Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – A Banner Week for Controversial Calls episode on the Los Angeles Kings and if it’s getting to a point where they just need to do something. Is it coaching? Is it finding a goalie?
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Marek: “Kings lose again to St. Louis on Sunday. This is after losing to Colorado on Friday. They’ve now lost 14 of 16, their last 16. They were better against the St. Louis Blues. You know, I, I kind of expected more out of Los Angeles. I know it’s Colorado, the beginning of the road trip, I understand all of it, but it’s the next game after Drew Doughty calls everybody out.”
Friedman: “I’m right with you on that.”
Friedman and Marek: (talking over each other)
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Friedman: “I don’t care if it’s Colorado. You can be down 3-0 after that first period…”
Marek: “… and they come out and nothing.”
Friedman: “Yeah.”
Marek: “Zero. One more game on this road trip and that’s against Nashville. And then I think the questions really begin. But where are you at as we record this on Sunday, January 28th, 5:25 Eastern. Where are you at on LA?”
Friedman: “You know how I felt about the coach and that is, he stabilize the team and put them into the playoffs with a good structure system and, and I think Rob Blake really recognize that. And I still feel that way. I still feel that Rob Blake really likes Todd McClellan as a coach, but I almost wonder if we’re getting into Woodcroft territory where you, it’s not fair but you have to do it.
You know, like you’re gonna have to do something there. Now they’re really hoping to get Arvidsson back and hope that changes everything.
You know, the (Arthur) Kaliyev of thing is interesting. I do think they would move him now. And I think the, it’s been made pretty clear behind the scenes there that Kaliyev’s time to go somewhere else where he can have a bit more of a role. It’s probably come. I do think the kings would do it if they found you know, maybe like a dev player with some edge that they could replace him with. I do think LA would do that.
You know what’s, you know, the other thing too is, we talked in the last pod about (Brandt) Clarke and (Jordan) Spence and, and putting them together, or playing them both at the same time and (Andreas) Englund stays in. I had someone call me about that and they said if you take Englund out of that LA Defense, it’s not very tough defense.
Like the think the Kings could get pushed around back there. Like they even though the guy’s not a big producer, he does bring them a bit of a physicality that they don’t have without them. Like really, like someone said to me if you take them, if you take him out of there, you’re most physical guy is probably Doughty and you don’t need him running around. He’s got enough to worry about.
So I thought that was, that was interesting. No, I really appreciated the perspective that was brought to me about that. But I also felt like sooner or later you got to try something different.
I do think they’re hoping that Arvidsson can make a difference. I think they’re looking at a forward with some edge.
The one thing here I’m really curious about is, does, is my opinion, this is not what anyone is telling me. This is my opinion. Does Rob Blake go down here or the Kings season go down here without him taking a big swing at a goalie?
Like Cam Talbot did a really nice job for them? He’s deserving to be in the All-Star game. But does he take a big swing at a goalie? The problem is your dollar for dollar. Who goes out?”
Marek: “Yeah, Kings are right up against it.”
Friedman: “So like, say for argument’s sake, you go after (Jacob) Markstrom, right? Or you go after…”
Marek: “Oh that’s a huge deal.”
Friedman: “Like that six, that’s like, so you’ve got to take $6 million out right? Who you taking out?”
Marek: “The only way the only way around that is Calgary retains but then you’re gonna have to pay more.”
Friedman: “Yeah, and it’s a long extension, it’s not a short one.”
Marek: “Yeah, long retention. So that is a, that is a really, really, that’s…”
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Friedman: “But the more I look at this, the more, like I was actually sitting there thinking of that. I was talking about with a couple people that you know, like that’s the thing here it’s dollar for dollar like, like Edmonton.”