Who's this Jack Hughs guy? Seems like he came out of nowhere, awfully similar name to that Hughes fellow i keep hearing about

Didn't Montreal just waive Forbort?

They've got a few of Campbell, too, but I'm sure wouldn't complain about that.

Honest points I have to make on us committing to a rebuild:

Sell Quick: Petersen seems like this might be legit, and if it is, we should definitely capitalize on Quick having high value for a goalie. Either we sell him now, or we hold onto him until expansion and use him to save our young guys.

Honestly, see what’s out there for Doughty: Drew resigned with us to win, and since that’s not happening, perhaps he might be happier elsewhere. There are few teams out there who wouldn’t need a player of his caliber, so you can only assume there’s lots of teams out there that would be willing to spend big on acquiring the multi-time Norris winner.

Sell the older supporting cast: Muzzin, Carter, Martinez, etc. should all be sold to make room for the youth movement, and to acquire more pieces for said movement while they’re still positive value.

No, Kings drafted Derek Forbort in the 1st round quite a few years back.

I appreciate the feedback. It is not a rebuild. Rob Blake and Willie D can no longer help this team. Rob Blake is not a good general manager and Willie is not a very good coach. This season is probably going to a waste so we might as well keep Blake and Willie in place for the rest of the season so we can get a really good draft pick, maybe even 1st overall if we stay at the bottom then fire them and hire people who know what they are doing and who've had success. We do not need a rebuild, Kopitar is still the player he was last season same with Brown, Doughty, and Quick. They just need a better coach and general manager that will do whats best for the team. Kings need to play more like they did in 12' and 14' when every team was afraid to play us.

You sound like a Sharks fan.

@OldNYIfan @tkecanuck341

lmk know you guys think.

the trades dont exactly make sense but its more about making room for the other guys and making cap room.

not even close

Must be Leafs then..

I'm not sure why you think Blake isn't a good general manager. He's admirably hung on to all of our draft picks and has selected exceptionally well in the last two drafts (Vilardi, Anderson-Dolan, Kupari, & Thomas all look to be quality prospects). He re-signed Doughty to an $11M extension without drama when reports had him going for in excess of $12M. He has attracted several free agents out of college that could have signed anywhere in the league, including Cal Petersen, Alex Iafallo, Daniel Brickley, and Sean Walker. Toffoli and Pearson were signed to team friendly contracts. The only questionable decisions he has made were signing Kovalchuk to a 3 year, big money contract and hiring an old regime coach instead of looking for someone new. I'll let him off the hook for the Willie Desjardins hiring because when you're the first team to fire a coach, you have to pick your replacement from those that are available, and there was no one available at the time.

I don't know why you think you can only get a 3rd for Forbort and Campbell together. Campbell is a quality backup netminder, and if he continues to play well, could make a case for a starting goaltender position next year. He's signed to a league minimum contract for another season, and could be a solid option for cap crunched teams that are having goaltending issues. You're not going to get a 1st round pick for him, but you could get back a useful piece.

I read this article today about Tampa scouts being spotted at Kings games and LA scouts at Lightning games. The author looks through the lineup to determine what either team could potentially be interested in. While he ultimately decides that TB and LA aren't compatible trade partners, he compliments Forbort's game and says the only reason they wouldn't be interested is because he's a lefty, and they're already loaded with lefties. "The problem here is that while [Muzzin and Forbort] are both capable top four defensemen, they are both left handed." Regardless of what you think about Forbort, he has a pretty solid reputation and would fetch a decent return. At least a 2nd by himself. Packaging him up with Campbell for a 3rd is ridiculous.

Kyle Clifford has been one of the better players on the Kings this season. He's not a goal scorer, and isn't going to score a ton, but as Desjardins says, he's on the highlight reel every night. I've attended several games this season when I've left disappointed in the Kings, but impressed by Clifford. I think it would be a mistake to get rid of him.

I've never heard of Jakub Lauko. He's a former 3rd round pick and seems undersized for his height. His numbers in the QMJHL are fine, but not spectacular. I think you could do better for Toffoli. Maybe not to Boston, but to someone.

I'll be surprised if Prokhorkin ever wears a Kings jersey. I also read the article that said he doesn't intend to sign a new contract in the KHL and wants to play in North America, but I'll believe that when I see it.

Rempal sucks. Don't re-sign him.

I doubt Budaj is coming back. Villalta and Kehler will likely be the Reign goaltenders next season if Campbell gets moved.

What happened to Iafallo? He's not on your roster. He needs a new contract too.

If the Kings finish dead last in the NHL this season, they have an 18.5% chance of winning the draft lottery and getting Hughes. I wouldn't put all my chips in that basket just yet.

Finally, I think it would be a bad idea for the Kings to have that many $5M+ salary forwards locked up to multi-year deals. They're better off playing an inexpensive younger player in that position. I'm betting contract term is going to be a negotiating point in the upcoming CBA negotiations. The Kings would be well advised to avoid signing any big-money, long-term contracts before then.

No team is going to give up a 2nd for both Forbort and Campbell individually. Toffoli couldn't even get a 1st. I feel like you only watch Forbort and Campbell when they are playing good. They are both incredibly inconsistent. Do you ever watch Forbort when we get scorerd on? Always out of position. Forbort is just as much to blame as Iafallo for the loss against the Oilers. He was out of position when they scoredd and it even looked like he was screening the goalie. I get what you mean, I see 40% of really good defensive play by him then 60% of crap all in one game. Every game.

If you read the description you'll see that Mike Futa is new GM and he wants nothing more than to sign Prokhorlin.

Smith-Pelly is just an upgrade on Clifford and he is a playoff player.

Now on Blake: Toffoli was extended by Lombardi and I think Pearson was too(I could be wrong on that)
Do you really think it's Blake that takes all the credit and is the man behind the scenes picking our drafted kids? It's the scouts lol they watch them all season long and he listens to them. Kings aren't in a contebding position of course there not gonna trade away there 1st Round picks. It's not something to credit Blake for, it's common sense.
Hiring a head coach because he's a hockey fan and a good friend (Stevens) that's work of a good GM? I'll give him credit for actually having the balls to fire him. Then hiring a guy like Willie D as his replacement? And what do you mean there's nobody else out there, Alain V..... at least Alain has had success.
Yes, going after Kovalchuk for goal scoring so his current coach can use him on the 3rd and 4th line to teach a 35 year old career minus goal scorer defense? Blake hasn't done a thing about that. They're not even letting Kovi prove he's worth that money. Blake is Dave Tayler 2.0 and is going to suck the 3-4 contending years right out of us.

First off, thank you for graciously putting me in the same category as @tkecanuck341 whose opinions and insight I value highly.

I think Forbort alone would get you a second from Montreal; otherwise, I see no point in making any deal for him. I agree with you that with the expansion draft looming over everyone, some decision is going to have to be made about Quick, Campbell and Petersen.

I think Toffoli would be welcome in Minnesota or Carolina, both of whom need a right-handed forward. Maybe Boston does, too; I don't pay too much attention to the Bruins even though they're a good team.

As I said in a Kings team post, Blake should tell Desjardings in no uncertain terms that he signed Kovalchuk to play on the second line, not the fourth. I'm concerned about Vilardi ever being able to play in the NHL; back injuries have a way of never disappearing and once they show up, they're usually career-ending (i'm still in mourning for Mike Bossy). But that's not Blake's fault, to be fair.

Is Forbort that bad?

As a former defenseman and someone who watches him closely every game, yes. He can do really good things defensively, but then make really dumb plays and it could be 30 seconds later. He's so incindustant. 60-70% of his game his horrible. He's the uncredited cancer of the team in my opinion. I 100% believe MacDermid would be a really good pair for Doughty.

Wow, thx

I'll give you pure honesty my friend.