Jason Lewis: Why We Should Like Brayden McNabb

"Hes a fun player to watch. He is big, he can skate, "

He cannot skate. That's his problem. That's why he was moved

I wish McNabb was a bit nastier (i.e. Matt Greene) in front of Quick. Team's that camp out in front of our net need to pay a price. I think we need to keep him regardless. Again, the blue line is a major concern. Can Lucic play defense?,

"Hes a fun player to watch. He is big, he can skate, "

He cannot skate. That's his problem. That's why he was moved
- sbroads24

Totally agree when they got him, has improved a ton. Especially his first step. He does not need to be a high end skater, he just needs to be able to close gaps well, and he has improved on that quite a bit.

#FreeSlava

2 years bridge contract at $1.1M. That's the same that Muzzin and Martinez got. The Kings cannot afford any more than that. If he wants more, package him up with Gaborik and get back a solid center to fill the 3C spot.

2 years bridge contract at $1.1M. That's the same that Muzzin and Martinez got. The Kings cannot afford any more than that. If he wants more, package him up with Gaborik and get back a solid center to fill the 3C spot.
- tkecanuck341

This is probably what will happen. Someone brought that up on twitter as well and it makes a lot of sense for flexibility purposes.

This is probably what will happen. Someone brought that up on twitter as well and it makes a lot of sense for flexibility purposes.
- Jason_Lewis

I like him as a 3rd pairing defenseman. I do NOT like him paired with Doughty. I think the Kings primary target this offseason should be a top pairing defenseman to play on Doughty's left side. We don't need a franchise defenseman, but someone solid in the $4-6M range would be good. Brian Campbell is the first name to come to mind, but rumor is that he's going to resign in Florida. Keith Yandle is another option, but he might be too expensive.

Going this route requires that we ship out Brown or Gaborik, or don't resign Lucic.

keep seeing trouba's name pop up as a potential target for dean. i think he has one year left on his deal and then RFA, but he'd be expensive to acquire (esp if we want to unload brown/gabbo also in the deal) and we'd need space for toffoli's contract upcoming as well. fun times.

bridge deal for mcnabb makes sense.

Also. I think Forbort should get shipped out. Due to his current contract, his qualifying offer will need to be in the $950k range, and that's just too much cap space for a 6/7 defenseman that might not be able to transition to a NHL game. Gravel is just as good of an option for that 6/7 spot, and will be $300k cheaper.

Sucks to be in the situation where $300k is a big deal, but such is cap-era hockey.

keep seeing trouba's name pop up as a potential target for dean. i think he has one year left on his deal and then RFA, but he'd be expensive to acquire (esp if we want to unload brown/gabbo also in the deal) and we'd need space for toffoli's contract upcoming as well. fun times.

bridge deal for mcnabb makes sense.
- hiway39

I think we need to bring in an established veteran defenseman, and we can't sign him for more than 3 years. Doughty's contract expires in 2019, and he'll likely command upwards of $12M at that time. In the meantime, we can give a veteran the difference between that and his current cap hit to come in and shore up the blueline until our next wave of defensive prospects is ready to take over. Then when said veteran's contract expires in 2019, the money is available to resign Doughty.

If Yandle will take 3 years at $5.75 million ($5M for Doughty extension plus $750k for roster replacement), then that's the ideal solution. He probably won't, but it's worth a shot.

Totally agree when they got him, has improved a ton. Especially his first step. He does not need to be a high end skater, he just needs to be able to close gaps well, and he has improved on that quite a bit.
- Jason_Lewis

I've watched him this year and he still is awful at turning when he's skating backwards. He gets walked around way too easy

This is probably what will happen. Someone brought that up on twitter as well and it makes a lot of sense for flexibility purposes.
- Jason_Lewis

Gravel and LaDue(maybe a year in Ontario) should have a good shot at making the big club. If mcnabb has to be packaged to get a decent player while moving out a contract like gaborik or brown, I'm all for it

I just don't agree that his current upside or even his potential upside is all that tremendous.

He can skate, he is just super slow. His offensive awareness and overall skill is no where near where it needs to be and I just don't see it happening for him.

He is not fun to watch. He is weak in the corners and gets pylon'd and posterized in the D zone pretty regularly.

This guy is not the future of our 2 set D, he needs to go and take brown with him, I would not mind shipping gaborik out either to get cap space back and possibly a player and allow for Dowd to come up

at some point the Kings need to start that movement toward speed+skill+physical

Gravel and LaDue(maybe a year in Ontario) should have a good shot at making the big club. If mcnabb has to be packaged to get a decent player while moving out a contract like gaborik or brown, I'm all for it
- KINGS67

I think LaDue needs a season or two in Ontario before he's ready for the NHL. He's never played a game against men before. There's a big skill gap from junior/college hockey to pro.

Good article:

The Aftermath: It wasn't supposed to end like this for the Los Angeles Kings

I don't agree with many of his assessments, but it's a worth a read.

"Hes a fun player to watch. He is big, he can skate, "

He cannot skate. That's his problem. That's why he was moved
- sbroads24

It's been a couple of years since his Sabes days.. He is in fact a capable skater.. Nobody will confuse him for Paul Coffey, but for a big-bodied stay at home defender he skates fairly well.

I think LaDue needs a season or two in Ontario before he's ready for the NHL. He's never played a game against men before. There's a big skill gap from junior/college hockey to pro.
- tkecanuck341

I really think/hope Gravel will make team out of camp this season. For LaDue, I hope he will play well enough for Ontario to possibly get a call up sometime in 2017. Really liked watching this kid play for UND this year.... To go along with Dowd and Mersch for the forward group

Well, at least the Reign disposed of SJ affiliate in round 1 of the Calder cup playoffs