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Kings rumors: The ‘bold’ move LA needs to make after yet another Round 1 exit
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- Kings rumors: The ‘bold’ move LA needs to make after yet another Round 1 exit
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Kings rumors: The 'bold' move LA needs to make after yet another Round 1 exit appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
It's hard to believe that, since capturing their second Stanley Cup in three campaigns back in 2014, the Los Angeles Kings have won exactly zero playoff rounds.
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They went on an incredible three-season run, winning it all in 2012 and 2014 and losing to the eventual champion Chicago Blackhawks in the West Final in 2013. But it's been tough sledding for the franchise since, and the futility reached new levels after a fifth consecutive first-round exit, this time at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avs swept the Kings , completing the victory with a commanding 5-1 win at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.
Although all five of their series losses dating back to 2022 came against good teams — four against the Edmonton Oilers and now one vs. the President's Trophy-winning Avalanche — The Athletic's Eric Stephens believes it might be time to tear it down .
"What they're doing now isn't working. Period. Hard questions must be asked at AEG, starting with the viability of team president Luc Robitaille as the one to make the correct decisions about personnel and the strategy to build a winner," Stephens wrote on Tuesday.
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"Nothing came from shifting into a win-now mindset after going three years without postseason play. Not under former general manager Rob Blake and not so far under his successor, Ken Holland.
"But the boldest move — and maybe the necessary one, even in a world with an increasing salary cap — is to start over. To date, the Kings have shown no appetite for jettisoning significant contracts and embracing a rebuild for the chance to draft a new franchise-level player — and build an enviable prospect pool around him. Building a new core, the way rivals Anaheim and San Jose have done in recent years, brings hope amid the resulting losses."
Stephens believes LA isn't dangerous offensively, while also lacking a dynamic blue line as well as talent in the prospect pipeline. Artemi Panarin moves the needle, as will Kevin Fiala when he is healthy, but it's clear this roster doesn't project as a Stanley Cup contender.
It's hard to disagree with Stephens, not only considering how much the Kings have struggled over the last 12 years, but also due to the fact they're losing an inimitable franchise cornerstone in Anze Kopitar this summer .
Related: Avalanche's Cale Makar shares 'stingy' praise for Kings after 1st-round sweep
Related: Kings' Anze Kopitar drops truth bomb on 'bittersweet' final NHL game
