So, who do we keep, trade or promote?

[symbology]

I think the fact that the Sharks couldn't get more than a conditional 4th for him is all you need to know.

If the Kings wanted him maybe they could have grabbed him when he was waived. This only happened to him 5 times on 3 different teams.

He is more of a depth guy, while he could have been helpful the Kings need better than that.

 

[DryKing]

Dude, the Kraken just acquired Megna from the Sharks for a conditional 4th round pick.. can that be correct? Where the **** was Rob Blake on this? Megna is huge, a LHD, and also a +6 on a miserable Sharks team, with an extra year at 765k. Furthermore, didn't Erik Karlsson point to Megna as being a guy who's helped him open his game back up? Like, he's EXACTLY the guy we need on our blue line!!

There is speculation that the Kraken may be in the market to trade Soucy and Megna could be his replacement as they set up to do so.If so, any interest in Soucy?

 

[Helvetica]

There is speculation that the Kraken may be in the market to trade Soucy and Megna could be his replacement as they set up to do so.If so, any interest in Soucy?

i cant imagine they'd be interested in trading him to us. But id be interested.

 

[jt]

A package of Clarke, Pinelli or Turcotte and a first rounder gets you a high quality, proven LD. Then you still have Spence, and possibly AK or Chromiak to move for a goaltender.

What high quality proven LD do you think they could get with that package?

 

[jt]

For those who know, is Kirill Kirsanov a legit possibility?
He's 6'1, 200 lbs. and a solid defender.
A better option than Bjornfot?

He's 20 and just signed a 2-year contract with SKA in the KHL. It's unlikely he'll be a King anytime soon.

 

[jt]

OMG Blake absolutely should not stand pat. Quick has a save percentage of .881, and a goals against of 3.41. Quick must be asked to retire at the trade deadline (hopefully sooner) so Blake can get a #2 goalie who can compete. He hasn't won a game since December 1st, and has been well under a .900 save percentage in his six losses since then. He had an .800 save percentage against TB!!!! #FFS the Kings cannot win with him in goal. Thanks for the two Cups, but come on.

What goalie are you thinking is available that fills their need?

 

[DarkLeftHand]

Who says the Sharks want to help their division rival?

Which divisional rival would you be indicating here? The one they actually traded Megna to, or the other divisional rival whose fan site we are on currently? Genius..

 

[triplcrown]

Aw, c'mon, is Gavrikov really not that good?

I try to visualize him in a pair with Matt Roy.

Does he at least hit SOMETIMES, during the most physical games?
Does he make a lot of mistakes? Is he soft?

On paper, he looks promising. But I really know nothing about this player.

Has anyone here actually seen him play much?

Here are some youtube headlines about Gavrikov I did screen shots of.

Please check them out and give your
honest reaction:

(Click on images on the page to enlarge)
NOTE: The last headline was included for the purpose of FULL DISCLOSURE

https://respectfullywest.blogspot.com/2023/02/notable-youtube-headlines-from.html

 

[Bollocks]

Which divisional rival would you be indicating here? The one they actually traded Megna to, or the other divisional rival whose fan site we are on currently? Genius..

The one that historically their fans hate beucase what happened in the last decade, genius...

Or do you think FO completely ignores fan opinion even when doing otherwise such low-impact decisions? This is such a cheap way to anger fans that are already angry at you...

 

[jammer06]

1) I'm of the view that Gavrikov is this years Ben Chairot, let someone else pay stupid money for a stupid player
2) If they fill that LHD spot, the default presumption is that Durzi will move back to the right and that Roy will move down to pair with Edler/Toby. Note Durzi currently "drives" the second pair, McCabe would probably be viewed as very complimentary in that slot
3) Beware defensive +/- leaders on crappy teams. The ghost of Tom Preissing still haunts
4) Moore and Kaliyev are skating, their ability to be ready determines a ton regarding Blakes choices
5) If there's a goalie prospect out there to go get, I can't see Blake doing it until Cal's had one more shot at the net.
6) If Blake does decide to go for a goalie prospect, Swayman, Wallstedt, Askarov would have to be the type of goalie to spend the assets on. It's the only affordable way to move forward with Cal on the books. Spending assets to get Cal off the books doesn't need to be done at the same time should they go that road.
7) If they go rental goalie the 4 names that everyone will be hearing are Varlomov, Stalock, Korpisalo, Talbot. If they could get feelers on Tokarski or Rittich I'd feel better about it than the other rental options. The idea is to improve on Copley to the point that nobody questions it. The young prospect or the 1B goalie seems an easier sell.
8) In all of this Spence is on the outside looking in, as is Toby, pending injury. Which I think is a very appropriate and patient play for Blake to take this season.
9) In regards to wheelers list, I still have hopes for Akil to get some time as a bonafide NHLer even though he's aged up of the prospect list.
10) Oh yeah that Gabe guy is going to be back eventually too. Lots of options for Blake.

 

[hokiecat]

There is no reason to pick up a rental player. We aren't in the running to actually win a Cup with this roster. Either make a hockey trade or stand pat. I don't see the need to pick up a rental who isn't in the long term plan. The Jim Nill articles on the Athletic the past few weeks have been great in terms of seeing a GM make a trade for a future piece in Nils Lundkvist and then also why they don't consumate a trade if what they are adding is only marginally better than what they have down in the AHL.

 

[VCRW]

1) I'm of the view that Gavrikov is this years Ben Chairot, let someone else pay stupid money for a stupid player
2) If they fill that LHD spot, the default presumption is that Durzi will move back to the right and that Roy will move down to pair with Edler/Toby. Note Durzi currently "drives" the second pair, McCabe would probably be viewed as very complimentary in that slot.

This is a perfect summation of the case for McCabe. Moving Durzi back to the right side is imperative. Everything gets better when that happens.

 

[jammer06]

There is no reason to pick up a rental player. We aren't in the running to actually win a Cup with this roster. Either make a hockey trade or stand pat. I don't see the need to pick up a rental who isn't in the long term plan. The Jim Nill articles on the Athletic the past few weeks have been great in terms of seeing a GM make a trade for a future piece in Nils Lundkvist and then also why they don't consumate a trade if what they are adding is only marginally better than what they have down in the AHL.

That was a great article, Dallas and the return from the dead of Jamie Benn have been a heck of a story to go along with their youngsters Robertson and Hintz. Remember when everyone wanted to run Nill out of town for his colorful language?

 

[DryKing]

This is a perfect summation of the case for McCabe. Moving Durzi back to the right side is imperative. Everything gets better when that happens.

True, but why can't Bjornfot be that guy? Not saying he's at the same level as McCabe, but if the solution really is to get Durzi back to RD then why aren't the Kings currently utilizing Bjornfot to do so?

 

[jt]

There is no reason to pick up a rental player. We aren't in the running to actually win a Cup with this roster. Either make a hockey trade or stand pat. I don't see the need to pick up a rental who isn't in the long term plan. The Jim Nill articles on the Athletic the past few weeks have been great in terms of seeing a GM make a trade for a future piece in Nils Lundkvist and then also why they don't consumate a trade if what they are adding is only marginally better than what they have down in the AHL.

Is it worth ANY assets to get the kids more playoff experience?

 

[santiclaws]

True, but why can't Bjornfot be that guy? Not saying he's at the same level as McCabe, but if the solution really is to get Durzi back to RD then why aren't the Kings currently utilizing Bjornfot to do so?

Because they obviously see him as a 7D/AHL guy at the moment. You want them to stick a kid who's spent most of his season in the AHL because he's not good enough to play in the NHL even though the team is desperate for LD, to play 20+ minutes a night at 4D and be the guy who's covering up for Durzi's frequent defensive lapses? Seriously?

 

[hokiecat]

This is a perfect summation of the case for McCabe. Moving Durzi back to the right side is imperative. Everything gets better when that happens.

Yeah, I've tried to figure out if McCabe is a top-4 guy or not. If he is, then you make the trade. If he's a 3rd pairing guy masquerading as a top-4 then I wait. I don't want a 4 million dollar 3rd pairing guy. That's sort of what we had with Maatta. McCabe was so bad last year but has been better this year, whether its being healthier or understanding the system or what.

 

[VCRW]

True, but why can't Bjornfot be that guy?

I think that question probably comes up quite often in front office discussions. The corollary question must be "If Clarke is that good, do we even need Durzi next year?"

I wonder if Blake sees Toby as Edler's replacement next season...

 

[hokiecat]

Because they obviously see him as a 7D/AHL guy at the moment. You want them to stick a kid who's spent most of his season in the AHL because he's not good enough to play in the NHL even though the team is desperate for LD, to play 20+ minutes a night at 4D and be the guy who's covering up for Durzi's frequent defensive lapses? Seriously?

Thanks. Bjornfot sucks and cannot fill the role for the reasons above. Bjornfot, Edler, and Walker have been mediocre at best with HEAVILY sheltered minutes. Side note : Spence actually has had some of the most sheltering on the team but he has such a small sample size.

If Blake makes the trade, and that is a big if, then he needs to get a minute eater who is not playing sheltered minutes. So that's McCabe or Nick Leddy or someone of that ilk, if Blake wants to absorb a 4M contract.

 

[jammer06]

Because they obviously see him as a 7D/AHL guy at the moment. You want them to stick a kid who's spent most of his season in the AHL because he's not good enough to play in the NHL even though the team is desperate for LD, to play 20+ minutes a night at 4D and be the guy who's covering up for Durzi's frequent defensive lapses? Seriously?

It might be true, but i thought the plan was to make him and Spence play the year out as the top pair in the A and get them used to being assertive. They wanted them to graduate into top 4 roles and not break in on a third pair. At the start of the season everyone was expecting that Durzi and Roy were placeholders anyway. This was jist going to be one more option. I couldn't tell you what their book on Toby is now though.