How much cap space do the LA Kings have in the 2024 NHL offseason?
The LA Kings have been serious playoff contenders all season, but they still appear to be another player or two away from entering the NHL’s elite ranks.
The LA Kings looked like an unquestioned top-three team in the Pacific Division early this season, but things unraveled and eventually crashed, leading to a coaching change and a minor resurgence. That resurgence has at least put the Kings back into a wild card spot and in a decent position to retake third place in the Pacific Division before the NHL Playoffs, but overall, this team looks as though it is firmly entrenched in the league’s second-tier.
To reach the top tier, the Kings must find a way to bring another player or two from outside the organization to Southern California. If they can manage that, look for the Kings to inch closer to their top-tier division rivals, the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers, and perhaps even Vegas if the latter can re-sign the assets acquired at the trade deadline.
LA Kings have enough space to make some noise in the 2024 NHL offseason
The Kings should consider themselves lucky, as they have over $23.6 million available in cap space for the upcoming offseason. That said, they will need to bring back a few of their pending unrestricted free agents and their five restricted free agents, not counting those on LTIR at the time of this writing, many of whom either already are or will be incredible point producers.
Viktor Arvidsson, despite missing most of the 2023-24 season, is one of those unrestricted free agents. The 30-year-old has shown no drop-off since returning, and in 12 games through April 4th, Arvidsson had a pair of goals and eight points. He’s also been playing incredible defense, especially in the art of stealing pucks.
Matt Roy is another key contributor who must return, along with restricted free agents Quinton Byfield, Jordan Spence, and Akil Thomas. Even if they retain all of the above names, the Kings will still have plenty left in cap space to pursue at least one notable free agent, and that, along with putting the right coach in charge, could put the Kings up there with their most heated division rivals next season.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)