Bobby Kittleberger: LA's Defensive Wheels are Off The LA Kings are giving up a lot of high-danger scoring chances, underlying a major problem with their defensive gameplan.

Bobby Kittleberger: LA's Defensive Wheels are Off
The LA Kings are giving up a lot of high-danger scoring chances, underlying a major problem with their defensive gameplan.
- BobbyKittleberger

I think their main core of players are getting too old to keep up with the younger faster pace of todays game.

Top 9 scorers on the kings this season, so far only one guy is 25 and under. Also a roster with 8 players over the age of 30. Not a good situation.

I find it odd you focused so much on defense, while warranted, but omit the fact they only have 17 goals as a team on the season (2nd last in the league). While defense is somewhat of an identify for the team its almost irrelevant if they cant put the puck in the net. Youll never lose not giving up goals but youll never win of you cant score either.

I think a rebuild might be beneficial for a team like the Kings with an aging core and very little in the way of young elite talent for the future.

Kings need to wake up soon, reaching the tipping point of getting too far under .500 to make up the ground. This core is too talented to be a bottom feeder.

They are in between identities right now. Does Stevens even know of any other style to play? Doubt it. There is absolutely zero physicality by any of them. Need to get back to home plate mentality for a minute and reset themselves.

I think their main core of players are getting too old to keep up with the younger faster pace of todays game.

Top 9 scorers on the kings this season, so far only one guy is 25 and under. Also a roster with 8 players over the age of 30. Not a good situation.

I find it odd you focused so much on defense, while warranted, but omit the fact they only have 17 goals as a team on the season (2nd last in the league). While defense is somewhat of an identify for the team its almost irrelevant if they cant put the puck in the net. Youll never lose not giving up goals but youll never win of you cant score either.

I think a rebuild might be beneficial for a team like the Kings with an aging core and very little in the way of young elite talent for the future.
- systemtool

A rebuild is good in theory, but when you look at the cap chart, it ain't happening. They have too many ~30+ guys on deals with more than 1 year of term left. Even if they unloaded some of those contracts, which would be outstanding, they aren't getting much talent back.

The fans are going to have to ride it out with this group.

the team should be better than this but at best they are a middle of the pack team...id rather have the higher draft picks than be a 1st round exit at best

For me its weird to believe I'd rather the team start a rebuild. The issue I see is that they traded away to many draft picks and didn't draft well enough to support this core of players. I dont think they are to old or slow for the current league. They just dont have the right supporting cast.

A rebuild is good in theory, but when you look at the cap chart, it ain't happening. They have too many ~30+ guys on deals with more than 1 year of term left. Even if they unloaded some of those contracts, which would be outstanding, they aren't getting much talent back.

The fans are going to have to ride it out with this group.
- Only_A_Ladd

Its not always about what you get in return but rather how you set your team up going forward. Leafs (for example) got nothing of value for Phaneuf but getting rid of him and his contract put the team in a better position for the future. They had to eat salary just to get rid of Kessel.
In return they got bad enough to draft solid players that have provided the team with a bright future.

Its not always about what you get in return but rather how you set your team up going forward. Leafs (for example) got nothing of value for Phaneuf but getting rid of him and his contract put the team in a better position for the future. They had to eat salary just to get rid of Kessel.
In return they got bad enough to draft solid players that have provided the team with a bright future.
- systemtool

True, and if the Kings had one long-term deal with a ~30+ year old, I'd agree with you. But the Kings have several of these guys. Say they got rid of one, then they'd still have more albatross contracts to unload then Toronto had when they dealt Dion to the Sens a few years ago. The Leafs also didn't have the overhang of two franchise contracts like the ones Kopi and Doughty have. Do you rebuild with those two guys still eating up a big amount of the cap space? I don't think you can rebuild as easily with that backdrop.

True, and if the Kings had one long-term deal with a ~30+ year old, I'd agree with you. But the Kings have several of these guys. Say they got rid of one, then they'd still have more albatross contracts to unload then Toronto had when they dealt Dion to the Sens a few years ago. The Leafs also didn't have the overhang of two franchise contracts like the ones Kopi and Doughty have. Do you rebuild with those two guys still eating up a big amount of the cap space? I don't think you can rebuild as easily with that backdrop.
- Only_A_Ladd

Its never easy. Tough decisions need to be made. Leafs let Bozak and JVR walk for nothing. They made Lupul Clarkson Robidas (big contracts) and others disappear. Both Phaneuf and Kessel had massive deals.

Is there a point in keeping players youre not winning with just because you dont want to make some changes and tough decisions? They could get a ton for Kopitar who at 31 will start to decline in a couple of years. Maybe keep Doughty to build the next generation around

Our D is the slowest in the league. We just don't have an awesome set of mobile D. That "heavy game" is over with. Rather have LaDue in or any new D's that have speed, can pass and be mobile the whole shift. See Nashville, WPG etc. Blake and JS made a mistake in their assessment of the D core. Forbort is an insult and a joke to DD, he should be gone 100%. Amart is done. Muzzin a mess. Phaneuf is barely a 5-6 D at this point. Fantanberg's try out was over last year. Blake had plenty of time after last season to change this, and he did not. Keeping the core cup winners again over catching up with the rest of the NHL. $70mil worth of players...this team is a joke, and an insult to the fans. The young guys cannot learn anything from the vets when they are done. Look at OTT and MON now. Way more competitive than these LAK. Some Kings are completely done. See Clifford, Thompson, Lewis and so on. Sad really that Blake and JS are this blind and stupid to reality. Blake better change it quick.

I'm in total agreement with Kings Fan Since '72. Our defense is atrocious and has been for some time.

I know what you all will be saying:
But..but...but...our defense is best in the league year in and year out.
True, but we have Drew Doughty playing 30 minutes a game and an elite goalie in Quick who can steal games. Not to mention an elite two-way forward in Kopitar and several others who have since the days of Terry Murray, focused on playing 60 feel of ice. Muzzin can do some things offensively, but he is a bonehead in the defensive zone. Martinez seems to lose his head then last couple of years, and has never been all that strong getting the puck out of the zone. Pfaneuf seems to be completely lost as he can't even get his gaps close to right. Forbort is who he is, a decent stay at home, but nothing great, and LaDue is getting banged around with ease. Walker was looking pretty decent. Possibly, he can fill a role. All I'm saying is that the forwards are sucking but the defense is doing all the blood-letting. We have 5 guys in the lineup who have scored between 30 and 46 goals in the league for christ sake.

Time for Kempe to sit. These penalties are just stupid.

The Kings are the worst team in the Western Conference and the second worst team in the NHL.

Time for Kempe to sit. These penalties are just stupid.
- LAkings96

It's past time, IMO. He should've sat one game after his multiple-penalty game last week. He didn't, so he didn't learn anything and had another multiple-penalty game two nights ago. He didn't sit after that and took another bad penalty tonight. If they were in the defensive zone, that might be a different matter, but most of them are in the offensive zone. Stevens has to send a message to him and the rest of the team, but I'm not sure that he has the courage to, since he's too nice and needs every potential scorer right now.

#Lose4Hughes

Bench the whole team and forfeit a game.

#Lose4Hughes
- KINGS67

Sadly. We still wont finish a bottom 5 team.

Sadly. We still wont finish a bottom 5 team.
- poisondhearts37

don't be so sure...