake, get rid of Luc, and move on.
Buy him out, fire Blake, get rid of Luc, and move on.
I think Akil Thomas has more of an upside. In 7 games, he scored 5 points and played a gritty brand of hockey which the Kings desperately need.I haven't seen enough from Gundstrom this season/playoffs to think he is worth bringing back. Best to offer him up in a trade. Turcotte, on the other hand, should be a fixture on our roster next season (provided he can stay healthy).
I'd suggest something like this:
Fiala - Byfield - Laf
PLD - Kopitar - Kempe
Moore - Danault - Thomas
FA/Trade - Turcotte - Fagemo
But Luc can change him baby lol.
Seriously, though; a crippling 8.5mil reclamation project should get you fired in any real corporate structure.
Now, if he was 3-4 million with a 1 year with a show me contract first that would be acceptable since we were losing Vilardi anyway.
He's probably our best option to replace Arvy if we do not resign him, which is why I suggested placing him on the Danault line as a winger.I think Akil Thomas has more of an upside. In 7 games, he scored 5 points and played a gritty brand of hockey which the Kings desperately need.
PLD was never known to be a Selke caliber center. I cannot see anyone in the Kings organization thinking that he would be the better choice to put up against McDavid over Kopi, or Danault. He was supposed to be the offensize punch and the menace down low while Kopi and Danault handled McDavid and Draidirtbagsaitl.Watching the $8.5 million dollar man's disinterested play during the playoffs was a real downer. The guy's 6'4 and at least 220 lbs. Hit somebody for christmas sake! He should've put McJesus through the boards! Instead, his chip on his shoulder doesn't include sticking up for his teammates and punishing the other team. I think Blake thought that PLD could shadow McJesus and Kopitar could shadow the 2nd line. It backfired completely. If the Kings retain Blake and Luc, I agree with others that they will not trade or buyout PLD. Based on his play this season, I wouldn't want to take the chance to see him next season do the same stuff. I'd rather buy out the enigma that is PLD and move on.
Word or inference was he wasn't happy here due to role and coaching/strategies etc. So retaining might have been tricky?I'll argue that we shouldn't have been in a position to lose Vilardi. I've had enough of Blake's stupid decisions.
The word was he was going to want to get paid, and 4+ for a guy who has lost a ton of time with injury and had only one real season of production would have made him more money than Moore in the Blake structure and potentially he's asking for as much as Kempe. Blake coupled that ask with the assets he had to get what he felt was a more likely impact player at a position he wanted to spend cap money on......PLD got to start on PP1, got to have our most creative winger to start the season (Fiala), and it it simply didn't work. Todd was already leaning hard on Danault by game 2, call it whatever you will but Todd taking two of his most talented creative players, putting them on the third line and then playing Lizotte more than them tells you all you need to know about how this thing was working out for them. Todd won with that but once christmas hit....well its clear the egos got bigger than the team at some point.Word or inference was he wasn't happy here due to role and coaching/strategies etc. So retaining might have been tricky?
The word was he was going to want to get paid, and 4+ for a guy who has lost a ton of time with injury and had only one real season of production would have made him more money than Moore in the Blake structure and potentially he's asking for as much as Kempe. Blake coupled that ask with the assets he had to get what he felt was a more likely impact player at a position he wanted to spend cap money on......PLD got to start on PP1, got to have our most creative winger to start the season (Fiala), and it it simply didn't work. Todd was already leaning hard on Danault by game 2, call it whatever you will but Todd taking two of his most talented creative players, putting them on the third line and then playing Lizotte more than them tells you all you need to know about how this thing was working out for them. Todd won with that but once christmas hit....well its clear the egos got bigger than the team at some point.
It's all how you look at it really: PLD either got the best contract ever, or the Kings got the 2nd worse current NHL contract as of 2024. It's a ll perspective lol.We'll have to agree to disagree. He's the Huberdeau of 2024. So either the worst or 2nd worst contract in the NHL. There is no way he is a $6M guy. He's the 7th best forward after Byfield, Kopi, Kempe, Danualt, Moore, and Arvy. He's a big guy with no interest in going into the dirty areas or separating opponents from the puck. He has a lot of skill and generates some high-danger opportunities but I don't see how the pluses come close to offsetting the minuses.
I haven't seen enough from Gundstrom this season/playoffs to think he is worth bringing back. Best to offer him up in a trade. Turcotte, on the other hand, should be a fixture on our roster next season (provided he can stay healthy).
I'd suggest something like this:
Fiala - Byfield - Laf
PLD - Kopitar - Kempe
Moore - Danault - Thomas
FA/Trade - Turcotte - Fagemo