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About This Page: This is a discussion on LA Kings Talk within the LetsGoKings.com forums, at Los Angeles Kings Hockey Fan Forum. Originally Posted by Cup B4 I Die
I agree to an extent. We do have some great young players currently developing that could make an impact in the next 2-3
I agree to an extent. We do have some great young players currently developing that could make an impact in the next 2-3 years. And some of them may develop into bonified all-stars. I'm encouraged by the development of Brown, Kopitar, O'Sullivan, etc. DL's #1 priority this off-season is locking up Anze to a long term deal. It should get done before the draft. I'm excited for the draft, no matter if we pick 1st or not.
But....Why would any 'big time' free agent, in his prime, want to come to LA to play hockey? We were all excited about Drury (house in Manhattan Beach), and Gomez (latino influenece in LA), but nothing came of it, and all we got were mid-level guys like Handzus and Nagy.
The weather and beaches are not enough to lure the great players. DL is handcuffed until our young players elevate the Kings to playoff contenders. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.
I don't know enough about managing a team to speculate beyond that, I just want the Kings start winning some games. I'll be a fan for life though. I like the torture.
Go Kings!!
Can't happen. The Draft is in June. Kopitar can't be re-upped until July.
C'mon hip. Anybody who has followed this team for any length of time has no choice but to be pessimistic. It's the Kings. Yesterday was a typical Kings day - extremely average. Not bad, but sure as **** not great. Next people will be saying "wait until draft day" and when nothing but average stuff happens on draft day, people will say "wait until the UFAs are avaiable" and then we'll wait and end up signing Salei and Stumpel will come back for the 50th time.
The kids are playing great, but this is still the last place team in the league.
The prospects look good, but prospects always look good. I remember 7 or 8 years ago people around here were pointing out the HF had the Kings farm system rated #1 or something ridiculous like that.
Bernier? Could be great. Could be Jamie Storr Part Deux. Could be Alexei Volkov. We'll see.
Three of the guys making the majority of the money on this team and who are under long contracts (Visnovsky, Handzus, and Preissing) have been the three consistently bad players this entire season.
So while there may be hope, as a long suffering Kings fan, I will sit back, watch them continue to flounder, enjoy the occasional wins as bonuses and see what happens. But I won't be optimistic until this team does better than scratch into eighth place and lose in the first round - which has long been the mark of a successful Kings season.
There's nothing wrong with being pessimistic but keep this in mind, more than half of every trade Dean Lombardi has made during his tenure in LA(7 of 13) has involved acquiring draft picks in the year 2008. What happens before, during and directly after this draft will make or break Dean Lombardi's legacy with the Kings. If you don't think there's going to be at least one if not 2 really big splashes made on June 20th then you haven't been paying attention.
Lombardi has said that his scouting team is finally where he wants them to be in terms of philosophy. If you look at the resume of some of our scouts and namely our co-directors of amateur scouting you'll see guys with legitimate track records. These guys know what they are doing and with a unified value system in place, it's very likely that 2008 will be the strongest draft in team history. Hell, look what the 2007 draft has produced and that was in a so-called weak draft.
So, while the product at the NHL level has suffered, the foundation has finally been poured correctly. There's very little doubt in my mind that we'll be reaping the benefits of a strong foundation for years to come in the form of Playoff appearances and hopefully another trip to the Finals at some point.
If you don't think there's going to be at least one if not 2 really big splashes made on June 20th then you haven't been paying attention.
I've been paying attention, and I hope there are some big splashes. The problem is that all season I've been hearing from the Lombardi apologists how the trade deadline was going to be full of big splashes and we'd reap the benefits of all these scrubs Lombardi had signed to 1-year deals. It kinda happened, but not really. So again, I'll be paying attention on draft day and hoping for the best, like always, but there's no way I'm getting my hopes up. I've been a Kings fan way too long to do that.
I tend to agree with some of this article. I also think that DL has done pretty well in most of his trades. Where I think we absolutely blow is our ability to scout and bring in the quality free agents. IMO they've all been a bust to some degree.
Draft picks? Well it's going to take some time to figure out if DL and his staff are really that good or if they're just average. Is he a genius for picking Hickey or just over thinking it? We won't know for a while.
Trades? I think for the most part he's done pretty well, especially in picking up Patty'O and Jack Johnson. The other trades, while maybe not very sexy, have brought us a wealth of picks that will hopefully translate into future contributors for the Kings.
Free agents? UGH!!! Year one we brought in the "character players" to teach the kids how to play with heart and how to win. Not sure how that worked out for the kids but it was painful to watch and we still have some of these scrubs on the team. Year two we rolled the dice on a bunch of guys that all had something to prove which = they've been sucking elsewhere but have shown promise in the past. Well history does seem to repeat itself because they pretty much sucked azz again. So we gambled and lost on that crop of free agents.
So all in all, I'd say DL does pretty well with the trades. It's too soon to tell on how well he and his staff drafts. And the free agent moves leave a lot to be desired. One out of three is not spectacular and in my oppinion you need all three of these areas to be strong as a GM to succeed. If the draft picks pan out, then we're looking better.
Unitl then, I think the state of the franchise may be better, but we've still got to improve in a couple areas before we're elite.
Now Dean is looking at drafting Doughty or Schenn. Sorry buddy, but I'd rather watch Stamkos than Schen. I'd rather watch Malkin than Cam Barker. Isn't it easier to find defensive guys that have already developed rather than scoring wingers?
How many of he current Ducks roster were "developed"?
I love Kopitar and Brown and JMFJ and even the "Loaf". I'm certainly hopeful that Simmons and Hickey and (gulp) Lewis and Bernier develop. I want to see a consistent winner instead of the never ending "develop from within" plan that's been circulating since 1999.
I believe in Dean's "plan" - I have to - otherwise, I'll have to stop being a Kings fan.
Your statements here prove you know nothing about hockey.
First off, developing and finding true defensement who can play this game is FAR more difficult than finding or developing scoring wingers. FAR more.
Secondly, the Ducks used those prospects and free agents to BUILD their team. They also were horrific for years, and built their team through the draft (Perry, Getzlaf, Penner who helped win their cup signed as an UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT). The one and only reason Niedermeyer came there was to play with his brother.
If anyone truley thinks that Lombardi is planning on using all those draft picks to actually draft players, they are high on the good stuff. Does that mean he will? Maybe...does that mean he is trying to make moves with those picks and possibly some current roster players to upgrade the roster? Yes.
Just because he isn't successful doesn't mean he has not been trying. That is the difference between him and Taylor. Taylor tried, but his hands were tied by AEG, Lombardi tried to make moves yesterday, and wasn't willing to make moves that didn't make sense.
You ask why do we have to wait so long? I say that we went through AEG's first 10 years of not running it right, and now they have finally learned how to run it right, so they are starting over from scratch (with a few items already in place).
How many of he current Ducks roster were "developed"?
.
when you say developed do mean drafted? because guys like pahlsson, JS, Beauchemin, were all traded for when they were not even 1/2 the player they are today. so when i hear developed i would include them with the likes of perry, getzlaf, kunitz etc.
If the ducks were not able to sign scott niedermayer they would not be where they are today. yes i know obvious statement, but i can not think of another UFA that has had that much of an impact on a team as him. i dont think pronger or Schneider sign with them.
As much as i hate to say it, the ducks are a great blue print on how to build a team, they developed their core (goalie, 1st line center) and signed the right UFA (niedermayer). so how much different are the kings of 08 from the ducks in 03? If the kings sign say a brian campbell how far off are they?
Also, don't forget about Oscar Moller who started for Sweden in the World Juniors and logged a very large number of minutes. He looked excellent during the World Juniors and I think that unless he is traded, he will be a major contributer during the 2009-2010 season.
If he can get a little bit bigger, he may be able to make the transition into the NHL next year, but I am not counting on it.
Craig Redmond. Now there's a name out of the past. And to think he was drafted 8 ROUNDS ahead of LUUUUUUUUUUUC. Also, the same year the Kings drafted Tom Glavine. Yes, they drafted a baseball pitcher to be in front of LUUUUUC.
Anyway, the present hurts, but the future is bright. As for those 10 draft picks, I would be very surprised, no SHOCKED, if DL uses them all. My prediction is that he will deal Cammy + Dallas' 1st (or our second, little difference) + Detroit's 2nd (or our 3rd, again little difference) plus a forward / center prospect for young, NHL-ready defensemen. Suter comes to mind. We'll see.
when you say developed do mean drafted? because guys like pahlsson, JS, Beauchemin, were all traded for when they were not even 1/2 the player they are today. so when i hear developed i would include them with the likes of perry, getzlaf, kunitz etc.
If the ducks were not able to sign scott niedermayer they would not be where they are today. yes i know obvious statement, but i can not think of another UFA that has had that much of an impact on a team as him. i dont think pronger or Schneider sign with them.
As much as i hate to say it, the ducks are a great blue print on how to build a team, they developed their core (goalie, 1st line center) and signed the right UFA (niedermayer). so how much different are the kings of 08 from the ducks in 03? If the kings sign say a brian campbell how far off are they?
I may be mistaken, but I believe Giguere was traded for as well.
McKingfan
