KA has made the playoffs three years in a row and, each time, have lost to the Oilers. Something has to change here.
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25 Comments
Capt Kopi is no longer 1C,he's still solid and a wily vet…but father time is catching up.
He's clearly lost a step
The PLD trade was good, nearly everything else Blake did was nonsense. The Edmundson signing was the worst part, but also the Jeannot trade made no sense, letting Arvy and Lizotte go was a huge mistake. The team is clearly worse than it was last year.
The biggest problem the Kings have is that their highly valued draft picks from the rebuild/retool years haven't panned out yet… They absolutely need at least half of them to become a prominent part of the team…
Terrible off-season + relying on Kopitar and Doughty to be #1 C and D = missing playoffs
They sunk themselves with that PLD trade last year. Wildcard team at best this coming season.
Wildcard or just outside
He 110% deserves the money, don't get me wrong, but I kinda wish Kopitar would have taken a cheaper contract like Bergeron did rather than roughly market value based on term, his age, and his skill. We could have added an extra forward or made an upgrade in net. Sadly, It's starting to look less and less likely that him and Doughty win another cup.
I have a good felling about this group. #letsgokings
It feels like they're trying to tread water to remain a playoff team and I'm not sure how long they can keep doing that. If they drop down to fighting for a wild card spot, who realistically is going to take it from them in this conference? Unless something radical happens, I can easily see the top 8 in the West just jockeying for position by the end of January, while everyone else is left waiting for the draft.
Ya that did hurt 🤣but that sharp looking jersey made it cool 😎 Shannon 😂GKG
Kings wasted a prime Kopi and a prime Dewy. Not that they are no longer top of their game, but this incoming season Kings will be fortunate to barely make the playoffs. To be honest, that's the team's realistic goal.
Good video. The Kings seem stable, maybe a slight decline and probably the team that made the playoffs last year that is most vulnerable.
The real question seems to be whether Minnesota or Seattle has a bounce back and whether Utah is finally ready? I think St. Louis is continuing it's slow decline and don't think I have to explain why the rest of the West has no shot.
The Kings looked like masters of low event hockey that is tough to play against in the regular season. They rallied around that style to break a long dry streak mid season and finish with 99 points.
My pick for 3rd in pacific. Swept by oilers in either 1st or 2nd round
I'm not so sure about Kuemper. Is the current team better than last season? If kids don't pan out, this could be a long season. Also, when Hiller coached, kings had the easiest schedule in the 2nd half of the season, and they still struggled against some weak teams. Let's see what developes
Getting shot of PLD and Arvidsson should be a step forward for the Kings.
The internal growth is well overdue! 3-4 years ago, the whole league was talking about how stacked their prospect pool was. It's time to stick or twist with the younger players in AHL Ontario !
If Byfield and Clarke become superstars they’ll be able to turn this around
I’m honestly not sure if LA makes the playoffs this year. But I have 2 things to mention. Kuemper hasn’t had a good NHL career thus far, he has had a VERY good NHL career. His numbers rival almost anyone’s (better than Markstrom btw over a similar time period). And the Kings are still drunk on LaFerriere which makes no sense to me. “He’s responsible, always makes the right play”. Give me a break. This kid is a 4th line player on literally any other team.
Key phrase in the video is at 1:00. "Maybe that's what Rob Blake is hoping for". Yep, that's how he does his work. Very little plan, a lot of hope.
Hockey Guy….. you haven't been reading Lakingsinsider. Rob Blake's job better be in jeopardy. He's made way too many poor decisions and gets taken in almost every transaction. Cal Petersen, PLD, even for Gavrikov, to get the pleasure of signing him to a two year contract, he gave up a first round pick in the 2023 draft……. so he traded a first for renting Gavrikov and Korpisalo…. for a team that wasn't going to beat Edmonton.
I think it'll be Vancouver vs Los Angeles for the 2vs3 this time. And I think Shannon's Canucks will win that series.
I wouldn't be surprised if Los Angeles finishes with a points total in the low 90s but still gets 3rd place in the division. I don't think Vegas or Seattle is breaking 90 points. I don't think Calgary, Anaheim, or San Jose are breaking 75 points. I think it's the weakest division in the NHL.
This season is going to be really dependent on the youth for the Kings. They really need Byfield and Clarke to become legitimate impact players to have a chance to do something. Byfield could be a 70+ point center this year, Clarke could put up 40-50+ points (he's that gifted offensively)… If those things happen, the dynamic of this team changes pretty drastically. Laferriere could also improve – He wasn't amazing last year but he was a 21 year old rookie fresh out of college – His game needs some polish but hopefully he's been working hard this offseason. Turcotte, Fagemo, and Thomas are also wild cards that could finally find consistency at the NHL level this year. Spence is fantastic and should be a massive bargain at $1.5m for the next 2 years. So there's reasons to be optimistic IMO… At the same time, there's a lot of things that need to go right for the Kings which definitely leaves some concern.
I'd be shocked if LA isn't a playoff team
I remember a couple of years ago everyone saying how great the Kings farm system was, stocked with "quality" players and the future was bright! Well, they traded away about half of them and now that the future is here it's time for the rest to step up and start playing to those perceived expectations! If they don't, then Rob Flake needs to fired as his eye for talent will be exposed for what it is…really bad!
Kuemper could be an interesting fantasy target this year
Nice review of the Kings up coming mess, I mean season. Kaliyev is pretty much done. That is unless he gets some brains and balls. I would put Thomas next to Danault on the 3rd line and move Jeannot to the 4th line. Jeannot was not always good with Nashville. He was good for the first half of his playing time in Nashville, kind of bad for the last half. Then was traded to the TBL and continued to be kind of bad. Now he is with the Kings. Chances of him being that player he was early in his career are slim, I fear he will continue to be kind of bad for the Kings. This Kings team is on the outside looking in IMO. Their D is worse than it was last year. The PP should be better with Clarke. Wild Card at best, another first round exit if they get in.