Ben Shelley: Reviewing this week's polls (July 25): Kings Edition

Random rumor.

Kings trade for #1OA

trades

#2. Vilardi would be the main pieces along with possibly Akil Thomas and possibly more picks.

What’s everyone’s thoughts?

Random rumor.

Kings trade for #1OA

trades

#2. Vilardi would be the main pieces along with possibly Akil Thomas and possibly more picks.

What’s everyone’s thoughts?
- KINGS67

Depends who lands the #1 pick. Teams like the Pens, Canes, or Leafs, if they get the #1, might be tempted because it reloads the system and they have enough NHL forward talent "as is". The rest of the teams that might get the #1 could hesitate to make such a deal because AL is projected as elite and they need that cornerstone player.

I don't think the Kings need to stretch for AL. Give me depth at this point in the rebuild because the Kings are 1-2 years from being respectable. Deal the prospects later to build NHL depth, if necessary, or graduate the prospects to the NHL roster and build on the culture. I'm very happy with the Kings selecting Stutzle or Byfield, and then building depth with the 3, 2nd round picks and 2, 3rd round picks.

Depends who lands the #1 pick. Teams like the Pens, Canes, or Leafs, if they get the #1, might be tempted because it reloads the system and they have enough NHL forward talent "as is". The rest of the teams that might get the #1 could hesitate to make such a deal because AL is projected as elite and they need that cornerstone player.

I don't think the Kings need to stretch for AL. Give me depth at this point in the rebuild because the Kings are 1-2 years from being respectable. Deal the prospects later to build NHL depth, if necessary, or graduate the prospects to the NHL roster and build on the culture. I'm very happy with the Kings selecting Stutzle or Byfield, and then building depth with the 3, 2nd round picks and 2, 3rd round picks.
- Only_A_Ladd

Agreed

Agreed
- KINGS67

And I LOVE Vilardi. As someone who is icing his back RIGHT NOW, any 19-20 year old who comes back from his back problems to shine like he did is a keeper. Vilardi needs to be a key piece to this rebuild. The kid shows the stuff of a future captain, IMO.

That sounds to me more like someone's speculation than a rumor because we don't know who will have the #1 pick, so there could not have been any trade discussions yet. It also seems like the kind of thing that management would be more tight lipped about and wouldn't allow to leak.

Playing along, though... IF there's any truth to it, it might suggest a preference for Stutzle over Byfield. After all, if they would considering trading a lot for a LW in Lafreniere, then it suggests that they really want to address their LW position. If they would pass on Byfield to do that, they would probably pass on him to take Stutzle, as well. Of course, that's IF the rumor is true, which it probably isn't.

And I LOVE Vilardi. As someone who is icing his back RIGHT NOW, any 19-20 year old who comes back from his back problems to shine like he did is a keeper. Vilardi needs to be a key piece to this rebuild. The kid shows the stuff of a future captain, IMO.
- Only_A_Ladd

Oh absolutely!

He looked fantastic and he was having fun which I always love to see in a pro player. It’ll be a very hard pill to swallow if he gets traded

I found the/a source of the rumor:

https://www.nhltraderumor...la-kings-prepare.html?m=1

We should just stay the course and take Byfield with the second pick and keep Vilardi. You can never have too many quality centers. We would have 1 or 2 more years of growing until we would be back to a competitive team. At that time we could look at trading parts for specific needs.

I found the/a source of the rumor:

https://www.nhltraderumor...la-kings-prepare.html?m=1
- Osprey

Yeah I couldn’t find it after I wrote my post.

This is it

Random rumor.

Kings trade for #1OA

trades

#2. Vilardi would be the main pieces along with possibly Akil Thomas and possibly more picks.

What’s everyone’s thoughts?
- KINGS67

Lafreniere isn't worth Byfield/Stutzle and Vilardi. Neither would he be worth the 2OA and Turcotte, Kaliyev, or Bjornfot. If they wanted the 2OA, Thomas, and one other prospect, then maybe I'd be willing to pull the trigger, but if 2OA and Vilardi+ is the asking price, then the Kings should just stick with the 2nd pick.

I think that it's worth it and would even take a little extra, as the rumor suggests. Byfield/Stutzle have a decent chance to not reach their potential and Vilardi could re-injure his back at any point (or not reach his potential). Lafreniere, on the other hand, is practically a sure thing to be a star player (if not a superstar). Yes, if Byfield/Stutzle and Vilardi both reach close to their potential, having both would be better than having Lafreniere, but what are the odds of that happening? The real value in having both is that, if one doesn't pan out, the other may... or you can have a kid that is a virtual lock to pan out and doesn't require a backup plan. I would make the trade and run, personally.