What the Kings need to do before I spend another cent on this team
non negotiables:
--ditch the 1-3-1
Defensive hockey doesn't have to be boring. And of course it's less boring when you're winning. But a passive system that's being used as one size fits all regardless of being embarrassingly picked apart needs to be gone. It's eye bleedingly bad, and an obvious hurdle to success, not to mention the personnel being used to support it don't match. The aggressive 1-2-2 employed in parts of the playoff games, with guys finishing checks hard and using their speed/tenacity is an example of a defensive system that matches AND is easy to root for.
--ditch the nepotism
Completely unimaginative hires and trades year after year, all related to 'who i've played with' and 'who my friends are.' And look, I get it--I work in a networked environment where relationships are great and I don't even hate the idea of Blake creating a system of folks who work well together; however, it's clear how they feel about boat rockers (see DL) and having a bunch of yes-men around isn't helpful. At least pretend you're going to interview/acquire players beyond your first-degree network, it will keep you honest.
*corollary: brisson clients. There's working with who you know and love and then there's...this. There's a major appearance of impropriety here and without auditing the insane connections over the Kings tenure (someone on twitter did it--hardcore doughty maybe?) one needs look no further than the Patches non-trade and his subsequent Brisson firing to see something is just amiss here.
--revamp development
not sure what I can say here that hasn't been said for years, but all our hypotheses about the Kings having no clue what to do with blue chip talent have come to fruition. The Clarke handling last year was totally unforgivable and an example of the 'we do things differently around here' thinking that is handicapping the org. And the constant flipflopping of centers-to-wings-and-back is insane. These guys are amazing at developing JAGs and placing late round picks--the Kings have more games played from draftees than most franchises. But their 1st-2nd round drafting success is horrendous in comparison and it's the blue chip/talented players that suffer here.
*corollary: revamp deployment. Heavily. Play the best players regardless of age. Let people make on the job mistakes.
--honest self-evaluation
and in this regard, I don't mean for the fans--i mean for themselves. for an org that relies so heavily on analytics, they sure seem to ignore them, and all other evaluations. like above-to some degree, I'm for outside the box thinking if you have a strong evaluation system in place to correct course if it isn't working. Instead, like all their other mistakes--they seem to be doubling down. Something I really appreciated about Blake's early tenure was that he didn't seem to adhere to sunk cost fallacy, but now it seems like they're all going 'we've gone so far down this road there's no turning back now.' There's no 'well this didn't work, let's adjust'. They just go harder at the problem. It's completely arrogant. They need a dissonant voice in the room to argue at the very least.
--be honest and open with the fans
what's the actual plan here? Are you scared to verbalize your vision? what are our metrics for a successful season--can't even commit to that? And when we don't even come close, when we have the worst playoff showing of this era, spit out some platitudes about improved regular season goals for and against? You'd think this is a shareholder/investor meeting.
--access/interaction/organizational arrogance
There is far too much insulation for a pro sports organization. These guys have put up walls to squelch criticism and are nonresponsive to feedback even if it's constructive--and that goes from the kings right on down to their team-controlled media. And even beyond the hiding--much like we don't want refs to insert themselves into the game--we don't need members of the org berating fans. And I'm not talking about the burner accounts saying f*** YOU JIM, I'm talking about the honest fans and coverage being told not to publish stats because they aren't flattering. That's some bullshit. To say nothing of their demeanor towards non-team-tangentially-employed media at conferences. They've unfortunately successfully whipped the fans into thinking it's totally normal to limit events, feedback, and even media to shape their own narratives.
--freeze ticket pricing
Speaking of arrogance, imagine objectively getting worse three years in a row and raising prices.
I've never not wanted to be at a Kings game until around January of this year. And unfortunately for me, AEG does not care about the on-ice product or fan treatment so long as they're making profits--which they are hand over fist. I would hope they would get in front of some of these leading indicators--team performance vs. age vs. assets--but they seem content to collect black hole revenue from corporate ticket holders and flyby fans while motherf***ing the die hards.
wants
--purple and gold
Is it really so hard to make these thirds easier to grab? I'd love them to be full time, not mad if theyre not, but making such a well-received (several actaully) jersey so hard to access is emblematic of the 'we'll tell you what you want' attitude.
--Blake, Luc et. al. gone.
YOu'll notice this isn't even a non negotiable for me. I actually vouched for Blake as a GM as some of you may remember. Good pedigree, good experience, well educated. I'd like to think based on some of the above that he could learn and adapt. BUT--I want them gone because i don't BELIEVE they'll adapt, it seems that they think they're smarter than any other front office in the league, and frankly Blake's tenures with this franchise--no matter how nice he seems to be as a human--are just bad juju at this point and I'm a superstitious hockey player. Him and this franchise's success are oil and water. But my bigger problem is with Luc, who I don't think EVER should have had any influence beyond being a charismatic public-facing cheerleader handshaker and baby kisser.
--Scouting/drafting staff to stay
I think these guys are, at absolute worst, above-average. I actually think they're good to great. I blame the post-draft development and deployment for the disconnect. the only team getting more out of later round picks is Dallas.
I actually tried to be succinct. There's definitely more. But I've never been more disgusted by the organization as a whole. I'm definitely not spending MORE money next season, it's really unbelievable that they're pushing prices up and that season-ending presser was the nail in the coffin for me. Just total delusion.
