Reaction to the Kings Offseason with Tony Granato on The Insider Show

Hey Insiders! Excited to share another new episode of The Insider Show with you today.

Before we get to that, wanted to say thanks again to all who submitted questions to Zach and I for our last Q&A edition. We will aim to do another one when the season gets closer!

This week I had a chance to speak with former LA King forward Tony Granato, who is now a regular contributor to NHL Network’s coverage of the league, as well as some individual team broadcasts, including ours, as a television analyst on select games.

Tony attended both days of the NHL Draft in Buffalo and was also live in studio for NHLN’s free agency coverage on July 1.  During this week’s show, he shed light on many of the Kings’ moves this summer, including the hiring of head coach Peter Laviolette, the new contract for Brandt Clarke, and the team’s free agent additions up front.

It was an interesting perspective to get from someone who knows the game well and has lived it up close as a player, coach and now member of the media.

Granato still maintains a good relationship with many of his former Kings teammates, including Luc Robitaille and Jim Hiller, and also shared a few stories from his playing days, including his thoughts on the 1993 team.

He believes that with a new coaching system in place, there will be a different mindset that keeps the players more on their toes and brings a renewed offensive energy to the group.

Later in the conversation, Granato touched on some of the teams he thinks have done well this summer, and weighed in on the recent offer sheet Leo Carlsson signed with Philadelphia that was matched by the Ducks to secure his future in Anaheim.

Below are a few excerpts from our conversation, which can be watched and listened to in full on the Kings YouTube channel as well as all major podcast networks on our LA Kings Insider Audio feed.

Granato’s initial reactions to the Kings changes that have been made this summer
Lot of changes. The Panarin one kind of triggered everything to say okay, maybe we’ve got to go a little bit different direction. The team had the identity of being such a solid defensive team that just grinded teams down, wore them out mentally and were able to take advantage of that and have success…there were so many good things that they had, and I think now with the changes that have been made, I think it’s a little shift on how the style is going to change a little bit, when you add a Panarin, you’ve got to try to score goals. You have to think now, you can get three or four and win, instead of trying to think that you have to win 2-1 most of the games. I think Kempe, obviously, a fantastic player, Laferriere, I loved his development last year and I think the guy we’re all holding to a high standard is Byfield. You saw enough of it last year and two years ago to say ‘Okay, he’s got it.’ Now it’s time to take charge with Kopi gone, this is his team and with the additions of some of the veteran players that Kenny was able to add up front, I think Byfield will learn a lot from them and I think they’ll also compliment him well on the offensive side of things.

On Peter Laviolette and his system’s offensive success
I always thought, with his neutral zone system, and how he planned to shut teams down in the neutral zone was kind of defensive thinking, and the more I think about it and the more players I talk to that have played for him, it turns into offense and you’re able to create more offense off of that structure in the neutral zone. And then once you get across the blue line, you’re free to use your skill. It’s not a programmed approach where you’ve got to get the puck behind the D, you’ve got to get it low-to-high and get it to the net, it’s not a quick-think mentality of what you have to do. You’re the skilled players, you’ve got the puck, you’re in the offensive zone, use your skill. I think that’s something I’ve learned as Pete has progressed and coached so many games in the league, that’s what he gives the offensive players, that freedom to be able to use their creativity and shine offensively. I’m really looking forward to seeing how these young players that haven’t had a coach like Peter, that maybe offensively it might give them a second wind and maybe produce in a different way.

On the Kings moves in free agency to add veteran players
In free agency, you go in with a plan, you think oh, all these guys are available, well there’s 32 teams that have a plan too and you can’t get every player that you think is perfect for your organization so you’ve got to be flexible and you’ve got to be able to understand how to improve in different parts. I think the depth and experience that was added, Zuccarello for me, he just knows how to play the game and can you imagine being Byfield and getting an experienced player in there that knows how to score. The example that he could set and teach Byfield little things in the offensive zone on when to get open, how to disguise your shot, whatever it might be. There’s so much on a player like that, that he can help, not just on his own production, but help the other players. I like it. In some ways people say ‘ah, they’ve got these older guys.’ No, they’ve got experience and experience in our game means a lot especially when you have young players to build around.

Highlighting two teams that Granato felt had good offseasons
San Jose, they did some risk things with some of the trades they made, but they were able to draft second and ninth and they got a couple additions that make them impressive. They’ve got Celebrini, who is as good as any young player in the game in probably a long time. The other team I’m really impressed with was Toronto. There was so much criticism of Chayka when he got hired. I had to dig deep to find out gosh, who is saying all these things that this guy’s not the right guy and that it’s a bad hire and that he did this or that in the past and there’s no way he should be in our league. And then I watched him operate and I’ve listened to a lot of people inside organization including Jim Hiller and a few other people that I know, and it’s as smooth of a transition to implementing a game and a plan and strategy on how we’re going to recover from what just happened to the Leafs in the past 12 months. I’ve been impressed with them. I don’t know how it’s going to translate on the ice at the start of the season, but the organization as a whole on how they’ve done things to get the fans excited again and to make other people that were doubters in June when Chayka got hired to all of a sudden saying wow, maybe I was wrong because a lot of people are starting to think that way. I think they’re the other team that really has had an impressive summer.

The Insider Show – Tony Granato