The LA Kings and a sensible, economical off season plan
Going into this offseason, the LA Kings have a boatload of salary-cap space available but need to be careful how they use it. Here’s how it can be done.
The LA Kings have needs. With just over $20 million in salary-cap space available and no major free agents of their own to sign, they have the wherewithal to address those needs. They must, however, be careful on how they go about utilizing that cap space,
The LA Kings’ major needs have been scoring, in particular from the left-wing and the left side of their defense. The best forwards available in unrestricted free agency available this offseason, particularly at left wing, are Alex Ovechkin, Gabriel Landeskog, Tayor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Brandon Saad, Zack Hyman, Mike Hoffman, and Blake Coleman.
Ovechkin, Landeskog, and Hall will most likely re-sign with their current teams, and to a lesser extent, so will Hyman and Saad. This really leaves Nugent-Hopkins, Hoffman, and Coleman left as targets that shouldn’t require a drastic overpay to sign.
Speaking of signing needs, the LA Kings do have some RFA’s of their own that need new contracts. Andreas Athanasiou, Trevor Moore, Blake Lizotte, Lias Andersson, Kale Clague, and Jacob Moverare will be re-signed by the Kings even with Moverare not figuring to play in Los Angeles next season.
I expect Athanasiou’s new contract to carry a $2.25 million AAV, with Moore coming in around $1.25 million AAV and Andersson, Clague, and Lizotte coming in at around $1 million AAV. Moverare’s AAV won’t count against the cap if he ends up in Ontario as expected. The combined total of the RFA re-signings will cost around $6.5 million AAV but keep in mind the Kings will lose a player to the Seattle expansion draft, and along with it, that player’s cap hit.
We don’t know yet who Seattle will pluck off of the LA Kings roster, but we don’t expect it to be anyone with a sizable cap hit like Brown or Quick, for example. For argument’s sake, let’s say they take someone with a $1 million AAV, bringing the combined total of in-house re-signing cap hit at $5,5 million AAV.
With all of that said, with the roster constructed the way it currently is, the Kings will have about $15 million to spend this off-season. Let’s take a look at how they can get the maximum “bang for their buck” this summer.
The forwards.
If opening night for the 2021-22 season, the LA Kings forwards group would look loosely like this.
Iafallo – Kopitar – Brown
Athanasiou – Vilardi – Kaliyev
Kempe – Byfield – Moore
Grundstrom – JAD – Andersson
Extras: choose two of either Lemieux, Wagner, Tkachev, or Lizotte.
I’m taking a guess here and predicting Arthur Kaliyev wins a roster spot out of training camp. Quinton Byfield will not be able to go to the AHL this season, so it’s either LA or back to junior hockey for him – and it’s highly unlikely he goes back to Sudbury of the OHL.
The Kings also have Rasmus Kupari, Alex Turcotte, Akil Thomas, Samuel Fagemo, Tyler Madden, and even Boko Imama (for some added toughness) waiting in the wings. Otherwise, this looks a lot like the same forward group that was much-maligned last season for not scoring enough goals.
Now, let’s go shopping!
I recently wrote an article about why the LA Kings should pursue Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers The 28-year-old can play either left-wing or center, providing some much-needed versatility in the lineup. Known to be an all situations player and a tremendous leader in the locker room.
Nugent-Hopkins is not the sniper on the wing that most believe the Kings need, but look at what is available in that category of the UFA market. Like I said earlier, forget Ovechkin, Landeskog, or Hall. Perhaps Mike Hoffman is more of a pure goal scorer, but he simply does not offer the all-around game or leadership that Nugent-Hopkins does.
With the prospects being on the start of their ELC’s and the Brown and Quick contracts coming off the books over the next two seasons, the Kings can afford to offer Nugent-Hopkins a four-year contract with a $7 million AAV – a reasonable offer considering the flat cap world were living in right now.
I also wrote another article about exploring the possibility of trading for Jake DeBrusk of the Boston Bruins. It could certainly be a low-risk, high-reward type of move for the Kings.
The article highlights why it would benefit both the Bruins and Kings to work out a trade (and no, it does not involve Tyler Madden, as the Boston Globe suggests), but despite his struggles of the past season, DeBrusk has proven he can be a legitimate NHL player. He only has one year left on his contract that carries an AAV of $3.675 million.
With Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jake DeBrusk in the fold, here are a couple of options for the 2021-22 season-opening forward line combinations.
Nugent-Hopkins – Kopitar – Brown
Kempe – Vilardi – Athanasiou
Iafallo – Byfield – Kaliyev
DeBrusk – JAD – Moore
Extras: Grundstrom, Lemieux, Wagner, Lizotte, Tkachev (pick two)
OR
Kempe – Kopitar – Brown
Vilardi – Nugent-Hopkins – Kaliyev
Iafallo – Byfield – Athanasiou
DeBrusk – JAD – Moore
Extras: see above.
If the LA Kings bring in both Nugent-Hopkins and DeBrusk at the above-mentioned cap hits, it will leave $4,325,000 in salary cap space available to help upgrade the defense.
The defense.
Like the offense, the LA Kings defense certainly struggled to produce points last season. As it currently stands, here is what the Kings defense will probably look like on the opening night of the 2021-22 season.
Anderson – Doughty
Clague – Roy
Bjornfot – Walker
Extras: Maatta and MacDermid with Hults, Durzi, Strand, and Moverare waiting in the wings in Ontario. For what it’s worth, I expect Maatta to end up on waivers by the end of training camp.
Now here is where it can get tricky to upgrade the defense. Many believe that the Seattle Kraken will select Kale Clague in the expansion draft. With his skating ability and offensive potential, it was hoped he could help provide some spark from the blueline next season – something Maatta and MacDermid could not do (shameless plug alert, here’s an article about a potential landing spot for MacDermid LA Kings: Why Kurtis MacDermid is perfect for the NY Rangers). If Clague is indeed taken, it will leave a hole that will need to be filled from outside the organization.
It is well known that LA Kings General Manager Rob Blake wants a “young, dynamic, left-shot defenseman.” The problem is there are not too many of those available, and 31 other NHL teams want one as well. To bring one in will cost the Kings dearly in prospects and draft capital, so perhaps the better way to go would be the free-agent route.
The first name that comes to mind is Dougie Hamilton from the Carolina Hurricanes. The twenty-eight-year-old is an offensive dynamo who would certainly help boost the Kings’ offense. The problem with Hamilton is that he is a right-shot defenseman, a position where LA is pretty well set. Another issue is this is the contract where he is going to want to be paid big money.
If Jacob Trouba could get an $8 million AAV from the New York Rangers, flat cap or no flat cap, Dougie Hamilton should be able to get at least that and most likely more. Another long-term, high-dollar AAV could hinder the LA Kings’ ability to improve the team once the prospects are off their ELC’s.
Another option the Kings should consider is Alec Martinez – and you guessed it, there is an article about this as well: The LA Kings could and should bring back Alec Martinez. If Clague is gone like we think he will be, there will be pressure on the remaining Kings defensemen to provide offense this season.
The good news is the young defensemen the team has now have a season of experience under their belts, and someone like Martinez would provide leadership and stability, allowing someone like Sean Walker, for example, to spread his wings offensively. Let’s assume Clague is gone, and Martinez is brought back. Here’s what the revamped LA Kings defense would look like.
Anderson – Doughty
Martinez – Walker
Bjornfot – Roy
Extras: MacDermid, callup from Ontario, Maatta (pick one)
While it doesn’t provide a huge offensive spark, Martinez would stabilize the defense. It also gives the Kings the flexibility to put together a shutdown pair like Martinez – Doughty or Martinez – Roy. Some think Martinez would never leave Vegas given the success the team has had, but here’s the thing, it appears that spending like drunken sailors in port has finally caught up to the Golden Knights.
They only have $2.4 million in cap space available, so unless they trade away some other pieces, they won’t be able to afford to bring Martinez back. The Kings could bring him back on a three-year, $4 million AAV contract to hold the fort, so to speak, until the rest of their defensive prospects are ready. It may seem like a lot, but remember, Brown and Quicks contracts will be coming off the books, and the prospects are still on their ELC’s, so there is a lot of financial flexibility available.
Bringing in Nugent-Hopkins, DeBrusk, and Martinez should cost the Kings just under $15 million with only one contract considered to be long-term (Nugent-Hopkins). This plan does not have a “big splash,” so to speak. It does improve the team without losing any of their big-name prospects while giving them additional time to develop. Ultimately, seeing all of the LA Kings’ highly touted prospects come to fruition is what we all want to see, right?
Of course, there’s always the option of acquiring a forward as well. See below.