Marian Gaborik, W*
Former Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers winger Marian Gaborik represents another example of the Kings committing long-term money to an aging veteran scorer late in his career.
There is an asterisk next to Gaborik’s name because the contract in question was technically an extension signed after he was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2014.
Like Kovalchuk, I get why the Kings signed Gaborik to a contract extension deal at the time. He helped the Kings win the Stanley Cup in the 2014 postseason. Gaborik led the postseason in goals scored and ranked in the top five in total points in the spring of 2014 for the Kings.
In hindsight, the seven-year extension quickly became one of the organization’s most questionable long-term decisions. The extension came after Gaborik’s prime years offensively, with Los Angeles largely paying for past production and postseason success.
Injuries quickly became a major issue during the later years of Gaborik’s contract, severely limiting his availability and offensive impact.
The biggest issue with the contract became Gaborik’s declining production and inability to stay healthy during the later years of the deal. Following the 2014-15 season, Gaborik never played more than 60 games in a year and never scored more than 12 goals in a season for Los Angeles again.
He was finally traded by the Kings to the Ottawa Senators in the 2017-18 season for defenseman Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson.
While Gaborik played an important role in helping the Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2014, the lengthy extension quickly became one of the organization’s most regrettable long-term commitments.
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