Not a chance LA would ever do this.

Any particular reason why they wouldn't? They are adding roughly 50 goals to their lineup. Doughty has stated he wants Blake to start winning now. Risto would be a solid #2 behind Doughty and allow Doughty to play a couple minutes less. LAK now has 3 C's in Kopitar-Eichel-Reinhart.

Sure, they are giving up a lot for the future (i.e. a lot of question marks), but they are getting 3 bonafide NHL'ers.

I'm sure there is some fear because Reinhart and Risto are both on the last years of their contracts, but I think both could be re-signed long term. All 3 BUF players are in their prime.

Any particular reason why they wouldn't? They are adding roughly 50 goals to their lineup. Doughty has stated he wants Blake to start winning now. Risto would be a solid #2 behind Doughty and allow Doughty to play a couple minutes less. LAK now has 3 C's in Kopitar-Eichel-Reinhart.

Sure, they are giving up a lot for the future (i.e. a lot of question marks), but they are getting 3 bonafide NHL'ers.

I'm sure there is some fear because Reinhart and Risto are both on the last years of their contracts, but I think both could be re-signed long term. All 3 BUF players are in their prime.

Any particular reason why they wouldn't? They are adding roughly 50 goals to their lineup. Doughty has stated he wants Blake to start winning now. Risto would be a solid #2 behind Doughty and allow Doughty to play a couple minutes less. LAK now has 3 C's in Kopitar-Eichel-Reinhart.

Sure, they are giving up a lot for the future (i.e. a lot of question marks), but they are getting 3 bonafide NHL'ers.

I'm sure there is some fear because Reinhart and Risto are both on the last years of their contracts, but I think both could be re-signed long term. All 3 BUF players are in their prime.

Too big of a deal

Eichel for Byfield, Turcotte & the two 1sts

No, thanks, we'll struggle on as is.

Not in a million years. If we traded away all of our future stars, we'd look like Buffalo West.

Brown and Vilardi 27 goals
Reinhart and Eichel 27 goals
Brown 17 goals

I understand you to be saying that Eichel and Reinhart together would be adding 50 goals to our production. But we expect Byfield, Turcotte and Vilardi between them to be worth 60 goals and Brown to chip in another 10. So I don't see the benefit there. .

What Drew Doughty says he wants doesn't dictate what management, Rob Blake, or indeed the majority of the fanbase want.

Ristolainen is essentially unwanted at all. And this is without even mentioning that this deal would increase our cap hit by more than $15 million.

In short, our view is that Reinhart and Vilardi are probably equal value when you factor in the very real possibility that Reinhart will be with us for two years while Gabe will be with us for six; Eichel is probably worth Turcotte and the eighth overall pick in this draft to us; and Ristolainen is essentially unwanted at all. And this is without even mentioning that this deal would increase our cap hit by more than $15 million.

...just look at recent draft picks. Kakko has 19 goals in 114GP, Hughes 18G in 117GP, Lafreniere 12G in 56GP, Dach 10G in 82GP, Kotkaniemi 22G in 171GP, Hayton 3G in 34GP, Zadina 15G in 86GP.

I understand the patience approach by Kings fans, but you will be waiting 2-5 years for Vilardi, Turcotte and Byfield. Can you wait that long??

I understand the hesitation, but I don't think you understand the immediate help LAK are getting (provided Eichel is healthy and returns to form).

Let's just say Brown is not a part of your long-term future. I added him for salary cap relief.

NHL best seasons:
Eichel 36 goals
Reinhart 25 goals
Risto 9 goals

Vilardi 10 goals
Turcotte 0 goals
Byfield 0 goals

LAK would be getting around 70 goals and giving up future hope.

I understand that the future hope can leave one optimistic, but you're getting 2 top-11 NHL goal scorers in return. That's a lot. Add to the fact that these 3 were the leaders on BUF and would clearly be taking a back seat to Kopitar and Doughty and they probably thrive even more. That's 3 NHL'ers that can play for the next 8-10 years at a cap hit of around $22-25mm.

If LAK stay the course, which isn't a bad plan, you're looking at 2-5 years until you are any good. This trade immediately puts you in the playoffs.

LAK is not giving up that much future here, though. 5 young players/picks, for 3 bonafide NHL'ers.

I understand the patience approach by Kings fans, but you will be waiting 2-5 years for Vilardi, Turcotte and Byfield. Can you wait that long??

Sorry for piling on, I understand this might be excessive, so please ignore if you wish. I just want to reiterate the strength of bonafide NHL top players, versus hopes and dreams. Obviously, Eichel's injury is a concern.

LAK is definitely giving up future potential in this trade proposal, but they are getting immediate and long-term help, which I'm sure would make Kopitar and Doughty happy.

I can't imagine why you think this is "long-term" help, and I question even the assertion that it's "immediate" help.

It just seems to me that you are unable, or unwilling, to recognize the obvious and enormous flaws in this strategy for the Kings.

1. To begin with, your entire motivating premise is false. Drew Doughty didn’t say he wants LA to be a playoff team; he said he wants us to be a Stanley Cup contender again. Trading away our future doesn’t accomplish that because we’re not Jack Eichel away from beating Colorado or Tampa or three or four other teams whose window is open now.

2. Adding Ristolainen for one year, Reinhart for two and Eichel for five while trading away 6 or 7 years of five young front-line players doesn’t make us a Stanley Cup contender. It makes us a barely competitive first-round loser this coming season, a weaker team next season and a non-playoff team when Reinhart leaves. So your entire argument collapses there, because there IS no lasting or significant short-term benefit to this trade for the Kings.

3. The problem with your repeated “expected goals” argument is that there is a very real possibility that Reinhart’s goal total in a Kings uniform in 2023-2024 is ZERO. To put it another way, we can’t afford the risk of trading most of our future only to see that all we have left two seasons later is Jack Eichel.

4. Yes, I fully expect Byfield, Turcotte and Vilardi to aggregate 60 goals in the 2023-2024 season, if not the year before. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that those three together outscore Eichel and Reinhart that year (if Reinhart is still in a Sabres sweater). Add the contributions from the players selected with those two high draft picks and I don’t think Los Angeles would have been on the plus side of the ledger having made this trade.

5. You keep saying “can LA afford to wait” two or three years to become competitive as if you’re offering a superior alternative with this horrible short-range plan. The question is, can we afford to be as bad as we will be in two or three years if we follow it?

Look, I understand why you essentially want to swap teams. Instead of Los Angeles having one of the best prospect pools in the NHL and the resulting bright future and Buffalo having Eichel and, for a short time, Reinhart, you’d like the Sabres to have the future and the Kings to have your two forwards. That isn’t “mortgaging” the future, it’s abandoning it.

I'm going to tag my esteemed colleagues tryger and PuckLuck_77 to see if they want to weigh in on this peroration.

I can't imagine why you think this is "long-term" help, and I question even the assertion that it's "immediate" help.

It just seems to me that you are unable, or unwilling, to recognize the obvious and enormous flaws in this strategy for the Kings.

1. To begin with, your entire motivating premise is false. Drew Doughty didn’t say he wants LA to be a playoff team; he said he wants us to be a Stanley Cup contender again. Trading away our future doesn’t accomplish that because we’re not Jack Eichel away from beating Colorado or Tampa or three or four other teams whose window is open now.

2. Adding Ristolainen for one year, Reinhart for two and Eichel for five while trading away 6 or 7 years of five young front-line players doesn’t make us a Stanley Cup contender. It makes us a barely competitive first-round loser this coming season, a weaker team next season and a non-playoff team when Reinhart leaves. So your entire argument collapses there, because there IS no lasting or significant short-term benefit to this trade for the Kings.

3. The problem with your repeated “expected goals” argument is that there is a very real possibility that Reinhart’s goal total in a Kings uniform in 2023-2024 is ZERO. To put it another way, we can’t afford the risk of trading most of our future only to see that all we have left two seasons later is Jack Eichel.

4. Yes, I fully expect Byfield, Turcotte and Vilardi to aggregate 60 goals in the 2023-2024 season, if not the year before. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that those three together outscore Eichel and Reinhart that year (if Reinhart is still in a Sabres sweater). Add the contributions from the players selected with those two high draft picks and I don’t think Los Angeles would have been on the plus side of the ledger having made this trade.

5. You keep saying “can LA afford to wait” two or three years to become competitive as if you’re offering a superior alternative with this horrible short-range plan. The question is, can we afford to be as bad as we will be in two or three years if we follow it?

Look, I understand why you essentially want to swap teams. Instead of Los Angeles having one of the best prospect pools in the NHL and the resulting bright future and Buffalo having Eichel and, for a short time, Reinhart, you’d like the Sabres to have the future and the Kings to have your two forwards. That isn’t “mortgaging” the future, it’s abandoning it.

I'm going to tag my esteemed colleagues tryger and PuckLuck_77 to see if they want to weigh in on this peroration.

I can't imagine why you think this is "long-term" help, and I question even the assertion that it's "immediate" help.

1. To begin with, your entire motivating premise is false. Drew Doughty didn’t say he wants LA to be a playoff team; he said he wants us to be a Stanley Cup contender again. Trading away our future doesn’t accomplish that because we’re not Jack Eichel away from beating Colorado or Tampa or three or four other teams whose window is open now.

2. Adding Ristolainen for one year, Reinhart for two and Eichel for five while trading away 6 or 7 years of five young front-line players doesn’t make us a Stanley Cup contender. It makes us a barely competitive first-round loser this coming season, a weaker team next season and a non-playoff team when Reinhart leaves. So your entire argument collapses there, because there IS no lasting or significant short-term benefit to this trade for the Kings.

4. Yes, I fully expect Byfield, Turcotte and Vilardi to aggregate 60 goals in the 2023-2024 season, if not the year before. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that those three together outscore Eichel and Reinhart that year (if Reinhart is still in a Sabres sweater). Add the contributions from the players selected with those two high draft picks and I don’t think Los Angeles would have been on the plus side of the ledger having made this trade.

5. You keep saying “can LA afford to wait” two or three years to become competitive as if you’re offering a superior alternative with this horrible short-range plan. The question is, can we afford to be as bad as we will be in two or three years if we follow it?

Look, I understand why you essentially want to swap teams. Instead of Los Angeles having one of the best prospect pools in the NHL and the resulting bright future and Buffalo having Eichel and, for a short time, Reinhart, you’d like the Sabres to have the future and the Kings to have your two forwards. That isn’t “mortgaging” the future, it’s abandoning it. .