I'm paraphrasing here... But, Wayne Gretzky was asked about what it was like playing in the NHL and having guys try to run him. He said, "you're actually more likely to get checked and bumped around at lower levels of hockey because everyone's trying to make a name for themselves." This totally makes sense. At the Pee Wee level, maybe only one skilled kid will make it to juniors, college or the pros if he's lucky. Bantam, maybe two kids. And thus, the rest of the players in those leagues are going to try and stand out by playing physical. I bring that up to talk about Alex Turcotte. First off -- and this is not directed at you but just a general statement -- we need to stop hanging onto his injury issues as the narrative surrounding him. Second, going back to the Gretzky story, I think constantly forcing Turcotte back to Ontario for "conditioning stints" was akin to slapping a target on his back. Thus, I firmly believe he should take Quinton Byfield's spot at LW alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. Gretzky concluded his remarks by saying, "in the NHL, everyone has a family to go home to and it's an unwritten rule to not go looking to injure a guy." Kopitar is one of the most highly respected players in the NHL and teams may play him tough but likely won't play dirty against him. His size, and Kempe's size, could also be a deterrent for teams to take liberties on the smaller Turcotte. Turcotte is an excellent passer and has elite speed skating. Both he and Kempe could set the tempo for that line with Kopitar trailing as the clean up guy. Turcotte played a few games, this past season, with Kopitar and Kempe and seemed engaged both on the ice and on the bench. My biggest gripe about the Kings, this past season, was the lack of line stability and constantly changing their line combos. If they can stick with... Turcotte - Kopitar - Kempe Fiala - Danault - Moore X - Byfield - Laferriere or Thomas ...throughout the season, the team chemistry would be a lot stronger by the time playoff season rolls around.

What a great take, the Kings tend to stunt growth of players. Turcotte, Fagemo and Thomas should be kings next year along with Clarke. Clarke has no business playing in Ontario next year. Bring in a legit goon to protect them and let them develop.

Let Turcotte,Fagemp, Thomas PLAY!!!

Turcotte deserves to be on the 3rd line with Qb at 3c. Thomas as 4c

I think Talbs was just another casualty of the PLD deal. We had to take the deal with the Caps to offload PLD, so we get an extra goalie. I don't know why they signed Rittich so early, not that I have any issues with BSD, but could that have waited?

I thought it was a bad idea when we got rid of Kemper the first time. I won’t give Blake any points for getting Kemper but i am happy with Kings having him next season. He has a great attitude ! I think Talbot is out but I’d really like us to sign Copley again.

Replacing Talbot for Darcy is most likely a lateral move. Team could use some more beef/size; and scoring forwards. Curious what moves they make. As of now; they have regressed.

** NEVER GAVE PLD A CHANCE... IF HE WAS THAT BAD, THEN YES WHOEVER APPROVED THAT TRADE SHOULD BE FIRED**

When the kings traded kuemper the goalie market was horrible and the kings got nothing in return it was horrible move by the kings 👎

I think Kuempers numbers will improve just based on the fact that Caps defensive play is awful… 🏒GKG