Speculation: Fire Rob Blake Blow it Up Offseason Thread (update: Robitaille and Blake stay)

[FrozenKing18]

Team is soft. No hitters, no agitators, no leaders to follow suit from. We all know Kopi isn’t a hitter. When was the last time Drew threw a big hip check? Those were fun to see. Englund threw a couple big hits early on then that disappeared. So far, i’ve only seen Mikey really go after guys, Byfield refusing to be bullied, and Kempe being a low key douche out there a couple times. Mikey needs the C and the As on Byfield and Kempe. Build your identity with those three’s attitudes.

 

[Nasti]

I was thinking recently how rare it’s become to hear the sound of players hitting the boards because of a solid check. This was a sound you’d hear constantly during the Lombardi era but rarely do now, unless it’s the other team doing it. I hate it.

 

[Telos]

At least the Kings are doing well in the World Championship Fiala is tearing it up and of course, PLD is PPG. Kempe and Grundstrom are doing okay by their standards.

 

[KINGS17]

Brady Tkachuk would change the culture of this team and if he’s on the block I’d make everyone not named QB or Kempe available to make it happen.

Going to have to make Tkachuk sound more French-Canadian.

 

[johnjm22]

Everybody wanting more critical media coverage of the Kings reminded me of this. One of my favorite sports rants ever.

During a particularly bad stretch for the Jets, their GM(John Idzik) held a press conference and gave a bunch of PC answers to reporters. Idzik said they were close to winning even though their record was 1-7.

Francesca blasted Idzik and the Jets afterwards. Some of the things he said almost sounded like he could be talking about our management today.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

And that's why DL made his mistake in 2014. The sexy eyes of Mike Richards is too much for anyone. Not the first mistake he made, not even close, but the first one after winning. A mistake that was only possible because Carter cried his way out of Columbus, and the Kings were on their way to possibly missing the playoffs in their "contender" year, so DL was desperate enough to trade for yet another guy in his later 20's with a decade on his contract.

Wouldn’t be an offseason without KF7824 popping up to remind us that nothing matters, and the universe is all luck and random variance.

 

[Papa Mocha 15]

That series was over when Richards sat Burrows down at the end of game 1, Brown simply followed suit.

Once you show a mentally fragile team that not only can you beat them with skill, but you can brush aside their attempts to change the tone, you have them by the throat. Richards established the pimp hand, Brown kept it strong.

That's fair and he original point is we have no one who will do anything like that now and that's the direction/state of this team. Fragile.

 

[FrozenKing18]

Throwback to Bob ripping the Kings a new one. This was months before I became a Kings fan, saw this on TV when my stepdad was watching it. I remember thinking, damn, Kings must suck right now

 

[johnjm22]

Throwback to Bob ripping the Kings a new one. This was months before I became a Kings fan, saw this on TV when my stepdad was watching it. I remember thinking, damn, Kings must suck right now

This was on Adam Deadmarsh night.

I remember it quite clearly. With seconds left in the game, right before the buzzer, Bob Miller: "And it's another embarrassment on home ice!"

 

[KingsFan7824]

Wouldn’t be an offseason without KF7824 popping up to remind us that nothing matters, and the universe is all luck and random variance.

No, it's that you take a risk, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

Without the unpredictable 2017, where is Dallas today? They're not in the conference final, because they've got 2 guys in their 30+ years with $9.5m contracts. That's not the thing you're supposed to do if you're serious about winning.

Quick wasn't supposed to be Quick. It was, we'll draft a goalie at #11, because we don't know who is going top be tending the net. There's some dude named Quick, but that was from the previous regime that didn't know what they were doing.

Everyone knew Vancouver was going to be good this year. Tyler Myers is one of their most played defensemen. He's not old, or been the butt of a joke for the last few years. The Canucks are just built the right way.

You knew the Kings would win in 2012. It was a fait accompli. It was going to happen, even if Columbus had been a playoff team and kept Carter. Anyone else the Kings got at that deadline would've worked out just as well. Because the team was so good, that they were fighting for their playoff lives at the dead line, 75% of the way through the season. A contender struggles to win in the regular season. That's science.

 

[KINGS17]

And that's why DL made his mistake in 2014. The sexy eyes of Mike Richards is too much for anyone. Not the first mistake he made, not even close, but the first one after winning. A mistake that was only possible because Carter cried his way out of Columbus, and the Kings were on their way to possibly missing the playoffs in their "contender" year, so DL was desperate enough to trade for yet another guy in his later 20's with a decade on his contract.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Your post trying to claim the 2011-12 through 2013-14 seasons were just luck is utter garbage.

 

[theMajor]

I was thinking recently how rare it’s become to hear the sound of players hitting the boards because of a solid check. This was a sound you’d hear constantly during the Lombardi era but rarely do now, unless it’s the other team doing it. I hate it.

the boston/florida series was one of the heaviest ive seen in years....the canucks are pounding the oilers , too. this team could use some more people that check hard. Zadorov in particular has been a gem to watch

 

[KINGS17]

the boston/florida series was one of the heaviest ive seen in years....the canucks are pounding the oilers , too. this team could use some more people that check hard. Zadorov in particular has been a gem to watch

Often wondered what a Kings vs Bruins Stanley Cup Final would have looked like during the 2012 or 2013, and 2014 playoff years. It would have been very physical.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Your post trying to claim the 2011-12 through 2013-14 seasons were just luck is utter garbage.

They found the right formula by 2014(although they had to play almost the most amount of games possible to win), but 2012 was on the way to being a disaster. Missing the playoffs while giving up Schenn and Simmonds? Goddamn. The things that had to happen, after Mike Richards, for 2012 to occur, were not part of any plan. There was no coaching change prior to the season, because Murray obviously wasn't a Cup coach. There was no addition to the offense before the season. Thankfully Gagne got hurt, otherwise Carter likely isn't a King. Thankfully Penner could not score, otherwise Carter likely isn't a King.

Luck isn't supposed to enter into a tactical equation. Maybe Dubois has a career turnaround next year. Nobody can say that won't happen with 100% certainty, so is having him on the roster being prepared, or not? We'll find out in at least 12 months.

 

[johnjm22]

Wouldn’t be an offseason without KF7824 popping up to remind us that nothing matters, and the universe is all luck and random variance.

Well he has a point.

Fans don't want to accept it, but a lot of franchise success is determined by luck.

 

[King'sPawn]

Downplaying Lombardi's success as simple luck because things worked out the way they did is lazy handwaiving of how successful teams get built.

It's all calculated risk taking. And sure, luck factors into most decisions of life turning out.

Lombardi clearly made moves that didn't work out. He counted on factors swinging more in his favor. They didn't.

Heck, for as much we've ripped PLD, luck plays into that. He could have used this new environment to swing his nuts around and take over the team. Most of us thought it wasn't a chance worth taking, considering several factors, and it turns out to look like a terrible choice. Luck will play in if he takes this as a learning experience.

But you don't fall into building a multi-cup winning team. Just like you don't just get 'unlucky' when you build a constant cellar dweller or a black hole team. Luck may tilt the scale, but it doesn't load the scale.

 

[Statto]

They found the right formula by 2014(although they had to play almost the most amount of games possible to win), but 2012 was on the way to being a disaster. Missing the playoffs while giving up Schenn and Simmonds? Goddamn. The things that had to happen, after Mike Richards, for 2012 to occur, were not part of any plan. There was no coaching change prior to the season, because Murray obviously wasn't a Cup coach. There was no addition to the offense before the season. Thankfully Gagne got hurt, otherwise Carter likely isn't a King. Thankfully Penner could not score, otherwise Carter likely isn't a King.

Luck isn't supposed to enter into a tactical equation. Maybe Dubois has a career turnaround next year. Nobody can say that won't happen with 100% certainty, so is having him on the roster being prepared, or not? We'll find out in at least 12 months.

Luck always plays a part but you have to be in a position to get lucky and in 2012 the roster construction meant we were. Us getting a little lucky with a trade and injury last season was not going to make us a contender. Even a 60 point PLD doesn’t realistically get us out of the first round because despite what Luc says, it wasn’t ‘right there’. It certainly doesn’t make us contenders.

There are a number of issues that are yet to be addressed and I won’t bother repeating them for the 1000th time. So unless your idea of luck is the rest of the West coast teams getting season ending injuries to all their top players, we are/were not some good fortune away from being a contender.

 

[johnjm22]

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Your post trying to claim the 2011-12 through 2013-14 seasons were just luck is utter garbage.

I don't think anyone is saying it's all luck, but there's lots beyond the control of management.

Good management increases your chances of a SC, but it doesn't guarantee it. You've gotta catch some breaks.

Tampa Bay got rewarded for incompetent management/ownership. They probably don't win cups in the second era without it. If that's not luck I don't know what is.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

No, it's that you take a risk, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

Without the unpredictable 2017, where is Dallas today? They're not in the conference final, because they've got 2 guys in their 30+ years with $9.5m contracts. That's not the thing you're supposed to do if you're serious about winning.

Quick wasn't supposed to be Quick. It was, we'll draft a goalie at #11, because we don't know who is going top be tending the net. There's some dude named Quick, but that was from the previous regime that didn't know what they were doing.

Everyone knew Vancouver was going to be good this year. Tyler Myers is one of their most played defensemen. He's not old, or been the butt of a joke for the last few years. The Canucks are just built the right way.

You knew the Kings would win in 2012. It was a fait accompli. It was going to happen, even if Columbus had been a playoff team and kept Carter. Anyone else the Kings got at that deadline would've worked out just as well. Because the team was so good, that they were fighting for their playoff lives at the dead line, 75% of the way through the season. A contender struggles to win in the regular season. That's science.

So in other words, the universe is all random variance and luck.

It’s okay to hold that position. Really. I’m not throwing shade at you for it.

Well he has a point.

Fans don't want to accept it, but a lot of franchise success is determined by luck.

Of course. But the debate occurs when determining how much.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Luck always plays a part but you have to be in a position to get lucky and in 2012 the roster construction meant we were. Us getting a little lucky with a trade and injury last season was not going to make us a contender. Even a 60 point PLD doesn’t realistically get us out of the first round because despite what Luc says, it wasn’t ‘right there’. It certainly doesn’t make us contenders.

There are a number of issues that are yet to be addressed and I won’t bother repeating them for the 1000th time. So unless your idea of luck is the rest of the West coast teams getting season ending injuries to all their top players, we are/were not some good fortune away from being a contender.

And the reality is that neither were to the 11-12 Kings. Even after firing Murray to bring in a buddy of DL's. that roster was still struggling to make the playoffs. That roster has to luck into 2, if not 3(if you're counting King) moves to be a playoff team. That's not a plan. That's desperation.

I'm not saying what Blake and Robitaille are doing is working or will work. I don't care about either one of those men. Fire them today. However, up until Carter, what DL did was not working if the goal was to be a legit contender. You're not a real contender if you're middle of the pack 75% of the way through a season. That works for DL ort BLuc.

 

[johnjm22]

The most successful team of the cap era is probably the Penguins.

Think how lucky they were getting Crosby in the 2005 draft.

And they didn't get Malkin because of good management. They were a complete shit show at that time.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

And the reality is that neither were to the 11-12 Kings. Even after firing Murray to bring in a buddy of DL's. that roster was still struggling to make the playoffs. That roster has to luck into 2, if not 3(if you're counting King) moves to be a playoff team. That's not a plan. That's desperation.

I'm not saying what Blake and Robitaille are doing is working or will work. I don't care about either one of those men. Fire them today. However, up until Carter, what DL did was not working if the goal was to be a legit contender. You're not a real contender if you're middle of the pack 75% of the way through a season. That works for DL ort BLuc.

The counter argument is that DL had constructed the team as such that he was in a position to bring in a player like Carter.

Contrast that to the Bluc regime, who have made similar moves with players like Fiala and PLD to far less successful ends.

Is that really ALL luck? Or was the underlying core of the Lombardi teams better built and positioned to take off after encountering some good fortune?

Look how much luck Bluc have encountered. Drafting a player like Faber outside the first round. Vilardi recovering from his injuries to carve out a career. Danault choosing to sign with the team. Kopitar remaining productive well past the normal expiration date.

How much have Bluc done with their luck versus Lombardi? Not a hard measurement to make.

 

[Statto]

And the reality is that neither were to the 11-12 Kings. Even after firing Murray to bring in a buddy of DL's. that roster was still struggling to make the playoffs. That roster has to luck into 2, if not 3(if you're counting King) moves to be a playoff team. That's not a plan. That's desperation.

I'm not saying what Blake and Robitaille are doing is working or will work. I don't care about either one of those men. Fire them today. However, up until Carter, what DL did was not working if the goal was to be a legit contender. You're not a real contender if you're middle of the pack 75% of the way through a season. That works for DL ort BLuc.

The 11-12 kings were badly underperforming. I can’t prove it but I strongly felt the roster was good enough to make waves. When the Carter deal was made I felt we were favourites if we made the play-offs. I just don’t see the current roster being remotely close to either the roster strength or balance we had in 2012, let alone both.

 

[CarlSneep]

Throwback to Bob ripping the Kings a new one. This was months before I became a Kings fan, saw this on TV when my stepdad was watching it. I remember thinking, damn, Kings must suck right now

This is what it took for Anschutz to clear house last time so hopefully Nick is prepping his speech now

 

[Brownie to Pancakes]

People who harp on luck this much don't really care about being honest or accurate, it's more about finding a posture that's impossible to disprove because luck is not quantifiable. The contrarian holy grail