With the start of training camp and the preseason coming up for head coach Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings in a couple of weeks, there is still some salary cap room the front office has left to work with going into the 2025-26 season.
Possible PTO unrestricted free agent signing targets for the Los Angeles Kings and Ken Holland going into training camp in a few weeks
Each offseason, the Kings have a chance to use the remaining cap room the team has available to give unsigned unrestricted free agents a shot to make the roster for LA going into the upcoming season. The Kings and new general manager Ken Holland could add more scoring depth and experience by giving unsigned free agents a shot to prove they can make LA's roster this fall.
Jack Roslovic, C
Former Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets center Jack Roslovic is probably the best remaining forward available in free agency late this offseason in the NHL. The 28-year-old Roslovic can provide scoring and speed to a Kings' roster that could use the middle-six forward line depth and scoring punch this upcoming season.
Roslovic scored 22 goals and 39 total points for a Canes team that made the Eastern Conference Finals the last postseason. His combination of speed, positional versatility at center and wing, and scoring for the middle-six lines at forward could be a nice fit hypothetically in Hiller's system for the Kings.
Max Pacioretty, W
Assuming he's healthy and ready to go heading into the upcoming 2025-26 regular season, 37-year-old wing Max Pacioretty could be a really valuable veteran forward who can help get a team over the postseason hump in the Pacific Division. Pacioretty was able to score double-digit points in just 37 games played for the Toronto Maple Leafs this past season in the East.
Pacioretty brings veteran leadership and proven experience to the table. He's also a proven winner in the Pacific Division, having played four seasons as a double-digit goal scorer for the Vegas Golden Knights in the late 2010s and early 2020s.
It was just a few years ago that Pacioretty scored 24 goals and 51 total points in just 48 games played for the Knights in the 2020-21 campaign.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, C*
Rumors have been circling this offseason in various fan and media circles around the NHL that former Hurricanes and Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov is interested in making a comeback this upcoming season in the league in 2025-26.
Kuznetsov isn't the player he was once with the Capitals a few years ago, scoring 24 goals and over 75 points with the Caps in the 2021-22 campaign in the East.
There is an asterisk next to Kuznetsov's name on this list because he's not likely to sign a professional tryout agreement deal to return to the league for this upcoming season in the East. The Hockey News reported a couple of weeks ago that a PTO deal with the Capitals is "not a likely path" for Kuznetsov in a potential return to the league in the NHL this upcoming season.
If Kuznetsov decides that he is ready for a low-risk potential path option to return to the NHL this upcoming season with a team in the playoff picture in the West, a PTO deal could be the right move, hypothetically, for both parties to upgrade LA's offense in the bottom-six forward lines in 2025-26.