Off-Season Game Plan looks at a deep Kings organization that deserved a better fate than having their best player get injured in the final weeks of the season and what they can do to put together another playoff contender next season.
The Kings have been exceedingly patient, building through the draft and developing their prospects under GM Dean Lombardi and that organizational depth does give them some flexibility but, at some point, the team will have to move beyond first-round fodder.
Going 3-4 down the stretch, without Kopitar, the Kings ended up in seventh place in the Western Conference last season, but just one points out of fourth, so it's not like Los Angeles can't be right in the middle of the playoff mix on an annual basis, but to go beyond that may take more than just internal improvement.
At the very least, I like how simple it has become.
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"It has not been a good day. I lost my glasses early this morning and I had to go buy a pair of 79 dollar reading glasses today. 79 bucks. You can literally get them at Costco, three-for-20." - Darryl Sutter's response to going up 2-0 in the series.
At the very least, I like how simple it has become.
I have a very serious fear that we are going to keep overestimating the value of some trade prospects, though. I liked the Penner trade--though it's unfortunate that he hasn't done as well as expected--but I really find myself thinking that what we need is somebody who is (relatively) unarguably a scorer. and I worry that we're going to keep aiming lower than that. and if we decide to go the internal development route, I worry that we're gonna place too much pressure on our prospects too soon. i'm not sure if Richards is the answer we're looking for or not, but I'd be angry if we paid good money for a middle of the pack guy who ends up being a dud.
I also realize that these are not novel ideas/fears, but I thought I'd give my two cents anyway, since I haven't been participating in these discussions very much. I just wasn't ready for the season to be over, and it's taken me quite a while to accept it!
Just a top six forward? We need a first line winger, more speed throughout the lineup, and a competent PP coach.
That's a good summary. For me the Kings need to become more dynamic. They need to scare people. Right now everybody in the building knows the puck is going in the corner and teams started to jump the DNC before it even started. The Kings are predictable.
That's a good summary. For me the Kings need to become more dynamic. They need to scare people. Right now everybody in the building knows the puck is going in the corner and teams started to jump the DNC before it even started. The Kings are predictable.
Exactly. Teams just stand us up because we have very few players that can back them off with speed. A speedy player would give more options.
Exactly. Teams just stand us up because we have very few players that can back them off with speed. A speedy player would give more options.
Towards the end of the season I saw opposing defensemen heading to the corner before the dump was made. If that happens the Kings have NO offense. The offense needs to change during the game, the coach needs to adjust the offense based on what the other team is giving him.
What I said the Kings needed last year: One top six forward, depth forwards, one top four defenceman, one additional defenceman.
They added: Alexei Ponikarovsky, Kyle Clifford, Trevor Lewis, Brayden Schenn, Kevin Westgarth, Jake Muzzin.
TRADE MARKET Dustin Penner, Jarret Stoll, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Greene.
A very accurate assessment from last season and moving forward into this season, and he is probably right about the players that would be the first ones made available as trade bait. He did forget a big one though in the "They added" category from last season, Willie Mitchell filled the one top four defenseman hole.
