The Architects Of The Kings’ Stanley Cups Won’t Be A Part Of Their Future

No Comments April 15, 2017 Kings By Vincent Morales

In the span of about 48 hours, after missing the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs for the second time in three years, the LA Kings lost their voice, their head coach and their brain.

In the broadcast booth, Bob Miller, the Kings’ legendary play-by-play man for 44 years, retired.

Behind the bench, head coach Darryl Sutter and assistant coach Davis Payne were fired.

In the front office, president and general manager, Dean Lombardi, the architect behind the Kings’ two Stanley Cups, was replaced.

GM and Head Coach Shown the Door

While the Kings were celebrating Miller and honoring him as he exited on his own terms, the organization was summarily and unceremoniously showing their GM and head coach the door.

“This was an extremely difficult decision and was made with an enormous amount of consideration for what we have accomplished in our past,” said Dan Beckerman president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), owner of the Kings.

“But ultimately it was about our future, it was about evolving, and it was about moving forward as an organization.”

Hall of Famers Promoted

Much like the Lakers with Magic Johnson, the Kings looked to their past to fill the leadership vacancies by promoting two NHL Hall of Famers.

Luc Robitaille was elevated to team president, in charge of all hockey and business operations. Meanwhile Rob Blake, Lombardi’s understudy since 2013, became the club’s vice president and new GM.

AEG officially announced the severe shakeup on Monday, April 10.

Surprising but not Unexpected

Though the news was surprising it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Despite Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014 and another Western Conference Finals appearance in 2013, the Kings missed the playoffs two of the last three seasons and won just one playoff game since.

More worrying, LA was among the lowest scoring teams in the NHL in ’16-’17. They were 25^th in goals scored and 28^th in shooting percentage.

“We didn’t score!” Blake replied bluntly when asked about forthcoming changes in the team’s philosophy and coach search. “There needs to be some emphasis on how we’re going to do that.”

Unfortunately, that was not addressed sufficiently last off-season or as the season unraveled.

Kings’ Lack of Speed and Scoring Never Addressed

At the trade deadline Lombardi picked up a 39-year-old forward, Jerome Iginla and a goalie, Ben Bishop. This didn’t address the team’s lack of speed and scoring and the offense just never got better.

A February trade for a talented netminder like Bishop seemed to be a prudent call. At the time, Jonathan Quick hadn’t been between the pipes since his severe groin injury in October. But, by the time Bishop joined the team Quick had returned from his 59-game injury absence and already started in goal.

Quick played well, looked healthy and started 16 games after his return. The Bishop acquisition quickly started to lose its luster.

Shutout 10 Times

Still, the Kings couldn’t score. They were shutout 10 times this season, 2^nd most in the NHL. They scored two or fewer goals 42 times, more than half of their games!

Meanwhile, their rivals down I-5 in Anaheim skated to a 5^th straight Pacific Division title. (Aaaaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhh!!!!)

GM Lombardi and Coach Sutter Gone

That, in a nutshell, is why Lombardi and Sutter are gone.

According to Helene Elliott who covers the Kings for the Los Angeles Times, Sutter and Lombardi’s fate was sealed in the AEG ownership’s mind after the final game of the season against the Ducks.

Elliott wrote:

“Sutter, an old-school coach who favored brawn over the current trend toward speed and skill, was reluctant to regularly play the prospects produced by the Kings’ development system and who might have helped increase the team’s speed and scoring ability.

“His decision to play faded veteran Marian Gaborik and scratch top prospects Adrian Kempe, Jonny Brodzinski and Paul LaDue from the lineup Sunday against the Ducks — a rivalry game in which the trio could gain valuable experience playing an intense contest — might have been the last straw for those in the organization who recognized the need to look to the future and wanted to see how the youngsters would handle such a game.”

What the Kings Did Right

In some ways, Sutter must have felt the team was doing many things right.

Their penalty kill was top five in the league. Their team Corsi number (an advanced statistic that takes shots on goal + shots attempted that miss the net + blocked shot attempts) was # 1 in the NHL and their Corsi Against was # 2. Good numbers for a puck possession team who likes to play heavy, hard and pounding, while dumping, chasing, cycling and controlling.

The Goals Never Came

Despite what they did right, the goals never came.

Captain Anze Kopitar managed just 12 goals in 76 games — the fewest goals since his 47 game season in ’12-’13.

Gaborik netted only 10 goals in 56 games, a far cry from his years with the Rangers when he piled up 42, 22, and 41 goals.

The Kings shining star Jeff Carter scored 32 goals but the team tallied an anemic 199 goals on the season with a paltry 341 assists.

Salary Cap Issues

The unsettling thing for Kings’ fans is that going forward this team could be largely the same next season. Like their arena-mates, the Lakers, the Kings have salary cap issues, handcuffed to some long and heavy contracts.

Kopitar’s salary for next season is $13 million and his contract runs into 2024. Gaborik will make $5 million next year. He’s on the books until 2021. The aging Dustin Brown gets $6.5 million next year while under contract until 2022.

Kempe, Brodzinski & LaDue: The Future?

“The future of our organization is the highest priority,” proclaimed Beckerman.

However, the young guns, Kempe, Brodzinski and LaDue, were on the ice just 306, 74, and 339 minutes respectively.

Clearly, Sutter and Lombardi didn’t get that memo. Instead they got their pink slips.

Kings Hockey Was Once NHL Royalty

Though they will always be remembered as heroes here for bringing two of Lord Stanley’s Cups to Los Angeles and elevating the Kings to hockey royalty after 45 years in the NHL dungeon.

Who’s Next Behind the Bench?

So, who is next in line to coach the Kings and help reestablish their stature among the NHL elite?

Though the Kings can choose from a laundry list of former NHL head coaches and current assistants with other teams, they may also look within their own system.

Sutter’s top general, associate head coach, John Stevens was retained and is considered a front-runner for the head coaching position.

Mike Stothers is head coach of the Kings’ AHL affiliate the Ontario Reign. He has a Calder Cup championship under his belt with this team (when they were the Manchester Monarchs).

Blake and Robitaille likely want someone with NHL coaching experience. But, if they’re looking for a candidate who knows the farm system and helped developed their existing young talent, Stothers could be the man.

image: guardianlv.com

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Vincent Morales

Vincent Morales graduated from the University of Southern California, School of Journalism and was the associate sports director at the student-run radio station where he was a play-by-play announcer and color commentator for hundreds of USC sporting events including two Rose Bowls and the inaugural conference basketball tournament.

Recently, Morales was the marketing manager and publicist for a world-renowned sports artist and was instrumental in securing and maintaining deals for the artist to work with Stephen Curry, Aaron Rodgers, Derek Jeter, Floyd Mayweather, Mayweather Promotions, the Topps Company, Steiner Sports, and Fanatics Authentic, among many others.

Morales is a lifelong resident of southern California.