I couldn't stand to see some idiot respond "X won't get that much," so I'm pre-empting that with this comment.

Very exhaustive and right on. Helene Elliott is going to contact you and ask you if she can copy this before the start of the 2021 season.

Thanks. I don't mind the confrontational comments. Certainly better than no reply and my ACGM going unnoticed and fading into obscurity.

Heh, if only. I've gotten a few PM's on HockeyBuzz asking me to blog for *insert obscure blog name here*. Not sure that I'd ever want to do something like that. Turns it from something fun I do in my free time into a job that I have to do even if I'm not feeling it.

Not playing Clague on the bottom-pair at minimum is criminal, especially when you have MacDermid playing ahead of him. Swap 'em. If this is "Year One" of the transition from bottom-feeder to trending upward, you're definitely going to want to get those kind of guys some quantifiable NHL experience.

Is Mikey Anderson ready for top-four minutes? I have a fascination with how the Kings and Habs have approached their rebuilds, and I'd hate to see a franchise "Schultz" their prominent NCAA defender when they could have gotten a lot more mileage out of him. I'd reckon a full year in the AHL wouldn't hurt. There's a dozen one-year stopgaps that could be had in either UFA or virtually for free via trade (ex: Kris Russell).

What's the gameplan for when Bjornfot, Fagemo, Kupari, and Turcotte are ready for NHL icetime next season? Who's your pick at #4 for the Kings at this year's draft? My gut's saying Drysdale.

Clague and MacDermid are going to alternate being the healthy scratch this season with Clague filling in when the opponent calls for speed and skill, and MacDermid filling in when toughness is needed (I'm looking at you Calgary). Clague will get his chance, but there's no reason to rush him into the lineup.

Anderson played a handful of games this season and looked really good. He's certainly more NHL ready than Kale Clague. He'll likely pair with Matt Roy, who was arguably the Kings' best defenseman this season. If he has a setback, then the Kings have Clague and/or MacDermid that can jump in if needed. I don't think he'll be returned to the AHL. In regards to bringing in another player from outside, I don't think the Kings will go that route. Blake has been quoted as saying that aside from a veteran LHD, all spots are going to be filled from within.

I'm generally a Blake supporter, but I've been saying for months that if the Kings draft Drysdale with Stutzle, Perfetti, or Raymond on the board, I'm going to get my torch and pitchfork and head down to Blake's office and call for his job. The Kings major organizational gap (by a giant margin) is at top-six wing. Outside of Kaliyev, who is far from a sure thing, the Kings don't have any top-six wing prospects in the organization under age 35. Assuming the 1-2-3 picks go as expected (Lafreniere, Byfield, Stutzle), then I want the Kings to take Perfetti or Raymond. If they somehow fall to 7 and all those guys are off the board, then Drysdale can be the consolation prize. Rossi and Holtz should probably get a look before Drysdale, but I won't be upset if they opt for Drysdale over those two guys.

I eventually see Bjornfot as Doughty's long term partner, but I don't think they'll rush him to the NHL this season. Eventually I think that Bjornfot and Anderson are long term LHDs on this team (Clague a possibility but not as sure). The dark horse is Cole Hults, who signed his ELC after finishing at NCAA-Penn State, and will play his first professional season in the AHL next season. I think he will eventually jump Clague on the depth chart. Every team has room for one offensive-minded, defensively-suspect defenseman. The Kings will take a look at Clague and Durzi and decide who is the better long term option and trade the other.

I don't see Turcotte or Fagemo getting time in the NHL next season, aside from maybe the 9 game cup-of-tea that they can get without burning a year off their ELC contracts. The Kings will make forward strides next season, but I don't see them competing for a playoff spot (they'll probably finish around 10-11 in the conference). I suspect they'll keep all the 18-19 year-olds that are slide eligible down in the AHL or junior to let them get bigger minutes and work on their development. There's no reason to rush them. Kupari might get a call-up since he's not slide-eligible anymore, but he'll have to make significant strides forward early in the season. He didn't look great in his first 20 games or so, and just when he was starting to put it all together, his season was ended with an injury in the WJC. He should be ready by the start of next season (especially since it will undoubtedly be delayed), but who knows where his game will be at after sitting out an entire calendar year with an injury.

Fair enough then. I'm not a firm believer in small sample sizes, but if upper management believes the way to go is to give the kids leash, so be it.



Fair assessment, but with the glut of center prospects the Kings have amassed over the last 3 drafts, I'd be looking at internally pushing names like JAD, Kupari, and even Thomas into full-time wingers at the professional level in order to complement names like Fagemo and Kaliyev. Long-term, I don't see a premier RHD that can take the mantle from Doughty, so I assumed that a guy like Drysdale that can quarterback a top powerplay and be a bonafide top-four name would be a valuable target.

As someone who watched Edmonton sh*t their pants every time they tried to acquire a RHD until they drafted Bouchard - be it through free agency, drafts or trade - it's a much harder position to fill. I agree that some of the wingers available at #4 are definitely can't miss, but it's typically more likely to find that quality of winger through the middle of the first round of subsequent drafts and much harder to find those premier RHD. If the Kings are going to climb to around the #20 spot in the standings next year, I think that kind of quality winger will be there at the 2021 draft.



I was more referring to the 2021-22 season after the group took the entirety of the 2020-21 season to terrorize the AHL: I wouldn't expect anyone in that group to really even see a nine-game stint; I don't really see the value in guys like Bjornfot, Fagemo, and Kupari taking icetime away from other younger guys vying for semi-long term spots in between the bigger names (see Clague, Prokhorkin). I'd be tempted to see what Turcotte does with that kind of stint - and it might be something that really boosts interest in the Kings' future - but I personally see just as much value in letting him develop some chemistry in Ontario while he works out the minutia to his game.

It's not just based off of his play in the NHL. He had a quality season in the AHL, and was the obvious choice for a call-up after the Kings traded Martinez and Forbort. He came up and continued to play well. The spot is his to lose. If he has a poor training camp, then they'll have no problem sending him back to the AHL.



Sure, but the Kings have a 1RD locked up for another 7 years. They don't have any wingers after next season. Brown and Carter are on their way out, Iafallo is playing above his pay grade, and Kempe is destined for the 3LW spot. Frk is a stopgap and not part of this team's long term plans. JAD and Thomas are not top-six players. I have JAD penciled in as the Kings' 4C of the future (behind Turcotte, Vilardi, and Madden), someone in the same vein as Stoll and Handzus. Solid two-way player that can win faceoffs and kill penalties, but never going to put up big point totals. Thomas has played admirably well in juniors, but I don't see him as a top six player either. I think he'll be traded in the next season or two. I'm not sold on Kupari either for reasons I stated previously. I have Fagemo slotted in at 3RW, completing a 3rd line of Kempe-Madden-Fagemo that I think will be one of the best in the league. However, that still leaves major gaps 3 of the 4 top six winger positions.

Long story short (too late?), the Kings need wingers now, while they don't need another RHD for quite a while, certainly not enough to justify taking an overrated defenseman like Drysdale several spots higher than he deserves to go. They can fill that RHD slot in a few years.



In that case, I expect we see Lizotte lost to Seattle next summer, so there will be a center spot open. Carter will be on his way out as well (I suspect he will be bought out of his final season), so that's another forward spot that will open up. Bjornfot will likely have a full-time spot in 2021-22, if not to start the season, then certainly by the end of the season. MacDermid's contract (and probably the veteran LHD that they will acquire) will expire after that season, so there will be a LHD spot opening up. If necessary, the Kings can carry 8 defenseman on the roster for part of the season until trades can be made to accommodate the young defensemen coming up. Using the example from my ACGM, a player like Leddy could be moved at the trade deadline as a rental in 2022 if the Kings don't expect to make a run.

@Paul13 Have a look at this and maybe file it away. You're not going to get a better discussion on the organization, including some of the comments.