Around the League 24-25

[Strangelove]

430 PM PST Nuggets Clippers game 7 R1 NBA Playoffs.

5 PM Avs Stars

2 Denver teams, game 7's, same night, same time slot.

NHL loses this one.

Misstep by the league.

WOW, yeah, just brutal.

[Picker of Cherries]

Abbotsford Canucks and Vancouver Whitecaps played at the same time tonight, which is practically the same thing.

[donlever]

I think worse Cherry, can't believe it passed my field of vision.

[theman]

Rob Blake out in LA.

[Meds]

Rob Blake out in LA.

4 straight outs to the same team will do that.

I think he did a decent job on the roster, but watching the Kings back off and protect a lead so many times was painful (for an Oiler hater I mean). That was stupid coaching, but Blake has had his hand in hiring the past 4 coaches.

[JelloPuddingPop]

Utah Mammoth it would seem (@utahmammoth)

Worst kept secret in sports revealed.

Tusks up!!

LOL

[UWSaint]

Rob Blake out in LA.

4 straight outs to the same team will do that.

I think he did a decent job on the roster, but watching the Kings back off and protect a lead so many times was painful (for an Oiler hater I mean). That was stupid coaching, but Blake has had his hand in hiring the past 4 coaches.

I think last year was the year the coach is moved on from. So this year there has to be a new target. GM makes sense.

Blake made a terrible trade & sign with Dubois. This was an Ekman-Larsson sized mistake, though rather than giving up prospects and futures and deadweight, he gave up three NHL forwards, two of which would really have helped the Kings. He escaped years of the player underperforming his contract by acquiring Kuemper, that turned out to be a good thing. But this move was pretty much dumb luck, desperation for a goalie caused by a *terrible* signing off Cal Petersen which the Kings got out of by moving a capable Sean Walker, an at the time B-tier prospect (Helge Grans), a second round pick, *and* eating some of Provorov's salary (which was a $2M cap hit this season). (Is Lankinen the new Petersen????).

Blake took over as the former Stanley Cup champion was showing signs of decline. He did a mixed job with the assets from that club. He got pretty good value for Toffoli and Muzzin, but held onto mascot Dustin Brown until he had no choice but hold on to him because he became valueless. He also held on to Carter too long and didn't maximize value with Martinez. And of course, he didn't move Doughty or Kopitar -- which ultimately paid off because they continued to be good players on this most recent wave of competitiveness in LA. All told, his dismantling of the Kings was decent, not perfect, not bad.

But the draft record is more mixed. Some first rounders selections were farts when lots of talent remained (Turcotte), others were misses though at a place where there were many (Kupari; Bjornfoot), others were moved just as they were coming into their own (Vilardi). Think about that 2019 draft -- 4 picks in the first 50 selections, and you come away with Turcotte, Bjornfoot, Kaliyev, and Fagemo. It isn't an F, but can it be better than a D? There was a great second round picks in his tenure, though. And he (Faber) was traded. Fiala's been a good player for the Kings, to be sure, but in hindsight, Fiala or Faber? But it wasn't Fiala for Faber, the Kings threw in their 1st rounder (19th overall) to make it happen. And so it was with the kinds -- once they got decent, they traded their firsts away. Sound familiar?

(You might also count Durzi as excellent 2d round selections who were moved. Durzi, while not drafted by the Kings, was acquired by the Kings his draft season and before he signed his ELC).

To be sure, Blake's draft record is not an F. He made a few good picks, some obvious (Byfield), some not (top 4 D Mikey Anderson, 4th rounder in Blake's first draft; bottom pairing D Spence 4th rounder in 2019). But given the draft capital he acquired, he likely underperformed. Less because of amateur scouting, and more because he lost in prospect trades.

Ultimately, Blake's tenure was suboptimal, but it was good enough to bring the Kings back to respectability. He gets some credit for that. But that credit is not a permanent job.

What's left in LA is a good NHL team with what looks to me to be an underwhelming system. The assets spent in the past 3 years were to tread water, not move forward. To be good, the Kings have leaned heavily on Kopitar and Doughty. Kopitar can't last forever; Doughty in my eyes has declined fairly substantially these past few years, and while he's still a decent player, he's not the kind of #1 you build a Stanley Cup around.

It seems to me this Kings team has hit a wall, and I don't see an easy way for them to get past it. It is still a good club, but if you have to pick a couple teams from the west who made the playoffs this season and won't next, the Kings will show up on more than a few cards. If they were in the Central, even more.

[Meds]

I think last year was the year the coach is moved on from. So this year there has to be a new target. GM makes sense.

Blake made a terrible trade & sign with Dubois. This was an Ekman-Larsson sized mistake, though rather than giving up prospects and futures and deadweight, he gave up three NHL forwards, two of which would really have helped the Kings. He escaped years of the player underperforming his contract by acquiring Kuemper, that turned out to be a good thing. But this move was pretty much dumb luck, desperation for a goalie caused by a *terrible* signing off Cal Petersen which the Kings got out of by moving a capable Sean Walker, an at the time B-tier prospect (Helge Grans), a second round pick, *and* eating some of Provorov's salary (which was a $2M cap hit this season). (Is Lankinen the new Petersen????).

Blake took over as the former Stanley Cup champion was showing signs of decline. He did a mixed job with the assets from that club. He got pretty good value for Toffoli and Muzzin, but held onto mascot Dustin Brown until he had no choice but hold on to him because he became valueless. He also held on to Carter too long and didn't maximize value with Martinez. And of course, he didn't move Doughty or Kopitar -- which ultimately paid off because they continued to be good players on this most recent wave of competitiveness in LA. All told, his dismantling of the Kings was decent, not perfect, not bad.

That is what I meant when I said he had a hand in hiring their last 4 coaches. It was the GM's turn.

I don't have a problem with teams holding onto a guy at the expense of a ROI if that player has been a loyal cornerstone of the franchise. This obviously depends upon factors like what sort of offers are made, and what the salary situation is, etc.

On Brown in particular, sure he was a loyal guy and wore the C, but ultimately he was a 2nd line winger at the very best of times. Passing on Doughty and Kopitar as the guys to wear the C was an odd choice imho. Your 1C and 1D.....those are your leaders, they (usually) are your all situation players, and they often have the most longevity when it comes to usefulness and value.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Dean Lombardi gave Brown the C in 2008 and he wore it till 2016. Blake was hired in 2017 and gave it to Kopitar.

The Turcotte pick stings Blake's resume but he was doing the right things. Accumulating assets and stiockpiling picks. They just tanked a couple high picks. The method was correct. The execution wasn't.

[Picker of Cherries]

Utah Mammoth it would seem (@utahmammoth)

Worst kept secret in sports revealed.

Tusks up!!

LOL

Snork!

https://youtu.be/3qqE_WmagjY?si=v3dDfSZoOTJ527bv

[Chef Boi RD]

Rob Blake was promoted from Assistant GM to president and GM of your Los Angle lees Kings in April of 2017. He was there Assistant GM since 2013-14.

Here are Blake’s draft picks as President and GM:

2017 - Vilardi - 11th OA. Chef wanted Vilardi
2017 - Dolan - 41st OA. Loser!
2018 - Kupari - 20th OA. Stink show
2018 - Thomas - 51st OA. Goof!
2019 - Turcotte - 5th OA. Just awful
2019 - Bjornfot - 22nd OA. Who?
2019 - Kaliyev - 33rd OA. My gawd.
2019 - Fagemo - 50th OA. Bum!
2020 - Byfield - 2nd OA. Mistake proof at 2nd OA
2020 - Faber - 45th OA. Brilliant! Dumb trade.
2020 - Laferriere - 83rd OA. Brilliance!!
2021 - Clarke - 8th OA. Coming around sloooowwwwlyy.
2022 - as bad as Mike Gillis draft year in 2010
2023 - 2nd draft in a row, no 1st round picks. Geezus!
2024 - Greentree - 26th OA. Decent. Book not closed, yet.

So, for the successes we got:

Vilardi traded for PLD
Byfield - 2nd OA. How can anyone fuck uo here?
Faber - great pick, but why the fuck, Blake? Trade him?
Laferriere - Great late round steal
Clarke - Book not written but coming among
Greentree - still needs to prove himself

I don’t know about you Jabrones but Blake’s body of work at the draft? Ewwww. A different story if he hadn’t foolishly traded Vilardi and Faber. Grounds for dismissal.

Out

[Meds]

Dean Lombardi gave Brown the C in 2008 and he wore it till 2016. Blake was hired in 2017 and gave it to Kopitar.

The Turcotte pick stings Blake's resume but he was doing the right things. Accumulating assets and stiockpiling picks. They just tanked a couple high picks. The method was correct. The execution wasn't.

I wasn't hanging that on Blake. Just a general observation.

[JelloPuddingPop]

Seems like it'll be Coach Q to Anaheim.

[UWSaint]

Rob Blake was promoted from Assistant GM to president and GM of your Los Angle lees Kings in April of 2017. He was there Assistant GM since 2013-14.

Here are Blake’s draft picks as President and GM:

2017 - Vilardi - 11th OA. Chef wanted Vilardi
2017 - Dolan - 41st OA. Loser!
2018 - Kupari - 20th OA. Stink show
2018 - Thomas - 51st OA. Goof!
2019 - Turcotte - 5th OA. Just awful
2019 - Bjornfot - 22nd OA. Who?
2019 - Kaliyev - 33rd OA. My gawd.
2019 - Fagemo - 50th OA. Bum!
2020 - Byfield - 2nd OA. Mistake proof at 2nd OA
2020 - Faber - 45th OA. Brilliant! Dumb trade.
2020 - Laferriere - 83rd OA. Brilliance!!
2021 - Clarke - 8th OA. Coming around sloooowwwwlyy.
2022 - as bad as Mike Gillis draft year in 2010
2023 - 2nd draft in a row, no 1st round picks. Geezus!
2024 - Greentree - 26th OA. Decent. Book not closed, yet.

So, for the successes we got:

Vilardi traded for PLD
Byfield - 2nd OA. How can anyone fuck uo here?
Faber - great pick, but why the fuck, Blake? Trade him?
Laferriere - Great late round steal
Clarke - Book not written but coming among
Greentree - still needs to prove himself

I don’t know about you Jabrones but Blake’s body of work at the draft? Ewwww. A different story if he hadn’t foolishly traded Vilardi and Faber. Grounds for dismissal

Out

Dude, you have to include Mikey Anderson (4th R,108 OA in 2017). He's a legit top 4 defenseman in this league, and provides the caliber of play that you'd be happy with if it came from a later half first rounder. The defensive Ds don't get a lot of love unless they are slamming guys into next week, but Anderson is solid. Spence, too, is worth a mention (another 4th rounder, 2019). To be sure, his play is just above the level of 6-7 guys looking for jobs every offseason at near league minimum, but it is a nose above, he is an NHL player, and might end up a little better than where he is. Certainly not a bad squeeze from a 4th round pick.

Once you add Anderson into the list, the Kings did decently with their draft picks in Blake's first 5 seasons (the only ones you can really judge at this time), though it almost all comes from 2017 (Blake's first season, though he was promoted from assistant GM) and 2020. It was the moves that didn't work.

Having said that, Blake's 2019 whiffs are the big demerit -- and I have to say, the only prospects I see live are in US college hockey (and occasionally the USHL). I am no expert at evaluating young players, but I can compare them to what else is at that level and I think I know what skills are needed to play in the NHL. I saw Turcotte play a few times live and a few more times on tv, and I have to say, he did NOT look like he was a top prospect. He played with Caufield and Univ. of Wisconsin, and Caufield looked absolutely like the real deal. It wasn't just the shot and his uncanny ability to find soft spaces, it was that the kid could control any pass that he could get a stick on -- that's a real significant NHL skill because it is a pace and possession maximizer. Size, though, it always a question mark (but that kid is a thick small guy....) Holloway was there, too, as a 17 year old kid and I thought I saw more NHL potential from him than Turcotte. He had size and wheels....

[Chef Boi RD]

The Faber for Fiala trade is a stink bomb on Blake’s legacy. Was listening to an LA Kings reporter on 650 recently taking about Fiala and how frustrating he is for the coaches. Sounded like a Kuzmenko.

The PLD trade with Winnipeg ain’t aging well, they end up trading PLD to Washington for Darcy Kuemper. Then all of a sudden PLD wakes up in Washington. Vilardi and Iafallo are looking great in Winnipeg. Not sure how Kupari and the 2nd round pick of that trade are fairing for Winnipeg. But I imagine these two trades and the Turcotte disaster with Seider still on the draft board didn’t put him in good light with the owners.