Ben Shelley: Kings defeat Wild 4-0

Trevor Moore has been fine. He's decent enough without the puck. However, I find that he flubs the puck pretty much every time he skates with it for more than a second. Not a deal breaker for a 4th liner I guess, as he's solid on the PK and has shown that he can fire off one-timers. I prefer Wagner on the 4th line, as both bring speed, but Wags brings a physical element too.

I'm really loving the team speed we are starting show now,and itll only get better as more of the kids break in.we have a few speedsters coming.its been an Achilles heel for us for awhile,nice to see the transition happening.
I like where we are heading and hearing the comments from alot of hockey pundits gushing over the talent in our prospect pool.its like looking forward to Christmas as a little kid.

Trevor Moore has been fine. He's decent enough without the puck. However, I find that he flubs the puck pretty much every time he skates with it for more than a second. Not a deal breaker for a 4th liner I guess, as he's solid on the PK and has shown that he can fire off one-timers. I prefer Wagner on the 4th line, as both bring speed, but Wags brings a physical element too.
- tkecanuck341

I’ve actually liked Moore’s game a lot. He brings a great element to the fourth line of speed and skill. I agree that he isn’t as physical but the Kings, and the league, are moving away from that. Wagner on the other hand skates fast and that is about it. He’s had three years to get his scoring rate up and he has a break away a game but just cannot seem to convert.

Also, JAD has been real good in his short stint so far and I hope he stays in when Lizzo and AA are back. Especially over Wagner. We will see though.

I’ve actually liked Moore’s game a lot. He brings a great element to the fourth line of speed and skill. I agree that he isn’t as physical but the Kings, and the league, are moving away from that. Wagner on the other hand skates fast and that is about it. He’s had three years to get his scoring rate up and he has a break away a game but just cannot seem to convert.

Also, JAD has been real good in his short stint so far and I hope he stays in when Lizzo and AA are back. Especially over Wagner. We will see though.
- KingKopitar

Not sure I agree. Look at the Stanley Cup winners from the past 3 years. None of them are elite speed teams. All of them have an element of physicality.

Brian Burke was just on NHL radio the other day discussing that very topic, saying that with the decline of LA and Chicago, they thought the physical era of the NHL was shifting to speed and skill, but the teams like Pittsburgh and New York that embraced that philosophy haven't done well. Teams like Boston, Washington, and St. Louis (i.e. teams that don't have elite speed but are very physical) have emerged as the best teams. Tampa Bay is a bit of an abnormality because they have both size and speed.

I don't think you can get away with having a slow team of grinders anymore, but you can't completely abandon physicality in your lineup and expect to do well. The Kings are one of the softest teams in the league right now, and they could stand to add some physicality. Wagner has shown that he's willing to throw the body around in addition to having elite speed. He'd be my choice over Moore for the 4th line.

You need both

Speed AND a physical edge. You don't necessarily have to BE big. But you have to PLAY big. Use your body and engage, show toughness without being too reckless, be willing to sacrifice, etc.

But if you can't skate i don't care how mean and nasty you are. You have to be mobile. Even the Blues and Capitals had very mobile lineups top to bottom despite their nastiness. Same with TB(obviously).

Just curious....what does your forward lineup look like starting say next season(or whenever Byfield and Turcotte are included)?

Who's gonna play wing? Too many good centers, never a bad problem to have.

The Kings and Hawks will both be contending again very soon. I really believe it. And the rest of the league is gonna be salty lol. I see very bright futures for both teams. No more cap hell. TONS of young talent(both top end talent and overall depth, at all positions). And just enough hold-overs from the old cores to balance out the youth with some needed experience.

You need both

Speed AND a physical edge. You don't necessarily have to BE big. But you have to PLAY big. Use your body and engage, show toughness without being too reckless, be willing to sacrifice, etc.

But if you can't skate i don't care how mean and nasty you are. You have to be mobile. Even the Blues and Capitals had very mobile lineups top to bottom despite their nastiness. Same with TB(obviously).

Just curious....what does your forward lineup look like starting say next season(or whenever Byfield and Turcotte are included)?

Who's gonna play wing? Too many good centers, never a bad problem to have.

The Kings and Hawks will both be contending again very soon. I really believe it. And the rest of the league is gonna be salty lol. I see very bright futures for both teams. No more cap hell. TONS of young talent(both top end talent and overall depth, at all positions). And just enough hold-overs from the old cores to balance out the youth with some needed experience.
- SimpleJack

It's a good question. There's too much up in the air to be certain about it, but I'll give it a shot based on what I've seen so far this season.

Looking at the Reign, the forwards that look most ready to make the jump are Kupari, Kaliyev, Fagemo, and Madden. Guys like Turcotte and Byfield look ok, but at this point they're not NHL ready. Turcotte will likely start next season with Ontario. I think Byfield could start with LA, where they'll try to extend his 9 game "cup of tea" until December when he'll go play in the 2022 WJC. If he shows that he's ready for the NHL, the Kings will keep him on the big club after the tournament, otherwise he'll be returned to the OHL.

Assuming Iafallo is brought back, I think we might see lines like this next season:

Iafallo-Kopitar-Brown
Kempe-Vilardi-Kaliyev
Grundstrom*-JAD-Carter
Wagner*-Kupari-Moore*
Lizotte*
Byfield
Fagemo
Madden (called up when Byfield is lent to WJC)


All of the guys with * are likely going to be left exposed in the expansion draft, and since the Kings will presumably go 4-4-1, one of these guys will get snagged by Seattle.

On defense, it will probably be something like this:

Anderson-Doughty
Bjornfot-Roy
Clague-Walker
Strand

Strand has looked good so far this season, which has been surprising. I don't think anyone had him pegged as anything but a career AHL defenseman. He got his chance when both Roy and Walker went down with injuries and has run away with it. I don't think they'll protect him, but if he continues to play well, Seattle might very well take him, which would be too bad. His emergence might convince the Kings to make a deal with Seattle to take a different player.

MacDermid has been pretty terrible, so I don't think he'll be back. Maatta will have served his purpose once the expansion draft is over, so he'll likely be bought out, traded, or waived. The aforementioned Seattle deal could have Maatta be the player that is selected.