Fantasy Impact: The Los Angeles Kings fired Head Coach Darryl Sutter and General Manager Dean Lombardi Monday.

They named former All-Stars Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake as President and General Manager, respectively. Blake was also named Vice President. Must be all that business acumen they picked up on the ice am I right? In all seriousness though, I can't speak for what Robitaille and Blake bring to the table other than passion, and I know that Blake has been apprenticing under Lombardi for several years. Robitaille has had very deep ties with team brass in a number of capacities for a long time.

In fantasy hockey, this can only help. In the four years since the lockout, the Kings have not scored more than 225 goals in a season and this is because Sutter plays a possession style that focuses on not losing – as opposed to going after the win. A new coach is bound to step things up offensively, even if it's only by a little. I think you could see Anze Kopitar have a nice little rebound year, and Tyler Toffoli – who as a fifth-year player it may happen anyway – finally break out. Other players should see small upticks, but those are two that I would key in on.

I have been thinking long and hard about why this team acquired Ben Bishop and I started to wonder if it was to throw Jonathan Quick under the bus. If they could sign Ben Bishop to a better cap hit than Quick's $5.8 million, and then expose Quick to expansion, then they would essentially be helping the overall cap number without a significant decline in goalie quality. And, a minor thing, but they also get a goalie who is a year younger and more durable. Not that Bishop is Johnny Ironman, but Quick seems to miss huge chunks of the season every couple of years. Getting a goalie with more reliable health is a third bonus. Anyway, I was just beginning to convince myself of this theory when these firings happened. So if that was indeed Lombardi's plan, it may not be Rob Blake's plan. Curious to see what happens with Bishop now.

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Well, that's four coaches fired in 24 hours. And none of them is the coach I think should go. Jon Cooper? What say you?

8 Comments

Chris 2017-04-11 at 10:10Log in to Reply

Jack Capuano was fired months ago.

Bishop was previously making (5.95 mil). Even if Bishop happens to sign for say 5 mil, trading for him, while in the hunt for a playofff spot and desperately needing scoring is one of the worst trades in years.

if Lombardi was actually thinking he could sign a 10 month younger goalie to save under 1 mil while risking missing the playoffs he deserves to be fired….lol
- Dobber 2017-04-11 at 10:18Log in to Reply
  
  Duh. I’m an idiot. It was so late at night. So tired…
  
  I don’t think there was a greater risk to miss the playoffs by getting Bishop and in fact probably increased his odds of making them (slightly, very slightly). And Bishop gets hurt far less
  - Chris 2017-04-11 at 10:42Log in to Reply
    
    I think the point is Budaj was already meshing with the team and having a far better season than Bishop. It was a huge risk to bring in a new player (especially a goalie), when he wasnt needed in all honesty. Bishop basically matched his subpar performance from TB after coming over to LA.
    
    Lombardi should have been concentrating on what was needed, scoring….and looking at players like Vrbata etc (anyone one who can score for that matter….lol)
    - Dobber 2017-04-11 at 10:49Log in to Reply
      
      Budaj’s hot start was unsustainable, as we saw in his last 8 games with the Kings – 6 losses. It’s splitting hairs, but Bishop was unquestionably a backup upgrade. Still, the only way the deal made sense is if they had long term plans to replace Quick at the expansion draft.
      - Dobber 2017-04-11 at 10:49
        
        And like I said – I’ve been struggling for reasons – any reason – why Lombardi would get Bishop. This is the only reason that remotely makes sense.
      - SBN 2017-04-11 at 16:46
        
        Lombardi was (very) optimistic he could make the playoffs, cognizant of Quick’s injury-prone status, if he got Bishop another playoff competitor wouldn’t and the price was (in my opinion) very low…a move to mitigate risk at a low cost…maybe
    - Masta_Byte 2017-04-11 at 14:36Log in to Reply
      
      Give Lombardi a little credit… he brought it Iginla! :P haha
number54 2017-04-11 at 23:48Log in to Reply

Cooper’s a damn good coach. Nobody can blame him for the rash of injuries in Tampa, and if they fire him it would be a HUGE mistake.

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