HARD pass by the Kings on that trade.

There’s no chance the Kings take that a forward is way more valuable than a goalie

I mean, Guerin tells Blake to take a flying leap on this one too. You guys realize that right?

Sure, Byfield is a center prospect and all. So value swings his way over Wallstedt.

But you're still dealing with the arguably presumptive #1 goalie prospect in the world. Even IF Guerin was going to make a move to acquire Byfield, in the hypothetical scenario he'd be available, Wallstedt is NOT a piece that'd be on the table or available.

Byfeild is currently a top-line player in the NHL. Walsted may turn out to be amazing, but in the AHL the Kings had Matt Villalta (who they let walk this season) put up a better save % in the AHL than Wallsted last year. The Kings have Portillo as their high-level prospect, if they are trading a blue-chip talent (which they aren't), it would be for an established #1 at the NHL level.

I think a lot of what you said is exaggerated lol but simplified Byfield is 100% worth more than Wallstedt

Say whaaat lol

Byfield played 71.2% of his games on ice with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, the Kings top line. He is slotted to start there again this season.

The Wild have had Ryan Hartman and Victor Rask play on their top line with Kaprizov the last few years, doesn't mean either of them are top line players.

I don't know what I exaggerated here. Maybe that Portillo is a top prospect, but the other stuff is absolutely true.

- Byfield's line partners are Kopitar and Kempe, the Kings top line. Kopitars played the most last season with Kempe and Byfield.
- Wallsted hasn't played a NHL game yet
- Villalta had a .910 SV %, Wallsted had a .908 SV%
- Portillo is the King's best goalie prospect

More so about the part that he’s an NHL 1st line player. Just because he is playing on the top line doesn’t mean he’s a top line player. We could put Carter Hart at LW1 for the whole season that doesn’t make Carter Hart a 1st line forward lol. QB will probably be there pretty soon but NHL 1st line players are star players and I wouldn’t say he’s a star yet

Yeah, Ryan Hartman played on the Wild's top line, he didn't play top line minutes but he played against some of the strongest players in the NHL on the top-line, which is all i"m saying. Quinton Byfield spent most of last season playing on the Kings top line, and is slotted to do so again.

Ah I see, I'm just saying the guy plays on the top-line, and that line has the 2nd Highest GF% in the league. It's not like he doesn't deserve to be there, he just isn't as productive as most NHLers in that top-line spot.

..

Byfield is not a 1st line quality player. He's not even a 2nd line quality player at the moment.

My meaning was that he is currently playing on the Kings top line while Wallsted hasn't cracked the NHL yet.

Okay but we could start Wallstedt 65 games next year. Has his value changed suddenly? He's still not a starter caliber goalie, but that doesn't matter because he's starting, right?

For that matter, forget Wallstedt, we have a proven starter in Marc Andre Fleury, can he get this deal done?

Got to understand it from Blake's point of view, he got burned badly by the Cal Petersen contract. He did well with short-term value deals on players like Copley and Korpisalo, And looks to do the same with Talbot and Rittich this season.

With zero cap space and reluctance to sign a player long-term LA is handcuffed into some sort of tandem between Talbot-Copley-Rittich-Portillo for the beginning of this season.

MAF is interesting because the Kings employ Pittsburg's old goalie coach, but a Talbot-MAF tandem seems risky and he has a NMC which really gives MAF leverage on where he wants to go.

If Talbot doesn't work out an interesting trade might be 1st + Arvidsson for Ulmark as the Bruins might be looking for more offense. Or Portillo and a pick for Vejmelka. We just have to wait and see who is a seller. But I think Talbot will be surprise a lot of people like Copley did last year, he will be healthy and have a much tighter defense and two selke caliber centers in front of him.

Which means very little and will mean nothing in about 1-2 years. I can't remember the last time a goaltender played in the NHL under 21 years old. Rick DiPietro maybe? Not sure why Wallstedt gets a knock for that while Byfield gets a boost for playing a position (1st line) he's not yet good enough to play.

I understand why LA and Minnesota wouldn't do the trades. The reasoning given was just strange.

I mean you are just focusing on one point of my comment, I think if you read the rest it's clear my primary point is that if LA was to move Byfield it would be for an established #1.

Focusing on his stats as a pro makes sense as well, he was ranked the 30th goalie in the AHL by SV%, which means he needs more time to adjust. I didn't say he wasn't worth a lot, just he doesn't address a need for the Kings.

OK, but my quibble with that reasoning is that it's just stat box watching and not an in depth look at the players involved.

Wallstedt definitely struggled initially in adjusting to North American ice. But he vastly improved as the season progressed. Specifically, he actually carried a .921 sv% over the last 3 months of last season. But you wouldn't know that just by looking at his full season stats.

Yes, when he had trouble, it was of meltdown proportions, and it was plain to see he was having difficulties adjusting. But when he was on, it was an showcasing of the obvious talent that made him the considered #1 goalie prospect in the world.

So while a career AHL starter, who has had consistent numbers for his career to date, may have had better over-all numbers for the entire season. Wallstedt started poorly but improved dramatically as the season progressed until he claimed the starters spot down the stretch.

Greatly improving at the AHL level is awesome for a prospect, Wallsted is an awesome prospect. And I think next year when MAF and his NMC are over he will be eased in behind Gustavsson. Which is really smart for goalie development.

Do you think he'd thrive if he was asked to play 50-60 NHL games this season in a completely new system? I never said Wallsted was a bust, I never indicated he wouldn't be good, I said he needs more time and that is not the type of player the Kings are looking for. I think you know he's going to play most of next season in the AHL, so I don't understand why you are disagreeing that he is not ready to be a NHL starter.