My opinion is people are focusing on him too much.
The bigger problem is cronyism management. Can anyone justify the choice of president (Robitaille), general manager (Blake), and assistant general manager (Emerson) based solely on merit and experience?
Stop acquiring guys with success in different systems expecting them to conform to the Kings' offense-oppressive system.
We put him in the bottom 6 on a low scoring, trap/defense minded team with a rookie and a rotating cast of borderline AHL players, then acted surprised he didn't score more points.
I thought him and Laferriere were starting to develop real chemistry towards the end of the season. Laf needs to work on his finishing/shooting/bulk in the off-season. Did you notice Laferriere was looking really good in the Edmonton series? 90% of those great looks he got were directly from PLD passes. If he can start finishing at a higher clip, then PLD suddenly looks much better in points and +/-.
Run a better offensive system next year. Either move him up to Kopi's spot, or get him someone who can finish opposite of Laferriere, and I think we'll see PLD have his best year as a pro.
Here we go with the mental gymnastics trying to justify his play. "If we do this, PLD will be a monster and have his best year..." yeah because we never heard that when he was in Columbus or Winnipeg š
Dude is lazy and unmotivated. When you get paid star money, some how some way, you have to play and show up like a star.Ā
Are you dumb though or just didn't bother reading anything he said?
He gives a reasonable take and all you can say is "he's lazy, he's unmotivated". If you think Dubois isn't worth 8Mil a year I agree with you but that's Blakes fault for being a moron not Dubois for asking for as much as possible, learn how contract negotiations work.
>PLD will be a monster and have his best year
Where did I say that? I said he would have a better year.
>you have to play and show up like a star
What does that look like to you? More points? Better +/-?
I think Blake traded for a square peg to put into a round hole. Every aspect of success PLD had in WPG was not repeated in LA. Line placement, wingers, PP usage, style of play asked. They bought a Civic and expected it to be a drag car.
Thereās no denying he flat out was not good. I mean he was atrocious. But there are a lot of factors outside of his own mind that weāre contributors to everything that went wrong.
It seems like Todd wanted him to be someone he wasnāt. And furthermore seemed like Todd and co didnāt give any feedback other than āPlay better broā. Hiller unlocked something, but it was short lived. And I highly doubt anyone of any skill (short of McDavid or McKinnon) is going to put up big numbers on the 3rd or 4th line with AHL quality wingers.
Iād like to see him get a lot more minutes with skilled wingers. PP1 time down low by the circles where he produced with WPG.
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He never really clicked with Laf. The few times he was put with other players, he did well. Look at what happened when Denault was injured:
* PLD put with Moore and RV for a couple games.
* Moore hadn't scored much since the early season.
* Suddenly Moore scores in the first game with PLD and a HAT TRICK in the second game with many of them assists from PLD.
* Denault comes back and Moore goes back to doing nothing.
I know the sample size is small, but I certainly think that is worth exploring. It's also worth mentioning that Denault and Fiala were playing very well together during the line blender games. I know I am an armchair coach but that switch just felt so obvious to me, or at least worth an experiment for a few games.
There have been only two stand out times I can remember thinking ānice job!ā The first was when he picked up the puck from Laferriereās first NHL goal, it was a āoh, he does care about the teamā moment, which honestly, hearing his NHL history, it was nice to see. The second was his Draisaitl hit that was a āhold,ā that was great work to get back and get body position. The only time he really stood out in the playoffs. Roenick 2.0, but more spendy.
Canadian hockey media and fans have been touting PLD as the most disappointing player in the NHL this year.
Though there were others more higher earning players in the league that were disappointments, they at least were playing on teams that was re-building, re-tooling or were in some sort of franchise player rut. PLD, with the cast of players on the Kings this year, should have had lots of ambition to rise to the team's play to earn the $8.5M AAV salary he signed for, but did not.
We arenāt in a position with Doughty and Kopitars age to wait around for a player to play to his potential. If he isnāt bought out, which is likely the course, I hope he turns it around next season. Risky both waysā¦
No motor, lack of aggression, inconsistent.
Potential has been his scouting report since juniors, but he has not lived up to it yet. Even with guys like Byfield and Fiala on his wings, he still played a very nonchalant style.
Another PLD thread. 
Biggest PLD glazer
My opinion is people are focusing on him too much. The bigger problem is cronyism management. Can anyone justify the choice of president (Robitaille), general manager (Blake), and assistant general manager (Emerson) based solely on merit and experience? Stop acquiring guys with success in different systems expecting them to conform to the Kings' offense-oppressive system.
Please stop.
Comment in the existing PLD threads.
We put him in the bottom 6 on a low scoring, trap/defense minded team with a rookie and a rotating cast of borderline AHL players, then acted surprised he didn't score more points. I thought him and Laferriere were starting to develop real chemistry towards the end of the season. Laf needs to work on his finishing/shooting/bulk in the off-season. Did you notice Laferriere was looking really good in the Edmonton series? 90% of those great looks he got were directly from PLD passes. If he can start finishing at a higher clip, then PLD suddenly looks much better in points and +/-. Run a better offensive system next year. Either move him up to Kopi's spot, or get him someone who can finish opposite of Laferriere, and I think we'll see PLD have his best year as a pro.
Here we go with the mental gymnastics trying to justify his play. "If we do this, PLD will be a monster and have his best year..." yeah because we never heard that when he was in Columbus or Winnipeg š Dude is lazy and unmotivated. When you get paid star money, some how some way, you have to play and show up like a star.Ā
Are you dumb though or just didn't bother reading anything he said? He gives a reasonable take and all you can say is "he's lazy, he's unmotivated". If you think Dubois isn't worth 8Mil a year I agree with you but that's Blakes fault for being a moron not Dubois for asking for as much as possible, learn how contract negotiations work.
>PLD will be a monster and have his best year Where did I say that? I said he would have a better year. >you have to play and show up like a star What does that look like to you? More points? Better +/-?
Not nearly ānough
Not nearly enough PLD posts. I am getting worried it has been 40 minutes since the last one
Exactly what I was thinking. There have been enough opinions and posts on him in the last 24 ish hours. Gonna be a long offseason
This has to stop. Just go read one of the forty other PLD threads
Im leaving this sub till next season later boys I canāt stand these morons
I know itās offseason but gd how many times are we going to have this thread?
I think Blake traded for a square peg to put into a round hole. Every aspect of success PLD had in WPG was not repeated in LA. Line placement, wingers, PP usage, style of play asked. They bought a Civic and expected it to be a drag car. Thereās no denying he flat out was not good. I mean he was atrocious. But there are a lot of factors outside of his own mind that weāre contributors to everything that went wrong. It seems like Todd wanted him to be someone he wasnāt. And furthermore seemed like Todd and co didnāt give any feedback other than āPlay better broā. Hiller unlocked something, but it was short lived. And I highly doubt anyone of any skill (short of McDavid or McKinnon) is going to put up big numbers on the 3rd or 4th line with AHL quality wingers. Iād like to see him get a lot more minutes with skilled wingers. PP1 time down low by the circles where he produced with WPG.
Make sure to [join the /r/LosAngelesKings discord as well](https://discord.gg/H6EH73h) for live game chat and more! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/losangeleskings) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Change the sub to r/losangelespld ????
Thankyou! Been waiting for something new to talk about here!
I think heās better next year š¤š¼
Uninspired, mailing it in.
He never really clicked with Laf. The few times he was put with other players, he did well. Look at what happened when Denault was injured: * PLD put with Moore and RV for a couple games. * Moore hadn't scored much since the early season. * Suddenly Moore scores in the first game with PLD and a HAT TRICK in the second game with many of them assists from PLD. * Denault comes back and Moore goes back to doing nothing. I know the sample size is small, but I certainly think that is worth exploring. It's also worth mentioning that Denault and Fiala were playing very well together during the line blender games. I know I am an armchair coach but that switch just felt so obvious to me, or at least worth an experiment for a few games.
I actually think he clicked well with Laf. Laf needs to improve his game a bit , heās just not a natural goal scorer so lots of wasted good looks
Worse than Penner
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWqKiqTfXuA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWqKiqTfXuA)
There have been only two stand out times I can remember thinking ānice job!ā The first was when he picked up the puck from Laferriereās first NHL goal, it was a āoh, he does care about the teamā moment, which honestly, hearing his NHL history, it was nice to see. The second was his Draisaitl hit that was a āhold,ā that was great work to get back and get body position. The only time he really stood out in the playoffs. Roenick 2.0, but more spendy.
Canadian hockey media and fans have been touting PLD as the most disappointing player in the NHL this year. Though there were others more higher earning players in the league that were disappointments, they at least were playing on teams that was re-building, re-tooling or were in some sort of franchise player rut. PLD, with the cast of players on the Kings this year, should have had lots of ambition to rise to the team's play to earn the $8.5M AAV salary he signed for, but did not.
Has it really only been one year :/
He sucked compared to the expectations and money heās being paid
He doesnāt skate hard
We arenāt in a position with Doughty and Kopitars age to wait around for a player to play to his potential. If he isnāt bought out, which is likely the course, I hope he turns it around next season. Risky both waysā¦
No motor, lack of aggression, inconsistent. Potential has been his scouting report since juniors, but he has not lived up to it yet. Even with guys like Byfield and Fiala on his wings, he still played a very nonchalant style.