Well, one thing is for sure: the upper management was too passive/myopic in letting DL go too late and then too greedy by allowing RB to start a rebuild too late.
That being said...if the Kings started the rebuild sooner, at the very least DD demands a trade, which then begs the question: what's the point, from the "keep the core and use it for the next generation contender" standpoint? Your best player, biggest star, in his prime, leaves because you're tanking...that leaves the Kings in a pickle, probably overpaying for a (considerably) worse D-man in UFA. Unless they struck gold in draft or a trade, but that's *very* unlikely. So, would the Kings become a playoff team sooner? Probably. Would they be a Cup contender? Quite unlikely.
This way, the Kings get to keep their core intact which at the very least serves them well from leadership and development standpoint. DD, if properly motivated, still has 3-4 years left of quality hockey in him, considering his body isn't fragile. Quick is IMO too fragile to be relied upon on a contender.
Kopitar's contract runs out in 3 years time, and it's quite unlikely the Kings will desperately need all that cap space before that. Sure, it's not ideal, but it's not like the Kings have 2 surefire stars on their roster that you know will push this team into contention within a year or 2, and demand massive contracts within this timeframe. Who is going to demand a 5 million raise? Kempe? Not with his production. Maaaybe Vilardi if he has a huge breakout season. And that's it. Most likely all of them get affordable bridge post-rookie contracts. So, after all is said and done, if 1 center develops into 1st line quality, Kopitar CAN be a 3rd line center in his final 2 years without massive cap issues.
