Ya think I can have his front office job? I really like hockey an awful lot! Oh and my favorite number is 29 if you want to retire that next to DT’s number since you won’t be retiring #4. thanks!

Yeah, I think some of us at LGK are going to start a petition to get signed at various Kings’ functions to forward to Kings management. In the end, we’ll hopefully we’ll have thousands upon thousands of Kings’ fans AGAINST the idea of #4 being retired by the Kings. The petition will be called GIVE #4 TO HICKEY!

Hopefully, it’s not being considered and won’t be necessary. I just hope that Kings management is smart enough to give him the finger after all that he’s done to stick it to us.

Rob won the BATTLE (immediate contract for more money with contending team) but lost the WAR (his non-negotiable price + need for a quick answer elevated him out of Kings consideration + future as legend with organization). His side would say he didn’t feel appreciated. There’s some ego involved here.

Greater still is the perception that he now looks like a carpetbagger…not a Kings hockey great. 14 years with Kings or not.

Ouch.

Good riddance. I for one am happy to see him gone. Follow the money Mr. Blake, we always knew you would. DO NOT RETIRE #4.

Sad way for him to finish up here…got his panties in a twist when the Kings didn’t jump at his 4mil “offer” & makes a shortsighted choice to try & bag a cup with a rival. After retirement he’ll never get much respect from Kings fans, he could have remained around here, been involved in the organization and enjoyed life as a “retired legend”, instead he’ll always be remembered for looking after his own interests just a bit too much.

Who’s left?

Keith Carney – Leader ship and toughness.
Bret Hedican – I dont know enough about him but he has lots of experiance. Didnt he win cup with Carolina?
Aaron Miller – 5/6 dman.
Jaroslav Modry – Modry is Modry. 5/6 dman at best.
Jason Smith – This would be a great addition. Leader ship and toughness.
Andy Wozniewski 6’5″ 28 yrs old. 6 dman. but big
Nolan Yonkman 6’6″ 27 yrs old. 6 dman. but big.

Maybe a trade is in affect that we all know nothing about. hmmmmmm……

Thanks Rich

I can’t wait to boo that POS at Staples.

Mike, no one really cares for what LGK is planning to do except the droids at LGK. That is the most useless sports fans site known to man and a disgrace to Kings fans.

I also believe that Blake’s number should not be retired. Had he resigned and ended his career here, not even a question that the Kings should do it but after the way he has behaved, no thanks. Also, I like the petition to give Hickey number #4 but doing it through LGK is probably not the best of ideas – no one would find it through all the advertisements for stupid games, roller derby girls (?), pictures from family vacations and occasional one sided story on a king’s player. there’s a reason why we all frequent this site guys.

Thank`s Rich you are so good for hockey.I haven`t been this happy since the deadmarsh days.Blakes gone,you can`t ask for much more! Get Some rest we`ll try to live for a couple of days with out you. Happy fourth, and good health to you and your family.

The relationship between the Kings and Blake never lost its taint from the Colorado trade.

Even having him back in a Kings uniform never felt right.

Despite everything that has happened, I’m almost POSITIVE he’ll be offered a front office job after his stay in San Jose.

That’s it!

What is all this blather from Brisson about the Kings cap number? These guys are so full of their own bs they can’t even remember to pretend to be microscopically humble about the big payday so as to at least allow the fans to pretend their humility is at least a little bit genuine.

I tried to like Blake again the past two years. NEVER AGAIN! Throw in my vote – no retirement ceremony at Staples, no number 4 in the rafters, no job with the Kings, no inclusion in any team events.

Give number 4 to Thomas Hickey today! No matter what he does down the road, this 19 year old has shown more class, charm, intelligence, spirit and leadership (calling new guys after the draft) for the Kings than MoneyBagsBlake ever has. And Hickey hasn’t even played a regular season game for the team yet.

Kingskicka$$ -

If you will review past episodes of this soap opera (I believe it was “Episode IV: Lombardi Comments”) I think you will see that DL checked and double-checked on Brisson’s non-negotiable offer to make sure it was absolutely non-negotiable, not just kinda-sorta non-negotiable.

Of course, what Brisson was doing by making the offer non-negotiable was this: by setting the terms at $4million take it or leave it, he KNEW what the number was going to be for the Kings to sign Blake. Why is it good to set this number in stone? Because THEN he could turn around and tell San Jose that they had to do better than $4 million. He might even have said, “if Blake is going to sign with the Kings, it’s going to be for $4 million, and they’re going to give him a front office job after he retires and retire his number, so you’re going to have to do better than that.” He set his own terms and San Jose bought it. That’s just good agenting for his client, who presumably told him what he wanted.

There is one thing that scares the living _____ out of me and that is Brisson. According to Rich he is the agent for Kopitar and Johnson. It gives me a headache just thinking about it.

This situation is a lose-lose proposition.

As low as the Kings salary level is, DL could have and should have popped for $4 Million for Blake. He was playing much better at the end of the last season and he could have added a lot to next year’s Kings.

Blake and Brisson handled the matter badly too. Will Brisson take 10% of the loss of respect for Blake, or 10% of the anger and loathing of Blake by the LA fans? Blake could have finished his career in LA, and completed the healing, at least for the most part, of fan affection here based on his last flight from LA.

Blake could have had his number retired and a job in the front office. Instead, he gets another $2 million — that is a lot of money — but I suspect that he already has so much money that that $2 million will not make any difference to his lifestyle. By this move, he assures that he will be despised by most Kings fans. His jersey should not be retired, but if it is, it will be the only jersey retirement in which the “honoree” is roundly booed by the home crowd.

In a very real sense, this move makes Rob Blake like Benedict Arnold. Bendict Arnold also had a distinguished career before becoming a traitor, and having his name live in infamy. Any player showing no loyalty and serving only bucks can be henceforth known as a Rob Blake.

DL blew it. Blake blew it. They are both at fault.

All I know is Brisson works for Blake. Not the Kings. Not the NHL. Only Blake. Blake wants to play another year or so and San Jose is happy to pay him for his services. Dean Lombardi didn’t. DL simply doesnt think Blake is important to the Kings past, present or future. Otherwise he would have pulled the trigger and done the deal. So far, there are many things DL does not think are important. Things like Veteran leadership, experience, head coaches, captains and assistants and impact players who know how to win in this league. Hopefully, we will soon see some things DL considers important. Alas, I can only hope.

Don’t get me wrong i don’t like Rob Blake but who cares if he went a way to another team. If I was his age I would care about 1 thing Winning the Stanley Cup and he has a Better chance at San Jose then he does here. It was maybe win a stanley cup ring as a player there or as a front office man here. I think i would prefer one as a plyer. beside i don’t mind San jose they are actually the team i rout for in the playoff when the kings are golfing. There are one of the few teams who can take the ducks down and i’d rather they win the Anahiem. I hope San Jose does good for the next couple years and falls off as the Kings are getting in thier stride.

Thank you for reading the comment, Duckhunter. I respect your patriotism, but you seemed to have missed the point.

In truth, historically, Benedict Arnold was an exceptionally capable officer, served American revolutionary forces very well, and was a true American hero, early in the Revolutionary War. If he had not screwed up at the end of his military career, he would have had an honored place in American history, rather than having his name associated with villainy. It may be hyperbole (extreme example for emphasis sake) but Blake’s most recent move, going to division rival Sharks, apparently because they were willing to pay him more money than the Kings, will, I think, wind up causing Blake to be remembered in hockey history as a disloyal money-grubber, instead of the best defenseman in Kings history. Being a “Rob Blake” may come to mean a player who has no loyalty and cares only for money. It is a real pity.

As I said, both Lombardi and Blake were at fault in my view. They are both losers in this debacle, as are we, the fans of the Kings. Would that both of them could have pulled their heads out of their respective sphincter-controlled orifices.

Let me see if I have this right…if Rob Blake had not negotiated with any other team and instead sat by the phone waiting to hear from Dean Lombardi and then accepted a contract that was well over a million dollars less than he could have gotten on the open market, and if Rob had then played out the end of his career on the worst team in hockey, then the Kings would have rewarded him with a front office job. But, because Rob Blake did not do that and instead took well over a million more than the Kings were offering to go play for a Stanley Cup caliber team he is no longer welcome to ever work for the Kings again in any capacity. Is that about it?

Classy organization Dean’s running here.

I will BOOOO Blake just like I BOOO Bettman.

To discuss the sad saga of Blake would take far too long and there are so many contentious issues involved that preclude it being adequately discussed here. Having reread all of the news articles relating to Blake and his contractual/other issues (since 2000-thanks CBGB) that have plagued and marred his time here, I am convinced that he had no business staying with the Kings and the Kings will be far better without him than with him.

Do I think the blame for this situation rests solely with Rob Blake? Definitely not. Blake, Brisson, Lombardi, AEG and Solly (Kings legal dude) all share some culpability in this situation. But ultimately, the blame rests with Blake and Lombardi. They both could have avoided this situation but through actions and inactions we ended up with the situation we’ve got.

I am glad Blake is gone. I think his value as a mentor was valuable, but not irreplacable. How can he teach the kids to be great players when he wasn’t consistently good himself. His play bordered on embarrassing far more than inspiring.

As for Jersey retirement or Front Office job…He better not ever be accorded that honor! He doesn’t deserve it! Give #4 to any player who wants it, it’s not a special number anymore; It’s just a number.

I would be curious to hear the Kings Sportcaster’s take on all this soap opera activity. I am sure they are all too classy and professional to talk openly and frankly about their personal feelings but it would be interesting to get their take on it none the less.

I’ve been thinking about the Blake situation and still can’t really figure out who’s wrong or who’s right.
They way I look at it is who gives a crap? I like Rob Blake and wish he would have retired a King. While I think his presence would have been a benefit to the young D, I don’t see it being crucial to their development. If he wants to go play for SJ…God bless and get the hell out of town quick. Out of sight, out of mind! If Brown gets a chance to run him…take him out!

On to DL and Kings ownership. I still have full confidence in DL’s rebuilding plan and don’t see any of these moves as altering that plan in any way. While I don’t have much confidence in our chances of making the splayoffs this year, I can live with it as long as I see the young players progressing. This team will only go as far as the young core will take it..which hopefully in a couple of years would be the Holy Grail!

What I will NOT stand for is if they try to low ball the young players due to AEG’s incredible cheapness. All of this cap space had better be used to tie up Kopitar, Johnson, Sully, etc long term. If those guys leave due to the Kings being cheap, that will be the end for me. If they leave we’ll all know that it was the doing of “Anshits”" and Liarwieke” and at that point, I would think a complete boycott of the franchise would be in order until they are forced to sell the franchise. A true fan will stay to see the franchise being rebuilt, but not be lied to.
Just my take on the situation.

Blake was a good reason why the kings blew chunks last year.

I sat there and watched him play with the passion of a chinese panda. The guy gave up on games more quickly than anyone else on the team.

DL KNEW THIS.

Thats why he was like…4mil? uh yeah we’ll get back to you.

He may very well play better in SJ. Hell that just proves my point even more. That while in our uniform he took a vaca.

NO his number should not be retired.

Looks like Blakey followed his buddy Roenick to SJ, surely you all remeber the guy who shot his mouth off came in fat, didn’t work, drew the big paycheck, had a PPA and then SJ and his buddy GM call and tell him you get in shape and we’ll sign you, well I think Blakey was remembering the “old, old” Days when guys would come here and absolutely go on vacation, he tried to do it last year only the L.A. fans are smarter now, they know the difference between an ass and a hole in the ground and Rob, you’re no hole in the ground.

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