i dunno its really not that good of a lineup imo they got good players but i dont see them really taking the next step especially as doughty and kopitar get older

Is this finally the year that Vilardi, Kupari, and Turcotte finally break through??

They made the next step with Doughty, Walker, and Arvidsson injured and nearly eliminated the Oilers and gained Fiala this season. What are you talking about?

Hopefully, Kupari is probably the closest.

next step as in constint contender. dallas made the finals two years ago but they arent "taking the next step"

We'll see but the Kings never have been seen as a consistent contender, even after their 2012 cup win many called it a fluke. It wasn't until their Western Conference final in 2013 that they were seen as a real threat. Their recent 99-point season was their highest since 2015. Their cup win years they posted 95 and 100 points, they are built for the playoffs and being difficult to play against. Much like the Blues on their cup run.

Starting to look real good. This is IMO the year you start selling off some prospects and picks for top end ready now talent. No point in having all these prospects held back by depth they'll never leap frog.. They should go get Chychrun this year. Vilardi, Turcotte, Kupari, Thomas, Anderson Dolan, etc won't/can't all make this team.

I was on this bandwagon for a long time, but I think I'm out on Chychrun. A year of Chychrun's contract is gone, he had a worse season, and the price hasn't dropped. I think the Kings will be looking elsewhere for their coveted top-4 LD.

Okay but was Durzi a huge underpay? Didn't watch him much but I thought some people thought he'd ink around 2.5-3 mil x 2 yrs

The most I'd give up for Chychrun at this point is a 1st and Turcotte. If they want any more than that, then someone else can have him.

Yeah could be anyone. Chychrun just comes to mind. Girard may be another decent option. Other than that maybe you swing Philly on moving Provorov if they're going to finally rebuild but other than that, there aren't a whole lot of proven good young LHD that are truly available.

The price will be silly for any player like that unfortunately. That's just how it goes.

No. He has played in 64 NHL games. Fans are stupid and give out stupid contracts. You would have think they would have learned from the huge amounts of RFAs that went unqualified this summer after being paid too much coming off their ELCs.

I personally think the Kings overpaid by about $450k. 2 years @ $1.25M seems about right. Mikey Anderson taking a team-friendly deal allowed them to overpay Durzi a bit.

What are the odds the Kings send Walker to Ontario real early and have Brandt Clarke start the season as the 3D swapping with Durzi? I think Blake should consider it given that most teams are cap strapped and would see Walker’s 2 years as a risk. I don’t think he would be claimed, certainly not by Anaheim. And if he does get claimed, there are other bargains out there this year.

This is easily a top 3 team in the Pacific as long as Goaltending stays solid. I can see Kaliyev getting 30 goals and 60 points on that line.

Walker is starting in LA, we have the cap space and Clarke would have to jump Spence and Durzi to start in the NHL,

Zero chance.

Why does everyone hate Sean Walker all of a sudden? Reminder that his contract was considered a steal when it was signed, and he has played very well while healthy since then. He's had 2 freak injuries in the last two seasons that caused him to miss significant time, but there's no reason to suspect that he won't make a full recovery. Rasmus Kupari had the exact same injury at the WJC a couple seasons ago and it hasn't hampered his play at all.

It’s not about cap space. It’s a calculated move to get Clarke those first 9 games before sending him to OHL. The upside is high and an opportunity for Walker while his trade value is currently negative. I don’t see teams taking the risk with his cap hit and injury history. And I don’t see anyone crazy enough to give us 2.6 million of their space for free to play with at the trade deadline. Remember, this year the premium on cap space at the deadline is going to be so much higher.

You didn’t read me right. I want to keep Walker. Under my scenario he would most likely be brought back up after Clarke’s first 9 games. Actually to be more accurate, this was John Hoven’s scenario about a month ago. I just think it makes a lot of sense in a year where we probably wouldn’t lose him.

It’s more about what camp is, as a competitive team the best players should make the team. Clarke has played zero pro games while Durzi and Spence have thrived with their NHL minutes.

Walker had a brutal injury and I’m not against trading him, but we need to bolster his minutes to prove he is still a great NHL player, there is almost no chance he clears waivers. Losing him for nothing is bad asset management for a team who would have killed for a player who can play both sides like Walker last season.

Walker would need to clear waivers to be sent to Ontario. There is zero chance he will clear waivers.

Also according to Zach Dooley at LAKI, Arvidsson is expected to be ready to go by the time the season starts. He's going to be ready to go at the start of training camp in a non-contact jersey.

Gotcha, I'm unsure of who wins the bench spot between JAD and Andersen, both can play different roles, in both cases the Kings invested a 2nd round pick, both have NHL experience, both likely wouldn't clear.

I respectfully disagree. Outside of Chicago and Arizona there is literally no team with the cap space or roster flexibility to take him without a cap neutral trade. I also wouldn’t see those two teams trying that anyway given the desire to preserve their cap space to trade for draft picks this coming deadline. Any other year I wouldn’t even float this because Walker is worth assets. But they won’t lose him this time around.

Does it happen given how Blake has handled waivers in the past…maybe not. But this isn’t so unreasonable to consider because suitors for his cap hit are almost nonexistent.

I still think it's very unlikely, but to defend your point Walker after such a lengthy injury would be able to get a conditioning assignment if Clarke really blew the doors off in camp.

One other thought…now that Durzi and Anderson are signed the Kings have 2.3 million or so to play around with for those teams that have to put someone they don’t want to lose on waivers. They’re in great position to improve their lineup at the expense of either Lias Andersson or Anderson-Dolan. I’m high on both of them too, but we could end up with a significant improvement on 1-2 positions depending on what becomes available.