Fun fact: the Sharks and Ducks have won a playoff series more recently than the Kings.

I've been waiting for this video much like I waited for that talk with my parents when the bad report card came home.

Byfield stated in his exit interview that he had been dealing with a nagging illness for the latter quarter of the season. Could help explain some of the drop in production

PL DuBaby is a big problem for this team.

Kings need to change their system/structure so they stop handcuffing high skill players with this ridiculously conservative style of hockey. Fiala, Kempe, and Moore all voiced frustrations with the system in their exit interviews. Doughty mentioned the current system makes it nearly impossible for him to jump up on the rush. Byfield, PLD, Spence, Kaliyev (if they haven't ruined him already), and many other Kings players would all also likely benefit from a more creative system designed to generate more offense. This would also help younger players stepping into the lineup (ex: Clarke) because these young players wouldn't be forced into playing a ridiculously rigid / boring style of hockey. If the Kings make changes in that direction, it'll prove they've realized their previous approach was/is outdated and unsuccessful and that they need to get with the times and play a more modern system which would be slightly encouraging and a step in the right direction. If not, it'll be much of the same and they continue to be a playoff team at best but never a true contender.

We got smaller and more injury prone from 2021-2022. They were able to show that they could play physical 1 period in game 4 and it took Edmonton out of their game but they still lost 1-0. The LA Kings team that won in 2012 was lead by a Dustin Brown that was willing to destroy his opponent, Matt Greene who was willing to destroy his own body to protect the net and Willie Mitchell/Rob Scuderi who were there to make the smart plays so their offense could do their job. Besides Doughty I don't see any other player that strikes fear on the opponent.

Something that was notable is that this is the longest the kings have gone without winning a series in franchise history. Something needs to change.

If they keep Hiller they aren't serious about winning.

We want Blake gone and Hiller. We need a fresh perspective from a management and coaching standpoint. Blake got us in this mess and I dont have faith he can get us out. I am pissed that Blake wasn't fired. It shows that they think everything is just fine. We were least equipped to beat the Oilers than the last 2 years of playing them. Oilers made us look really silly.

Recent subscriber. Enjoy your efforts very much. Blake’s and Robitaille’s end-of-year press conference gave me the impression that they aren’t sure what to do next. Many Kings fans calling for Blake’s head.

PLD scoring for Canada and kempe making unreal plays just shows the kings system is TRASH!!!!! we desperately need a fix but Rob Blake’s constantly wants to ruin everything Also most kings fans don’t want rob Blake back. The system we have is bad, our players are offensively sound and can’t flourish when we focus on defense only

Inconsistency and special teams is what killed us. 5v5 we where pretty close to the oilers but going 0 for 15 on the pp is sad:( we also just couldn’t kill a penalty despite having one of the best pk during the regular season. As far as Rob goes it’s 50/50 he’ll make a great trade like getting Moore for Campbell or getting phill. But then makes something like signing Cal to that deal. Every time we take a step forward we take one back. Never making any distance. And now we’re looking at losing Roy and AV:( At least it seems like we’ll try a new system which should help our team. 1-3-1 was good during the “rebuild” but now it’s time to try something different. And fingers crossed Portillo kills it like he has in the AHL so far

I say, "no" the rebuild in my opinion was too fast and with an aging Doughty and Kopitar this team is going to be facing another rebuild/retooling a lot sooner than expected.

Before the playoffs Talbot stunk. He lost to Anaheim, Chicago when we needed the wins

Kings series came down to special teams, the Kings were great in the regular season, but fell off a cliff (both PP and PK) in the series. Love the fact that Shannon knows every single team so freaking well. I listen to dopes on the NHL network flub their way through my team over and over, but THG always shows up with good info and great insights. Love it.

It bears repeating....that is a GORGEOUS jersey.

I know a lot of talk is about Rob Blake but as a Habs fan, I have t o mention the effect of Marc Bergevin. Hired in 2022, and since, some dubious trades (Dubois, Cuyle), and won 1 less game in the playoffs each year. Kings should get rid of him before it’s too late.

Fire the coach … that’s the answer to everything according to hockey fans, unless they want to fire the GM.

IF the rumour was true that Sweeney tried to trade Ullmark for Dubois at the deadline, Sweeney needs to be fired immediately!!

The Kings are missing a LOT of players. They are missing a true captain, a good coach, a 1C, 1D and 1G. They have a lot of offensive talent and some ok D but little goaltending. When the Kings were fearsome, they had multiple captains and assistant captains. Mike Richards sparked Dustin Brown to be a captain...guys who lead on the ice and make things happen during critical situations. They had guys like Justin Williams, Willie Mitchell, Jarret Stoll, Rob Scuderi, just a lot of guys who were glue guys or impromptu leaders on the ice and off the ice. Even Jeff Carter was recognized for his fitness as someone for young guys to follow as an example. Nowadays we have guys like Fiala and Dubois, and a whole lot of floaters. Talbot and Rittich are backups, they are not guys who can steal games and be solid all the time, and bounce back from bad games. Doughty is not a 1D. The defense by committee only works if we have 3x defensemen that are reliable where you can put one on each of the three pairs...right now we have Gav and Roy on 2nd pair so our third pair is a defensive disaster...so many highlights of the Kings getting scored on have Dubois and Spence+Englund on the ice at the same time. It really makes me wonder...if we drafted Stutzle instead of Byfield, what would have happened. Tim scored 90+ points in his D+2 year proving himself to be a true first line player at center...maybe not an ideal playoff 2-way center but at least as good as Fiala. Then maybe we don't trade Faber. And if Faber makes it to the lineup (and I know the story but LA controlled the situation), maybe we have a better defense or we trade for Fiala but we don't need to trade for Dubois. Then we keep all the guys we dealt for Dubois and all the guys we dumped salary to get Dubois...Vilardi, Iafallo, Walker, Jonathan Quick... Some of the guys we wind up dumping anyway, maybe we get better deals for like Durzi. In conclusion, due to earlier decisions and the current make up of the team, there's no way the current Kings roster is a contender. They just have a bunch of guys who enjoy hanging out at Manhattan Beach, whether in the twilight of their careers (Kopitar, Doughty), or in shame in their primes (Dubois).

They won by defense in the Regular Season then allowed 22 goals in 5 games. 🤨

Yes, Portillo looks to be a solid future option in net, but lets not forget this year's USHL Goaltender of the year Hampton Slukynsky. 28-3 on the season, surprised a lot of people with his play this year. He's a ways away yet, but nice to have 2 in the pipe while we untie Rob Blake's knots in our current salary cap issues....

Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille say the team made progress this year 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

I feel like the quickest way for the Kings to change rn is to bring in an entirely new coaching staff and a new system. Kings fan here I feel like the team is able to play a more offensive-minded hockey with solid defense. The 1-3-1 style shutdown hockey does not work against every team either, it works out well against Vancouver but it wouldn’t work against Dallas or Edmonton. A different system is needed to have some flexibility in giving players more options.

If they just went back to 1-8 we wouldn’t be stuck with the same matchups every year.

If people are saying "what about my team?" then they're being too impatient for this channel. Shannon doesn't do Same-Day Delivery.

Gonna take a moment here to appreciate your assessment Shanon. As someone who isn’t a fan of this team, you are so on point with what us fans have been screaming about for years now. Also love your appreciation for guys like Roy and Anderson who don’t get noticed as much outside of the Kings fanbase (even though I’m 99.99% sure Roy isn’t coming back next season).

As someone who asked about the video for my team...Take your time man. Greatness takes time!

Something to remember is Clarke was actually playing as a forward at the end of the year

Yeah they made the wrong purchase when they picked up Pierre Luc Dubois. it was an attempt to shake things up. Added a young big bodied center. Unfortunately he's not any good. Had a very good regular season. I was worried about their goaltending too. They played good defense this year. Had some health problems too but that Kopitar Doughty core doesn't have much longer. Montreal was thankfully too smart to make that deal.

Bergevin was fired six weeks before the trade deadline and we suspect he was prepared to trade the farm for Dubois, and that likely played a part in his dismissal. He was immediately hired by LA as a 'senior advisor', whatever that means. It was probably Robitaille's doing, looks a lot like favoritism, the buddy system. After Bergevin was fired in Montreal the rumours surfaced again when Dubois was done in Winnipeg. Hughes didn't do it. The trade to LA happened soon after. Hughes has made zero deals for experienced players in two and a half years, added nobody like that to the roster at any position. They were going into a full rebuild so there was no way they would trade for Dubois. The funny thing was ... Dubois stunk against Montreal in the 2021 playoffs, had no goals and was swept. Why did Bergevin want Dubois? To prove himself right? PLD is a big top six centre which Bergevin had been unable to draft or acquire for 8 years in Montreal. He carried that reputation with him at every press conference in Montreal, and it was embarrassing.

Hey Shannon, is there a home version of that Kings jersey?

and they spent the last 3 years playing boring 1-3-1 that not even their home fans will pay to watch. All for nothing.

Zero trust in GM who trades Vilardi Faber and 1st rounder for PLD (then signs him to that contract) and one dimensional scoring winger Fiala.

A few things: 1. I believe the roster I could potentially be a contender but the Kings defensive style of hockey (which is respectable) is not good for their players offensive lethality. 2. Byfield’s production went down towards the end for the season when he said he was dealing with an underlying illness in his exit interview. 3. I think it would be smart to trade Talbot for another goalie if possible or let Talbot go and give David Rittich the spot and Portillo the back-up so he can gain experience. 4. While I think Rob Blake has chosen wisely for the Kings (sometimes faulty) I just don’t see him remaining in the organization. There needs to be a re-look on the system the Kings have. 5. The Kings need to acquire a no-nonsense head coach for the next season who is willing to push the players in the locker room. I am tired of the ”family-like” team that Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille are babbling about. Someone needs to get underneath the skins of the players without hesitation.

Speaking of Fiala: His game for Switzerland was outstanding tonight. The penalty shot: A beauty!

Being a Kings fan has its moments, some of them rough 🥲 Not to hit all of the same points, but Kaliyev likely traded, Arvidsson likely let go. Now Roy, it seems like Blake really loves Matt Roy. He’s a great story, a 7th rounder who made the top 4, but if things go how it’s feeling like they will, defense might be (with wishful thinking): Anderson-Doughty Gavrikov-Clarke Moverare-Spence Engallund No matter what happens next year, Blake needs to go and the coaching needs to change. Even if Clarke, Turcotte, Fagemo, Thomas and even throw Portillo in there, all come up and play great, Blake still cannot stay. If we have any less than a real shot for all 4 of those skaters to play in the NHL, it’s kind of a lose-lose scenario. Also expecting a trade to be made concerning goaltending perhaps, but we’re not looking at a great prospect pool so much now, especially if the 4 aforementioned players stick in the NHL. Draft picks are needed too!

One of the best moves I think LA can make right now is to hire Keefe.

Last time I checked Winnipeg is in the western conference

Talbot and Rittich got torched on the PP, which I wouldn’t hold entirely on them.

Gibson (no retention) for Kaliyev and Turcotte

Just like the Oilers, the front office is the main enemy of the Kings. The actual teams try their best but if the front office gives them these pieces they will not be successful.

It started with the trade last offseason. The Kings traded for the wrong Winnipeg Jet. Pierre Luc Dubois was pretty much just skating around uselessly in the playoffs. And to make it worse, Dubois has an 8 year extension and the Kings won't buy him out. LA should have traded for Hellebuyck, then they would have at least stood a chance against Edmonton's lethal offense. But who knows, maybe the Kings can get him if the Jets decide to tear it down and rebuild after yet again failing to make any significant progress?

I remember thinking when the Kings picked up Dubois that I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole and they might have done the 'Peg a favour. Wow. Vilardi was hurt this year (what else is new?), but I'd still take him in a heartbeat over Dubois. Say what you want about Pettersson right now, but he's clearly heart and been lights out most of the time at both ends for the Canucks compared to either guy, but at least Vilardi is starting to show that he can produce for a decent cap hit. That was a brutal trade for LA.

I wasn’t going to watch this video, then I saw Shannon wearing the RR2.0 jersey.

I think PLD is just pissy that Montreal didn't make a big play for him. Perhaps Blake tries to work out a deal with Montreal this summer, but Montreal's offer sheet will be a LOT lower than what they may have offered Winnipeg.

When do they buy out PLD?

Fiala just joined Switzerland for World Championship, no updates for this event this year?

Interesting shannon @thehockeyguy that you left Trevor Moore off this video. The kid lead the team in Regular season goals w/ 31 and a total of 57 points 4th on the team. Moore had a damn good 23-24 season. Without him kings dont even make the playoffs.

This franchise isn't showing any signs of being serious about anything. Keeping blake and possibly hiller says it all.

The kings need to switch to that jersey full-time.

Your Winnipeg Jets

They’ve done well. But my gosh that move for PLD is such a crippling error. Forget giving up decent NHLers. Cap hit for a non player like that is just so awful in hindsight.

Imagine thinking you could go anywhere with a backup goalie as a starter lmao

Restart the app worked for me

As a Wild fan, they won't be winning the cup of Talbot is the 1A goalie

The Kings should strongly consider a buyout of Doughty. That would alleviate the salary cap pressures that they are currently facing. Doughty IS NOT an $11 million player anymore.

Kings need a good young goaltender and a 1-2-2 forecheck

Vachon needs to don the old # 30 and get back in the net. (Superb jersey!)

Not a single goaltender signed for next season, including the ones in the minors. It gives them some flexibility, but that'll eat up some cash if they want to fix things, especially when there are a lot of other teams that need help in goal.

I have no faith in Rob Blake to make us better. We knew going into the season that goaltending was our biggest need. We had some cap space so I figured that problem would be fixed. Blake traded Sean Durzi to create a little more space. That means an even better goalie, right?! Great! Then three days later he trades for PLD and signs him to a mega contract. Durzi, Vilardi, Iafallo and Kupari for a forward? What about the problem in goal? We ended up with a couple of "been around the block", "good enough" goalies. I can't wait to see how Blake makes things worse this summer.

Great Video, as usual, Shannon - I think there's really A Huge Problem with The LA Kings, in, especially the fact that The Older Players are getting even Older, such as Anze Kopitar, who, I believe was on their 2015 team that beat My New York Rangers. They're likely in A No Win Situation, unless this Pierre Luc Dubois Trade turns around in their favor. Let me know what you think

I think they move Roy to make room for both spence and clarke in the lineup

2024-2025 Still no answer for the Oilers... Nice job Rob-

It seems to me that Blake didn't anticipate the 20 million dollar cap at the end of this season and all of the contracts coming up for re-negotiation before signing PLD last May. For this reason, he should be fired. How do you not see what's coming? It's like a dad going out and buying a 50 thousand dollar Lexus before sitting down with the wife to figure out how to pay the other bills coming due.

Just speculating, but how likely could a Jarry trade be for the Kings? I'm not saying the Pens should trade him but if they do I think LA could be an attractive buyer. Some sort of return involving kaliyev/a pick/etc? How do kings fan feel about this?

Kings should give Portillo a chance in goal.

i don't think this can be put on goaltending, to be honest. Talbot let up i think one or two goals i thought he should have, but rittich i don't remember any that i thought he should have had, and he shut down quite a few that i thought were going in. the PK left them out to dry.

Kings have all the pieces in place but need a real GM. Blake has taken them as far as he can. Making Skinner look like a Vezina candidate is all the evidence you need this teams needs to shift its philosophy on offense.

Kings need to hire Jay Woodcroft.

Rittich played great in his backup role, as he should be re-signed. Talbot should be a no. Age 37 and should be playing in a backup role for another team that needs goalie experience. They absolutely have to acquire a #1 goalie. Portillo is looking great in his AHL rookie year, but I think it would be smart to cook him there for one more season. He can start training camp/preseason for the Kings to get a feel, but finish the season with the Reign again.

Blake needs to go and a change needs to be made for sure. That PLD contract has the potential to haunt us for years to come.

Grundström just scored in the world championship.

They need to fire Blake.

The Kings need to quit being so cheap and start going after marquee players because they play in Los Angeles not Edmonton.

If they'd played Van, they might've had a chance, especially without Demko. But Dallas is destroying the Avs, and the Avs are definitely better than the Kings (and DAL had our number all year). So they're likely out in the first round no matter whether they played DAL or EDM.

Get ullmark and dump Dubois anywhere and for anything. Keep Roy and open cap for a scorer up front

Great players don't necessarily make good GMs.

Next yr oiler will only left with mcdavid and deadwood /dead cap players since they don’t have cap space for D29

Looking forward to the Rangers video

I really like some of the young pieces the Kings have, but so many of their point-producing players being closer to retirement than not... seems like one of those illusory retooling teams that looks like they're gonna go somewhere, but don't.

Blake screwed up badly. Quick was the goaltending standard to go by, but instead he traded for and gave $8.5 million to PLD, losing key gritty goal scoring in Vilardi, Iaffalo and Kupari. $5 million of that could have been used on a goalie(Saros) and then the other $3.5 million could have been used on d-man or a forward. Why are you trading for a Center, when the teams strength is drafting Centers?! Blake didn't even go for it with the right type of forward, as he should have traded for a scoring winger instead. Portillo is their future #1(a 3rd round pick steal from the Sabres, Portillo is playing in the AHL playoffs as a rookie for the Reign, with 5-0 1.20 GAA .956 SV%!) The Kings also need a new coach and should not extend Hiller. Berube would be great if he doesn't land the Leafs job. I would love for them to go after Bruce Boudreau, as he would most definitely get the most offense upside out of the Kings young talent! With a #1 goalie and experienced coach who keeps in touch with game still(Boudreau analysis Canadien networks and podcasts is constantly spot on), the Kings could actually do some damage getting past the 1st round and being competitive in the 2nd round.

They’ll get swept next season by them

Time to rebuild and retool including Blake!

LA needs to get meaner and nastier in my opinion they need to target Brady Tkachuck, Lawson Crouse, and Kurtis McDermitt, I'd offer Brandt Clarke, Sam Helenius, Lizzote's/Grundstrom's rights and Dubios for Tkachuck and would certainly be willing to add more, for me outside of Byfield, Akil, Turc, and maybe Laferriere with hows he played, any prospect should be available though I'd be pissed if Jamsen and Lee were traded

This organization needs a major overhaul. The director of amateur scouting needs to go. The draft picks they kept have fizzled. The ones they traded have thrived. The players they got in trades are NOT speedy playoff performers. The gm has embraced a slow style. Kopitar, Danault, PLD, Gavrikov, doughty, Anderson, Roy, fiala are all slow. Kempe, Moore, and Lizette and Spence are the only speedy players. They don’t have a guy that can enter the zone on the pp just by relying on his stick handling to set up possession. Oh and did I mention goaltending….cal Peterson drop off in talent screwed blakes plan. But Blake and his decisions haven’t helped this team at all.

The Colorado Leafs will be next.... I did a funny lol

Rittich or Talbot to Detroit :)

Kings fan for over 30 years. No faith in Blake. He screwed us with the pld contract. 8.5 for a 60 point (didnt come close to that this year) forward is dumb. Now he's doubling down on his mistake by not buying him out when we could use any cap relief we could get. The 5 mil for cal Peterson was dumb. He isn't smart with the cap. He lucked out this year with our goaltending, but that pld money could have been used to get us a true number 1 without giving up 3 young good prospects and a pick. He seemed desperate and desperation doesn't breed smart decisions

Nope

Roy is likely gone and Spence should be able to step into the RD2 spot. I heard a rumor that Faber didn't want to sign in LA, if it's true then I don't mind the Fiala trade, if not it could look bad for them in the long run. Coaching has to be a priority and figuring out how to get Dubois to at least a 60-65 point player as well as a system that works in the playoffs.

Don't bother with an Islander video...the major problem already had his press conference.😊

Both Kings GM Blake and VP Luc aka Dumb & Dumber need to get fired NOW and Dump PLD ASAP worst trade and contract in Kings History!!!!!

I think the Kings need to get a long-term answer for goalie. I think it's been a distraction for the last 3 years. I don't know a specific player that they should target necessarily, but whoever they do should be viable for more than a season.

We NEED to get rid of Rob Blake as GM. This guy makes maybe the worst trade of all time and takes absolutely no responsibility. Losing Vilardi and Iafallo has been proven to be a big blow to the team and moving forward I do not expect Dubois to step up his game at all. Lazy piece of crap who causes more damage to the team more than anything. I still can’t believe we’re paying 8.5 million a year (FOR 8 YEARS) for a guy who who barley scrambles 40 points in 82 games. Mind boggling.

Blake is a clown that needs to be driven out of town. He should have went after a goalie last year not Dubois. Tons of Kings fans were wanting a goalie and not Dubois. Three of the four players we shipped in the Dubois trade would have helped LA as well. Another faux pas of his is letting Sean Durzi escape to Arizona

As an Oilers fan living in Los Angeles the past three seasons have kept me happy lol

I've never experienced such an emotionally draining season as a Kings fan, and at this point they could trade the entire team and I wouldn't have the energy to care.

Faber already stated he wasn't gonna sign for the kings so they had to move him

maybe Woodcroft for head coach to bring tempo?