Is it time to name Rob Blake the General Manager of the Year?
On April 10, 2017, the Los Angeles Kings named Rob Blake the team’s ninth general manager.
Where are they now?: Rob Blake
— BGSU Hockey (@BGSUHKY) October 25, 2020
🔶BGSU (1987-90)
🏒Los Angeles Kings
🏒Vice President and General Manager
🏒The Kings hired Blake as Assistant GM before the 2013-14 season, the year they went on to win the Stanley Cup. He was then named GM in April 2017.#AyZiggy pic.twitter.com/PTKNqiDRJv
Rob Blake was a right defenseman who was drafted in 1988 by the Los Angeles Kings with the 70th overall pick in the fourth round. Since then, he has been tied to the Kings organization. After 14 seasons on the Kings in two different stints, he recorded 161 goals and 333 assists in 805 games played.
He spent five seasons with the Colorado Avalanche and finished his career with the San Jose Sharks. But, the majority of his time in the NHL was spent in Los Angeles. And for him now to be leading the Kings in the front office, in impressive fashion, is amazing to see for Kings’ fans.
Since taking over as General Manager of the Kings, some of his moves include:
"February 14, 2018: The Los Angeles Kings acquire Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson from the Ottawa Senators for Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore."
The LA Kings have acquired a 2019 first-round pick, forward Carl Grundstrom, and defenseman Sean Durzi from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Jake Muzzin.https://t.co/4EkRow5DD0
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 29, 2019
"June 22, 2019: The Los Angeles Kings acquire a 2019 second-round pick from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2019 third-round pick and a 2019 fifth-round pick. That second-round pick turned into prospect Samuel Fagemo."
🚨 TRADE ALERT 🚨
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 6, 2020
The LA Kings acquired forward Trevor Moore, a third-round pick in the 2020 #NHLDraft & a conditional third-round pick in 2021 in exchange for Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford.https://t.co/jyAoyc1HTn
"July 1, 2021: The Los Angeles Kings acquire Viktor Arvidsson from the Nashville Predators for a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 third-round pick."
WELCOME TO LA, KEVIN!
— LA Kings (@LAKings) June 29, 2022
We've acquired Kevin Fiala from the @mnwild in exchange for D Brock Faber and our 2022 first-round pick.
Those are just a few of the impressive trades he has made over the years and that’s not even including his ability to draft at an extremely high level. But, this year in particular, he turned the Kings’ whole season around by making a head-over-heart decision in sending long-time goaltender Jonathan Quick for a younger netminder in Joonas Korpisalo and some insurance on the blueline in left-handed defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
The Los Angeles Kings are trading goaltender Jonathan Quick to the #CBJ as part of a deal for defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo: https://t.co/TckJdFoyoj#TSNHockey | #TradeCentre pic.twitter.com/9QiX9WCQ2b
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) March 1, 2023
Now the Kings are on the brink of breaking their franchise point record and sit at the top of the Western Conference and that is in large part due to the moves he has made in the past calendar year. Adding Kevin Fiala, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Joonas Korpisalo to this team has been season-altering, to say the least.
Joonas Korpisalo is having an incredible season in net with a .937 save percentage since arriving in Los Angeles, Vladislav Gavrikov is a plus-nine when he is on the ice, and Kevin Fiala is leading the team in points with 72 points on the season.
On paper, the Los Angeles Kings have vastly improved because of these three moves and as a result, currently have 100 points and have clinched a playoff spot.
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