Rob Blake is out.

Hiller needs to go next, I was p*ssed when the Kings hired him as coach this year and the end of the season just reinforces why I dislike him, go learn to be a head coach somewhere else or stay another year and prove me wrong by getting the Kings another Cup! Otherwise, buybye...
 
Statue4Deano said:
Not a chance we get a rebuild while Luc is President. Rebuild means empty building.
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while the ones that employ Luc are still running things* is the most likely FTFY here.

Luc isn't an owner. He doesn't choose the direction without some sort of approval of people above him.


It seems Rob was either fed up with this team and the way things are run or is fed up with being a GM. Either way, most of the fans here got what they wanted. I will say it again - be careful what you wish for is damn true in this situation and it will be interesting to see who replaces him.

I suspect I was right all along:
- he wanted a rebuild and did not get the green light, so he hired Desjardins to make sure the team sucks
- then the team hired Bergevin (with the pedigree of bringing the ever-bad Canadiens to the finals not long ago) to try and "force" the team to become competitive who then cr@pped the bed with the PLD trade and signing
- Rob then successfully fixed his mistake and gave this team a chance, but likely he already knew very well he became a persona non grata (yet again) in LA and decided that he's going to leave if this team doesn't make it out of the 1st round


I can also see the fact that Rob gave the team notice that he might leave at the end of this season as a blessing and I consider it a good gesture from him, as he gave them time to find a replacement. That said I have no idea who they replace him with that has a better reputation in the past 10 years of the NHL and is available. As many around here (many of whom were also very vocal about him having to leave) I'm pretty damn clueless about the GM UFA market.

I'd say there's about a 70% chance they go with Bergevin or some rookie or washed-up GM, which means there's most likely going to be another, this time even more painful (due to hopes being too high after Rob firing) period for this team moving forward without any direction and plan.

(UNLESS it was Bergevin as the consultant who ultimately fixed Rob's mistakes and not vice-versa, in which case there's a tiny chance he'd be a better GM...but I find this scenario extremely unlikely.)



To wrap up (I've been very time strapped during the playoffs):
I think this team was well put together but was ultimately screwed over with bad decisions from the Head Coach...who is also a rookie and is still learning. Though his pressers were indeed very concerning, so maybe he won't learn, in which case he very much IS the problem here and needs to go, too.

This team also needs better defense. Time to move on from Spence.

But there are now many question marks, big ones, so it's pointless to focus on one (or a couple) of players...


One thing is for sure - I don't think Kopitar or DD are going anywhere. They're going to Lebron their way in LA because that's how LA operates. Your casual fans need household stars that they're familiar with or they need a Gretzky/Lebron/Doncic type of star. They don't care about Bennets, Tkachuks, Barkovs, Forslings and other "meh" stars that make the team win...
 
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Will see what Luc says today at presser but the fact that legitimate media are reporting this as a mutual parting of ways....It sounds like there won't be much of a search and that Blake knew he was riding into the sunset with an expiring contract. I'm fully expecting Bergevin to be announced.

Hillers contract is reported to have 2 years left and DJ is already gone. Next GM is going to have 1 whole year to wait for their guy. I doubt they move quickly unless they already know who it is. Video coach firings haven't been announced but when they finish the autopsy on that one they better know if they believe him still or if they have someone that got caught up in the moment and is the liability that we all saw.

The big issue coming down from on high is that the Kings matched the best season in franchise history, had the best home record and their home game attendance was down 5%. With the current economic outlook I'm sure the corporate sponsors aren't outperforming that either. Ownership needs to decide which way they can avoid this malaise because they have put out a product that is supposed to have an upward trajectory (money wise, not cups wise), and it's currently not.
 
Kurisu said:
Gosh where does that sound familiar from? (hint, he's in your avatar)
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It took Dean 4 seasons to draft, trade and sign the necessary pieces for the Kings to become real contenders. And I think his feat would be extremely difficult to reproduce with another rebuild/heavy retool, no matter who the next GM is.

Unless QB and especially Clarke establish themselves as THE cornerstones/driving forces for this team in 2 seasons, having a contending team without jepoardizing the future for exactly the right pieces in less than 3-4 years would be close to a miracle. Though it is true that the next GM would inherit a more talented team than Dean did...


If the next GM will have handcuffs from upper management regarding more radical moves (i.e. moving DD) it's going to be all that more difficult. And then there's also his NMC, but IMO he'd go to Toronto and they'd probably take him...maybe some shenanigan trade with Marner as a S&T piece would be doable?? Who knows...

What I fear is that the ensuing turmoil will result in having to trade Kempe at the deadline or, heavens forbid, letting him walk for nothing after pursuing 1st round exit yet again, because he won't want to resign. I think Rob had a good rapport with the players (good value contract extensions except for Cal would confirm that; he's an ex star player and not some sterile exec/failed player turned exec/bonehead) so that could be an issue in the short term, too.


jammer06 said:
The big issue coming down from on high is that the Kings matched the best season in franchise history, had the best home record and their home game attendance was down 5%. With the current economic outlook I'm sure the corporate sponsors aren't outperforming that either. Ownership needs to decide which way they can avoid this malaise because they have put out a product that is supposed to have an upward trajectory (money wise, not cups wise), and it's currently not.
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The bottom line for the ownership isn't looking very promising, true. I'm almost 100% sure that if Rob wanted to stay, they would extend him no questions asked, because it's way too risky to bet on his replacement turning things for the better quickly. Especially considering there's little chance they spend big on whoever would be available in the world of proven and established GMs...again, anyone has a list?

This means that the aging and expensive stars won't be traded (to minimize the casual fan getting disinterested) and at the same time it's possible that the new GM won't have the green light to spend up to the (new, higher) cap from the get-go, which further complicates things with resigning some key players (Kempe, Gavrikov, Kuzmenko) all while trying to improve the team via UFA market for example.


The more I think about all this the more I fear that Rob being gone will prove to be a curse, not a blessing...so, I'm probably mildly pessimistic.
 
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Bollocks said:
It took Dean 4 seasons to draft, trade and sign the necessary pieces for the Kings to become real contenders. And I think his feat would be extremely difficult to reproduce, no matter who the next GM is.

Unless QB and especially Clarke establish themselves as THE cornerstones/driving forces for this team in 2 seasons, having a contending team without jepoardizing the future for exactly the right pieces in less than 3-4 years would be close to a miracle. Though it is true that the next GM would inherit a more talented team than Dean did...


If the next GM will have handcuffs from upper management regarding more radical moves (i.e. moving DD) it's going to be all that more difficult. And then there's also his NMC, but IMO he'd go to Toronto and they'd probably take him...maybe some shenanigan trade with Marner as a S&T piece would be doable?? Who knows...

What I fear is that the ensuing turmoil will result in having to trade Kempe at the deadline or, heavens forbid, letting him walk for nothing after pursuing 1st round exit yet again, because he won't want to resign. I think Rob had a good rapport with the players (good value contract extensions except for Cal would confirm that; he's an ex star player and not some sterile exec/failed player turned exec/bonehead) so that could be an issue in the short term, too.




The bottom line for the ownership isn't looking very promising, true. I'm almost 100% sure that if Rob wanted to stay, they would extend him no questions asked, because it's way too risky to bet on his replacement turning things for the better quickly. Especially considering there's little chance they spend big on whoever would be available in the world of proven and established GMs...again, anyone has a list?

This means that the aging and expensive stars won't be traded (to minimize the casual fan getting disinterested) and at the same time it's possible that the new GM won't have the green light to spend up to the (new, higher) cap from the get-go, which further complicates things with resigning some key players (Kempe, Gavrikov, Kuzmenko) all while trying to improve the team via UFA market for example.


The more I think about all this the more I fear that Rob being gone will prove to be a curse, not a blessing...so, I'm probably mildly pessimistic.
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AEG has always shown the willingness to spend to the cap. It's when they decide to go the Galaxy route of signing aging stars (see kovalchuk most recently) that we all suffer. It would be amazing if a top flight UFA would leave the east coast for LA, but truthfully they just don't do that. Every top flight player thats come to LA has come via trade or a version of RFA (see Dionne Marcel). I'm doubtful that names like Marner would ever be realistic. So yeah our best bet for winning is hoping that Darcy keeps this team in games and that Byfield continues to move forward.
 
jammer06 said:
AEG has always shown the willingness to spend to the cap. It's when they decide to go the Galaxy route of signing aging stars (see kovalchuk most recently) that we all suffer. It would be amazing if a top flight UFA would leave the east coast for LA, but truthfully they just don't do that. Every top flight player thats come to LA has come via trade or a version of RFA (see Dionne Marcel). I'm doubtful that names like Marner would ever be realistic. So yeah our best bet for winning is hoping that Darcy keeps this team in games and that Byfield continues to move forward.
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I swear I'm not trolling but I didn't mind the signing of Kovalchuk because the Kings were coming off 4 1 goal losses in the playoffs to the Knights so they needed to add scoring without subtracting via a trade. I believe there was a trade on the table of Pacioretty for Villardi and Pearson so in the end you give away about the same amount of goals as you are getting so Kovalchuk was really the only FA option in terms of a goal scorer and his 1st year I think he was 4th on the team in goals but oddly 16nth in playing time. Now clearly 3 coaches (Stevens,Desjardins,Mac) didn't like his defensive play and that's on Kovalchuk but on paper anyway to me it was the right move since there wasn't really anything else available. I think his main problem was he's kind of a rover more than a winger at least at that point in his career so he was hard to match up with a center who could figure out where he was going to be consistently.
 
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jgs said:
There many things that Blake did wrong. Like the Quick situation. Fact is the Kings don't win those those two Cups without Quick. Quick singlehandling carried the whole team to the first Cup win and was instrumental in the second
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One of the big problems the Kings had at the end of the Lombardi era were big contracts for Richards and Gaborik, who were instrumental in Cup wins, but were basically done and making a lot of money. Quick was no different, except that Blake learned a (good) lesson from Lombardi.

jgs said:
Kopi is way too slow, I mean heck he would loose a race to a turtle.
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Without looking at age, if I told you the Kings were going to acquire a center who played nearly every game the last two years, scored 47 goals, 137 points, was +25, played 20 minutes per game in all situations, and won 56% of his faceoffs, and is generally considered one of the top five defensive forwards in the league, would you say that guy sucks and acquiring him would be a bad move?
jgs said:
DD has done absolutely nothing the past 2 years, why is he still with the Kings.
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Last year he had 15 goals, 50 points, was +15, played 25 mpg, and finished 11th in the Norris voting. You and I have VERY different ideas of what it means for a player to be productive and for a player to be done.
 
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Earl said:
I swear I'm not trolling but I didn't mind the signing of Kovalchuk because the Kings were coming off 4 1 goal losses in the playoffs to the Knights so they needed to add scoring without subtracting via a trade. I believe there was a trade on the table of Pacioretty for Villardi and Pearson so in the end you give away about the same amount of goals as you are getting so Kovalchuk was really the only FA option in terms of a goal scorer and his 1st year I think he was 4th on the teaming goals but oddly 16nth in playing time. Now clearly 3 coaches (Stevens,Desjardins,Mac) didn't like his defensive play and that's on Kovalchuk but on paper anyway to me it was the right move since there wasn't really anything else available. I think his main problem was he's kind of a rover more than a winger at least at that point in his career so he was hard to match up with a center who could figure out where he was going to be consistently.
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Conceptually vs practically was where they screwed up bringing in Kovalchuk. Blake also hired Willie D that year and for a GM to then add a personality like Kovalchuk to a room that was already culturally not likely to cede to him and a second time coach finding his footing (arguably first time considering Vancouver was barely an NHL Franchise at that point)....well was it any surprise that Willie tried to get currency with the room by pooping on the newcomer that didn't play ball with 200 foot games? Remember that team was also playing Brendan Liepsic an absurd amount of time, Jake muzzin, Kyle Clifford, Austin Wagner and Nate Thompson were the only plus players on the squad (and Kovalchuk was 3rd in goals, 5th in points).

All that said, the move was made literally to put butts in seats. It was marketed as Kovalchuk banging home one timers on the power play. In terms of roster construction, it wasn't going to help, but at least it was a name casual fans would know.
 
Bollocks said:
It took Dean 4 seasons to draft, trade and sign the necessary pieces for the Kings to become real contenders. And I think his feat would be extremely difficult to reproduce with another rebuild/heavy retool, no matter who the next GM is.

Unless QB and especially Clarke establish themselves as THE cornerstones/driving forces for this team in 2 seasons, having a contending team without jepoardizing the future for exactly the right pieces in less than 3-4 years would be close to a miracle. Though it is true that the next GM would inherit a more talented team than Dean did...


If the next GM will have handcuffs from upper management regarding more radical moves (i.e. moving DD) it's going to be all that more difficult. And then there's also his NMC, but IMO he'd go to Toronto and they'd probably take him...maybe some shenanigan trade with Marner as a S&T piece would be doable?? Who knows...

What I fear is that the ensuing turmoil will result in having to trade Kempe at the deadline or, heavens forbid, letting him walk for nothing after pursuing 1st round exit yet again, because he won't want to resign. I think Rob had a good rapport with the players (good value contract extensions except for Cal would confirm that; he's an ex star player and not some sterile exec/failed player turned exec/bonehead) so that could be an issue in the short term, too.




The bottom line for the ownership isn't looking very promising, true. I'm almost 100% sure that if Rob wanted to stay, they would extend him no questions asked, because it's way too risky to bet on his replacement turning things for the better quickly. Especially considering there's little chance they spend big on whoever would be available in the world of proven and established GMs...again, anyone has a list?

This means that the aging and expensive stars won't be traded (to minimize the casual fan getting disinterested) and at the same time it's possible that the new GM won't have the green light to spend up to the (new, higher) cap from the get-go, which further complicates things with resigning some key players (Kempe, Gavrikov, Kuzmenko) all while trying to improve the team via UFA market for example.


The more I think about all this the more I fear that Rob being gone will prove to be a curse, not a blessing...so, I'm probably mildly pessimistic.
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I'd rather miss the playoffs and get picks than lose to the same team every year in round 1. Nothing is gained by our current "identity" as a team other than that we can't beat the Oilers. Lose some years, gain some picks, get some players, let McD and the other guy get old and then we'll be good. Easy?

Clif said:
He built the best team they’ve had in years. I am concerned about what comes next.

Only good news from my perspective is this likely means Hiller will get canned next.
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Best team in years - I guess I personally don't agree and don't care at all about our regular season record. We lost 4 years in a row to the same team in round 1. We've not won a playoff round since 2014. We've completely sucked for 11 years IMO. The Ducks and Sharks will soon overtake us.

McSorleyFan said:
Kings are more than a few tweaks away from competing with Dallas, Avs, Knights, Oilers, etc.
It'll be really interesting to see what the new GM does.
Gavvy, Rittich, Jeannot, Kuz, Lewis ... notable UFAs
Kopi, Kempe, Spence, Clarke, Movarare and several others coming off their entry level contract - 1 more year before needing a re-up.

The New GM has a lot of work to do. Including deciding on the coaching staff.
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"More than a few tweaks" is right - this team has no identity other than that they are losers. They have no grit and no heart in the playoffs. They have the mentality they were always right there. They put 20-40 mins in a night the entire season. It's an identity issue that goes all the way to Luc and probably beyond.

jgs said:
Not good enough. Luc needs to go too. He is just as big of part of the failure as Blake was. Kings need a smart Hockey guy at President who will hire a smart GM who will bring a smart coaching staff. The good old boys club must be wiped completely out.
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We can only hope. The nepotism Kings need heavy outside influence.

I can't see a bad take in this really. More need to go of course. But if we miss the playoffs - good. More change. This team will never escape round 1 unless real change comes, and it'll take time. Time that should have started years ago. People blame the coach's challenge or Byfield not clearing - we lost 4 straight games. They have no playoff instinct or killer drive or (seemingly) leadership. Losing in the playoffs in round 1 just drags out this terrible process of rebuilding. And if you're gonna do that at least let the kids play to gain experience. If by some miracle we got past EDM, my only thought is we'd be swept hard because no gas left in the tank, but the Kings did get swept after being up 2, so they couldn't even pull that off. I'll be so happy when this Luc era is over, Kopi and DD are gone, and hopefully we get someone in with some VISION and they can start working on something as Lombardi and many other GMs have done (that extends beyond "just making it in and being right there").
 
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Statue4Deano said:
Laferriere too. All 23 years old or younger.
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How could I forget Laffy. Yeah, the farm isn’t gutted, its best pieces simply make up a third of the team and all in impact roles.

On that note, if Yanetti somehow got the job, I’d actually feel really confident about the team’s direction. He knows the pieces the team has better than any other candidate they could bring in.
ChiKingFan said:
Assuming none of them completely lose their game, it would be pretty hard to screw up the Kings' goaltending situation right now. Next year Portillo backs up Kuempe. Two years from now that's reversed. The year after that, either George or Hammer backs up Portillo, then you see what you have from there. Hopefully, with three guys for two spots, you have a GM who knows how to manage assets.
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It should be that simple, just don’t want to see a new GM make rush errors in the attempt to make a quick splash.

Blake built a good team, finally. It has room for improvement, but 105 point teams have even more room to get worse than they do to get better. Same time, there are strong young players and still a few exciting prospects in the pipeline. Whoever come in, I just hope they keep building.
 
Bollocks said:
while the ones that employ Luc are still running things* is the most likely FTFY here.

Luc isn't an owner. He doesn't choose the direction without some sort of approval of people above him.


It seems Rob was either fed up with this team and the way things are run or is fed up with being a GM. Either way, most of the fans here got what they wanted. I will say it again - be careful what you wish for is damn true in this situation and it will be interesting to see who replaces him.

I suspect I was right all along:
- he wanted a rebuild and did not get the green light, so he hired Desjardins to make sure the team sucks
- then the team hired Bergevin (with the pedigree of bringing the ever-bad Canadiens to the finals not long ago) to try and "force" the team to become competitive who then cr@pped the bed with the PLD trade and signing
- Rob then successfully fixed his mistake and gave this team a chance, but likely he already knew very well he became a persona non grata (yet again) in LA and decided that he's going to leave if this team doesn't make it out of the 1st round


I can also see the fact that Rob gave the team notice that he might leave at the end of this season as a blessing and I consider it a good gesture from him, as he gave them time to find a replacement. That said I have no idea who they replace him with that has a better reputation in the past 10 years of the NHL and is available. As many around here (many of whom were also very vocal about him having to leave) I'm pretty damn clueless about the GM UFA market.

I'd say there's about a 70% chance they go with Bergevin or some rookie or washed-up GM, which means there's most likely going to be another, this time even more painful (due to hopes being too high after Rob firing) period for this team moving forward without any direction and plan.

(UNLESS it was Bergevin as the consultant who ultimately fixed Rob's mistakes and not vice-versa, in which case there's a tiny chance he'd be a better GM...but I find this scenario extremely unlikely.)



To wrap up (I've been very time strapped during the playoffs):
I think this team was well put together but was ultimately screwed over with bad decisions from the Head Coach...who is also a rookie and is still learning. Though his pressers were indeed very concerning, so maybe he won't learn, in which case he very much IS the problem here and needs to go, too.

This team also needs better defense. Time to move on from Spence.

But there are now many question marks, big ones, so it's pointless to focus on one (or a couple) of players...


One thing is for sure - I don't think Kopitar or DD are going anywhere. They're going to Lebron their way in LA because that's how LA operates. Your casual fans need household stars that they're familiar with or they need a Gretzky/Lebron/Doncic type of star. They don't care about Bennets, Tkachuks, Barkovs, Forslings and other "meh" stars that make the team win...
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I agree with you in regards to Rob - I really think he was in the top 70% of GMs and the alternatives available are not appealing. I wouldn't mind giving Tony Granato a shot, though, but if we end up as Bergevin as GM I will likely need to take a break from this team (that guy demonstrated on several occasions a morally bankrupt attitude during his time as the GM of Montreal). I would be very surprised if Bergevin fixed any problems, and still think he had a large hand in the initial PLD trade.

Personally I would stick with Spence, I think he is much better than he is given credit for and will continue to grow with experience. He could be a very steady lower pairing presence on the ice and does everything well, though nothing truly great (as of yet).

I agree that Kopi and DD won't be moved unless they ask to. Kopi continues to earn his contract, however, while DD continues to not come close (simply because he was signed at way too high of an AAV). Given how the Organization treated Quick, DD really should be on the trade block.
 
Pevsfreedom said:
I'd rather miss the playoffs and get picks than lose to the same team every year in round 1. Nothing is gained by our current "identity" as a team other than that we can't beat the Oilers. Lose some years, gain some picks, get some players, let McD and the other guy get old and then we'll be good. Easy?
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I hear all of this and I get it but there are more ways to build a winner than the draft. Look at Vegas.

Having an identity in an of itself doesn’t guarantee anything. St. Louis has an identify. Colorado has an identity. Tampa Bay has an identity. Hell Edmonton has an identity. 3 of those teams are out and Edmonton has the two best players in the world.

The Kings flashed an identity this season post trade deadline and Jim Hiller went away from that identity in the playoffs.

The next GM needs to fix the blueline, bring in a Center with an edge who can play in the top 6 and more size on the wing couldn’t hurt.

I wouldn’t mind a shakeup of the 3rd line. The time to move on from Danault and Moore feels right. This will allow Kopi to slot down there for his final season. Byfield is ready for 20 minutes a night 1st line duty. Go get Sam Bennett for the 2nd line.

Bottom line is the next GM has lots of options and if the goal is to win now there is a solid foundation in place.
 
ChiKingFan said:
One of the big problems the Kings had at the end of the Lombardi era were big contracts for Richards and Gaborik, who were instrumental in Cup wins, but were basically done and making a lot of money. Quick was no different, except that Blake learned a (good) lesson from Lombardi.


Without looking at age, if I told you the Kings were going to acquire a center who played nearly every game the last two years, scored 47 goals, 137 points, was +25, played 20 minutes per game in all situations, and won 56% of his faceoffs, and is generally considered one of the top five defensive forwards in the league, would you say that guy sucks and acquiring him would be a bad move?

Last year he had 15 goals, 50 points, was +15, played 25 mpg, and finished 11th in the Norris voting. You and I have VERY different ideas of what it means for a player to be productive and for a player to be done.
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Please refrain from bringing hard statistics to our emotionally charged debates. Can’t you see we’re trying to blow up the team here?! Sheesh!!
 
What party? said:
Rupaul's drag race is a competition based show. At the end of each episode the two lowest performers must "lipsync for their life"; they share the stage and sing and dance to see who stays and who goes. The winner hears Rupaul say: Shantay you stay and the loser hears: Sashay away.
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I think I have a new idea for NHL games which go past 2 OTs.
King of Pentacle5 said:
I was really hoping for Sean Avery.
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He's a romance novel author now, he doesn't have time for this nonsense.
 
jammer06 said:
Conceptually vs practically was where they screwed up bringing in Kovalchuk. Blake also hired Willie D that year and for a GM to then add a personality like Kovalchuk to a room that was already culturally not likely to cede to him and a second time coach finding his footing (arguably first time considering Vancouver was barely an NHL Franchise at that point)....well was it any surprise that Willie tried to get currency with the room by pooping on the newcomer that didn't play ball with 200 foot games? Remember that team was also playing Brendan Liepsic an absurd amount of time, Jake muzzin, Kyle Clifford, Austin Wagner and Nate Thompson were the only plus players on the squad (and Kovalchuk was 3rd in goals, 5th in points).

All that said, the move was made literally to put butts in seats. It was marketed as Kovalchuk banging home one timers on the power play. In terms of roster construction, it wasn't going to help, but at least it was a name casual fans would know.
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I can't really argue with you I was just saying on paper to me it was the right move as the only other FA available I think was Bozak and he IMO wasn't going to help with what we needed. I remember a pre season goal Kovalchuk scored vs Vegas where he went though everyone and thought man he's still got it but like I said when 3 coaches can't work with you it's probably you.
 
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