The Los Angeles Kings were busy in the first offseason with general manager Ken Holland, but it wasn't the offseason many fans expected. It was clear that the goal for Holland was to build a deeper roster and through that lens, he achieved that goal.
However, the rest of the division made significant improvements, and if the Kings wanted to surpass the Vegas Golden Knights, or even keep pace, these moves don't achieve that. The good news is that there is still time left, and the Kings could make some moves that could turn their offseason around pretty quickly.
These are three moves that could save the Kings' offseason this summer.
LA Kings agree to an extension with Adrian Kempe
The first is one that won't change the roster but will remove some anxiety that might persist over the next year. Adrian Kempe is entering the final year of his contract and the Kings can't afford to let him get to free agency or they could find themselves in a similar situation to this summer with Vladislav Gavrikov.
Kempe has been the Kings' best player for a few seasons now and really is the key piece to this team being considered a playoff team. Without him, combined with players like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty getting older, this roster doesn't look like a playoff roster.
If Holland can work out a contract extension this summer with Kempe, it would allow the team to focus solely on playing hockey and takes away a storyline that could hang over the locker room.